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American Indian/Alaska Native Students

Information, resources, and educational outcomes for American Indian/Alaska Native students in California Schools

American Indian/Alaska Native students represent an academically at-promise student group in California schools. These students are often neglected and underserved. Many factors contribute to the academic achievement gap that exists between American Indian/Alaska Native Students and their peers as a direct result of colonization, land theft, and genocide.

California is home to 109 federally recognized Indian tribes, including several tribes with lands that cross state boundaries. There are also approximately 81 tribes seeking federal recognition and more tribes in the state that are not pursuing federal recognition. The Relocation Act of 1956 brought between 60,000 and 70,000 out-of-state Native Americans into urban areas in California during the federal government’s efforts to assimilate Native Americans.

This web page provides information and resources related to American Indian/Alaska Native Students in California K-12 schools.

For program resource and information regarding the educational needs of American Indian/Alaska Native students please visit the American Indian Program web page.

American Indian/Alaska Native Student Identification

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) sets federal education eligibility requirements for identification and accountability reporting standards. The California Department of Education (CDE) also requires local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to collect and report data consistent with these federal requirements. Identification of students requires that a two-part question is used to collect data about students race and ethnicity.

The first part asks respondents to select their ethnicity:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Not Hispanic or Latino

The second part asks respondents to select one or more races from the following categories:

  • American Indian/Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Black or African American
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
  • White

The definition for American Indian/Alaska Native used by CDE is consistent with the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 1997 standards as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Federal policy on race and ethnicity data collection and reporting requirements creates four basic race/ethnicity categories.

  1. American Indian/Alaska Native - Non-Hispanic
  2. American Indian/Alaska Native - Hispanic
  3. Two or More Races - non-Hispanic
  4. Two or More Races - Hispanic

Only students identified as American Indian/Alaska Native Non-Hispanic are included in the American Indian/Alaska Native student group on the California School Dashboard and DataQuest reports. American Indian/Alaska Native - Hispanic and Two or More Races - Hispanic students appear in the Hispanic category on these reports and American Indian/Alaska Native students who are of two or more races are reported as Two or More Races.

American Indian/Alaska Native Student Identification Categories

The table below shows information on how American Indian/Alaska Native students self-identify, the relationship to the federal definition (American Indian/Alaska Native), the inclusion of students for federal grants, the inclusion of students towards tribal consultation requirements, and information on whether a student is included in DataQuest reports and the California School Dashboard as American Indian/Alaska Native. The descriptor for each * pertains to specific columns on the table.

*The definition for American Indian/Alaska Native used by CDE is consistent with the federal OMB 1997 standards as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

** Students are eligible to enroll in the Title VI Indian Education Program if the student and his/her parent(s) or grandparent(s) are enrolled member of an American Indian/Alaska Native tribe or if the student, parent(s), or grandparent(s) have a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood.

***The OMB 1997 definition is used by LEAs to collect student demographic information. This count is used to determine the Tribal Consultation requirement under Section 8538 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), an affected local educational agency (LEA) is one that either:

  • received a Title VI Indian Education formula grant in the previous fiscal year that exceeds $40,000;
  • or, has 50 percent or more of its student enrollment made up of American Indian/Alaska Native students.

Use of the OMB 1997 definition, in relation to Tribal Consultation requirement, creates challenges when determining whether an LEA has 50 percent or more of its enrollment made up of American Indian/Alaska Native students. The use of the OMB 1997 definition results in students who have connections to any of the original peoples of Central and South America being included in the American Indian/Alaska Native count. This could lead to an overcount of students in their American Indian/Alaska Native count for purposes of Tribal Consultation. The total American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment data should only include, for the Tribal Consultation requirement, those students who self-identify as American Indian/Alaska Native alone and American Indian/Alaska Native in combination with one or more races, regardless of Hispanic ethnicity. The count should not include students who identify as originating from Central or South America.

Category Federal Definition - American Indian/Alaska Native* Title VI Indian Education Formula Grant** Tribal Consultation Requirement*** Displayed on DataQuest and California School Dashboard as American Indian/Alaska Native
Self-Identified Federally Recognized and Unrecognized
American Indian/Alaska Native
 Yes No Yes Dependent on individual responses to Ethnicity and Race Questions
Central & South American Indian Yes No No Dependent on individual responses to Ethnicity and Race Questions
Students with Federally Recognized Tribal Enrollment Yes Yes Yes Dependent on individual responses to Ethnicity and Race Questions
Self-Identified during enrollment in LEA as:
Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic
Race: American Indian/Alaska Native		 Yes No Yes Yes
Self-Identified during enrollment in LEA as:
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Race: American Indian/Alaska Native		 Yes No Yes No
Self-Identified during enrollment in LEA as:
Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic
Race: American Indian/Alaska Native and another Race (Two or More Races)		 Yes No Yes No
Self-Identified during enrollment in LEA as:
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Race: American Indian/Alaska Native and another Race (Two or More Races)		 Yes No Yes No

Information can be found on DataQuest and the California School DashboardExternal link opens in new window or tab. which display American Indian/Alaska Native data for those students who self-identified as:

  • Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic
  • Race: American Indian/Alaska Native

The table below shows the primary enrollment information for variations of students who identified as American Indian/Alaska Native.

2022-23 Enrollment Data for American Indian/Alaska Native Students Including Hispanic Ethnicity and Two or More Races
Enrollment American Indian/Alaska native - Only American Indian/Alaska Native
and Two or More Races		 American Indian/Alaska Native
and Hispanic or Hispanic and
Two or More Races		 Total
2022-23 26,106 35,187 327,400 388,693

The California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) is a longitudinal data system used to maintain individual-level data including student demographics, course completion, discipline, assessments, staff assignments, and more for state and federal reporting. Student data is collected by LEAs and then reported to the CDE through CALPADS. Information about the data collected by CALPADS and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) can be found on the CALPADS Frequently Asked Questions web page.

Questions:   American Indian Education Office | AmericanIndianEducation@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, March 05, 2025
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