Tribal Consultation on Interagency Partnerships

Description

Tribal Consultation on Interagency Partnerships between the United States Departments of Education, the Interior, and Labor

On February 10, 2026, from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will conduct consultation on the Interagency Agreements (IAAs) between ED and the U.S. Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Labor (DOL). The purpose of this consultation will be to receive meaningful input and guidance from American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities to ensure that Tribal leader views inform the implementation of the IAAs. Each Department remains committed to upholding the Federal fiduciary trust responsibility as set forth in the Constitution of the United States, Treaties, Executive Orders, and decisions of the U.S. Courts. This consultation will be conducted by the U.S. Office of Indian Education and facilitated by ED’s Tribal Consultation Official.

Background

Since the founding of the United States, the legal foundations and scope of each trust relationship between the Federal government and Indian Tribes, Alaska Native Villages, and/or Native Hawaiian Organizations have been statutorily unique. There are currently 575 federally recognized Indian Tribes, approximately 370 of which have treaties with the Federal government that remain good law. Indian Tribes do not engage in treaty-making at the Department-level; they engage in treaty-making from one Nation to another to ensure the prosperity of their descendants. The Federal government recognizes this unique relationship and the importance of acting with consistency, expediency, and efficiency.

On November 18, 2025, ED announced a deepening partnership with DOI and DOL. The partnership will be governed by IAAs through which ED will procure services from DOI and DOL for certain covered programs. DOI and DOL will provide services and technical assistance and support the integration of Native-serving programs. ED will maintain all statutory and policymaking authorities governing covered programs.

The IAA scope and purpose are as follows:

·    Uphold the rights of Native families.

·    Reduce reporting requirements to the extent permissible under the law.

·    Assist Native youth and adults to receive high quality education, pursue high wages, meet job demands, and build skills.

·    Enable administrative reform of policies and programmatic requirements.

·    Improve processes to enhance both applicant and grantee experiences.

As described in the introduction section of this letter, the purpose of this consultation is to receive input and guidance from Tribal leaders on the implementation of the IAAs. The following resources below can be used to help Tribal leaders prepare for the upcoming consultation:

·    IAA with DOI

·    IAA with DOL

·    ED's Tribal Consultation Policy

·    All Fact Sheets between ED and Department of Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and State

Participation Information

To participate in-person (highly recommended) or virtually, please see the following venue information below:

Venue: National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI)

Fourth Street & Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20560

Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Time: 1:30–5:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Use the link below to register to attend virtually or in person. You will be prompted to select which attendance option at the bottom of the form.

Please follow the registration link immediately above to participate in-person or virtually at the consultation. To maintain physical security, attendees must register individually, and registration cannot be transferred to or used by others. Once you have completed an in-person or virtual registration, individualized confirmations for the session will be sent to you with additional information.