Tribal Education Departments National Assembly
Attorney: Amy Bowers

The Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA) is a three and one half year old membership organization started by NARF under a series of contracts from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Indian Education. Dozens of federally-recognized TEDS now have joined TEDNA. TEDNA's current advocacy activities include: 1) seeking federal appropriations for TEDS; 2) seeking an amendment to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to allow TEDS to receive data and information kept by state public schools on tribal students without advance parental or student consent; and , 3) substantive amendments to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) to increase tribal governance over education. TEDNA also co-sponsors four National Tribal Education Departments Forums per year, typically in conjunction with meetings of the National Indian Education Association and the National Congress of American Indians. The remaining national TED Forums for 2007 is on November 11th in Denver, Colorado.