Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978
Public Law 95-471 · S. 1215 · 95th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 17, 1978 · Education
Sponsor: Sen. James Abourezk (D-SD)
Cosponsors (6): Sen. Quentin Burdick, Sen. Mike Gravel,
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act - =Title I: Tribally Controlled Community Colleges= - Provides for educational grants by the Secretary of the Interior to tribally controlled Indian community colleges. Provides that schools eligible for such grants shall be: (1) formally controlled, sanctioned or chartered by an Indian tribe or tribes; (2) governed by a board of directors, a majority of whom are Indians; (3) directed by stated goals, philosophy, or plan or action aimed at meeting the needs of Indians; and (4) attended by students, a majority of whom must be Indians if the school has been in operation more than one year.
Authorizes technical assistance to the schools. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to contract with the Assistant Secretary of Education of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for feasibility studies of individual schools. Requires such studies to be conducted by the Secretary of the Interior upon tribal request.
Provides for the administration and funding of these grants, with certain rule-making authority being vested in the Secretary. Requires institutions receiving grants to provide annually to the Secretary detailed accounts of operating costs.
Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the National Center for Education Statistics, to collect information on the needs and costs of the colleges and to report annually to Congress.
Authorizes appropriations of $25,000,000 for each fiscal year 1980 and 1981, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1982 for such grants. Authorizes appropriations of $3,200,000 for each of these fiscal years for technical assistance.
Stipulates that assistance under this Act shall not, in itself, prevent any recipient college from receiving other educational assistance. Excludes the Navajo Tribe from the provisions of this Title, as well as any colleges which limits enrollment to specific tribes. Directs the Secretary to prepare and submit to Congress a report on existing and planned tribally controlled community college facilities, including Bureau of Indian Affairs facilities which could be reasonably converted to such use. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress by November, 1979, a survey and study on the academic facilities required by these colleges.
=Title II: Navajo Community College= - Navajo Community College Assistance Act - Amends the Navajo Community College Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress by August, 1979, a survey and study on the academic facilities required by the Navajo Community College. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1980, 1981, and 1982, of such sums as may be necessary for making construction grants.
Authorizes additional operating and maintenance appropriations for the College. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures to control such appropriations and to segregate them from appropriations for Navajo programs historically expended by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 13 actions.
- Oct 17, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-471.
- Oct 5, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 3, 1978Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendments.
- Sep 26, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 9158.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Education and Workforce Committee
- Nov 8, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Education and Workforce Committee
- Nov 4, 1977FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Nov 2, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- Apr 1, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.