photo by: Shawn Valverde

Haskell Indian Nations University is pictured on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.

Updated at 3:25 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23

A pair of Kansas lawmakers intends to introduce federal legislation that would strip control of Haskell Indian Nations University from the Bureau of Indian Education and let the university govern itself while still receiving federal funding.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., on Monday released a draft piece of legislation that would allow the Haskell Board of Regents to oversee Haskell and its Lawrence campus.

The school — which serves only members of federally recognized Native American tribes — has long been under the control of the Bureau of Indian Education, which is part of the larger U.S. Department of Interior. But the university’s operations have been the subject of multiple complaints, ranging from improper handling of abuse claims to a revolving door in key leadership positions.

“As the sole Tribal Nations University in the country, Haskell University once provided Native American students the opportunity to receive a high-quality, tuition-free education in an environment that understood and prioritized indigenous heritage and culture,” Moran said in a written statement. “However, for the last few years the university has been neglected and mismanaged by the Bureau of Indian Education. The bureau has failed to protect students, respond to my congressional inquiries or meet the basic infrastructure needs of the school. It is clear that the best path forward is for the university to be led by an independent Board of Regents nominated by the Tribal community and no longer fettered to the Bureau of Indian Education.”

Moran and Mann — Mann represents Lawrence, which is now part of Kansas’ 1st Congressional District — have begun circulating a draft piece of legislation to members of the Native American, higher education and Lawrence communities for feedback.

Mann called the potential change a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for Haskell.

“It’s imperative that those most directly impacted have a welcome, active voice in helping us enact this change,” Mann said in a statement.

Members of the public are being asked to provide feedback on the proposal by sending comments to feedback@moran.senate.gov by Feb. 1.

Under the proposal, the Haskell Board of Regents would be nominated by recognized tribes from across the country and appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

The current president of the Haskell Board of Regents — which currently does not have final control over all aspects of the university’s operations — said there is a need for change in Haskell’s governance.

“Over the years, Haskell has encountered barriers to progress and innovation that stem from the structural and operational constraints within federal agencies,” Brittany Hall, president of the Haskell Board of Regents, said in a statement. “These challenges, while not unique to Haskell, underscore the critical need for a more tailored governance model empowered by a U.S. Congressional charter — one that enables the University to thrive while better serving its students and communities.”

Under the proposal, the initial board of regents would be composed of one tribal member from each of the 12 geographic regions of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. The draft legislation calls for at least one of those appointments to be from an Indian tribe of Kansas. Kansas tribes include the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Sac and Fox Nation, and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. Additionally, the 15-member board must have at least one member who is a member of the Haskell alumni association. The student body president of Haskell also would be a nonvoting member of the board.

The board of regents would be responsible for establishing all policies of the university and would be in charge of monitoring all departments and administrators of the university. The regents would also establish all the various academic departments of the university, and would be responsible for establishing new programs. The regents would be responsible for appointing the president of Haskell and could decide to remove the president with a three-quarters majority vote.

The legislation proposes that the U.S. Department of the Interior would provide an annual grant and “related assistance” to the university. The bill argues that the federal government must continue to fund Haskell to “affirm the treaty and trust responsibility of the federal government to Indians.”

The bill contemplates that Haskell would receive $21 million per year from the federal government for its operations. The bill calls for the $21 million amount to increase over time so that Haskell can provide “a high-quality educational experience in a safe, secure and comfortable campus environment.” The bill also calls for an initial $5 million federal contribution to an endowment fund that would benefit Haskell. The university also would be able to apply for any federal grant that is available to any other university in the U.S..

Other details from the proposed bill include:

• The bill would establish Haskell as a “federally chartered educational institution.” It would have the tax status of a charitable organization and would be allowed to accept private donations.

• The president of the university would be responsible for setting all salaries and compensation for employees, although the bill provides wage ranges that are tied to the federal employee wage scale, although the regents would have the authority to exceed those amounts and increase them to levels on par with similar positions at other universities.

• If the bill is enacted, Haskell employees would no longer hold civil servant positions in the federal government, but rather would become employees of the university itself. All university employees, however, would be eligible for federal benefits. The university would be required to make payments in the federal health and retirement programs, the same as other federal agencies. The university, for purposes of law, would be treated as a federal agency.

• The bill requires that Lawrence be maintained as the general location of the university, although the regents would have the authority to create branches or additional locations.

• If enacted, the bill would require the U.S. Department of Interior to transfer all ownership of Haskell’s 320-acre campus to the university. The university, however, would not have the ability to sell any of that property, and it could only be used for activities directly related to the mission of the university.

The proposed changes to Haskell come after Moran in April sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland saying that the university was in “urgent need for a systemic overhaul.” Moran sent the letter after receiving an 80-page report detailing an investigation that took place at Haskell from July 2022 to January 2023. The investigation found that the university improperly handled sexual assault allegations, that the school’s athletic department was in “disarray,” and that the university was lacking in transparency and communication to its stakeholders.

Moran asked for a specific report from the secretary of the Interior regarding the situation at Haskell, but the department missed its early May deadline to respond.

In their press release on Monday, both Moran and Mann highlighted that the Interior Department had not complied with federal oversight.

“Haskell should be a crown jewel for both Native Americans and Kansas, but for far too long has been failed by the federal government,” Mann said in a statement. “For years, the U.S. Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Education has mismanaged the university, failed to comply with federal oversight, and turned a blind eye to misconduct that has been detrimental to Haskell students.”

Haskell provides tuition-free education to about 800 students who are members of federal Indian tribes.