§ 1813. Construction of new facilities

(a) Grants

With respect to any tribally controlled college or university for which the report of the Secretary under section 1812 (a) of this title identifies a need for new construction, the Secretary shall, subject to appropriations and on the basis of an application submitted in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, provide grants for such construction in accordance with this section.

(b) Eligibility requirements

In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, a tribally controlled college or university—

(1) must be a current recipient of grants under section 1805 or 1807 of this title, and

(2) must be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency listed by the Secretary of Education pursuant to the last sentence of section 1001 of title 20, except that such requirement may be waived if the Secretary determines that there is a reasonable expectation that such college or university will be fully accredited within eighteen months. In any case where such a waiver is granted, grants under this section shall be available only for planning and development of proposals for construction.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), grants for construction under this section shall not exceed 80 per centum of the cost of such construction, except that no tribally controlled college or university shall be required to expend more than $400,000 in fulfillment of the remaining 20 per centum. For the purpose of providing its required portion of the cost of such construction, a tribally controlled college or university may use funds provided under section 13 of this title.

(2) The Secretary may waive, in whole or in part, the requirements of paragraph (1) in the case of any tribally controlled college or university which demonstrates that neither such college or university nor the tribal government with which it is affiliated have sufficient resources to comply with such requirements. The Secretary shall base a decision on whether to grant such a waiver solely on the basis of the following factors:

(A) tribal population;

(B) potential student population;

(D) tribal financial resources; and

(E) other factors alleged by the college or university to have a bearing on the availability of resources for compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1) and which may include the educational attainment of tribal members.

(d) Failure to use facility in approved manner; title to vest in United States; settlement

If, within twenty years after completion of construction of a facility which has been constructed in whole or in part with a grant made available under this section—

(1) the facility ceases to be used by the applicant in a public or nonprofit capacity as an academic facility, unless the Secretary determines that there is good cause for releasing the institution from this obligation, and

(2) the tribe with which the applicant is affiliated fails to use the facility for a public purpose approved by the tribal government in furtherance of the general welfare of the community served by the tribal government,

title to the facility shall vest in the United States and the applicant (or such tribe if such tribe is the successor in title to the facility) shall be entitled to recover from the United States an amount which bears the same ratio to the present value of the facility as the amount of the applicant’s contribution (excluding any funds provided under section 13 of this title) bore to the original cost of the facility. Such value shall be determined by agreement of the parties or by action brought in the United States district court for the district in which such facility is located.

(e) Religious use

No construction assisted with funds under this section shall be used for religious worship or a sectarian activity or for a school or department of divinity.

(f) “Construction” and “academic facilities” defined

For the purposes of this section—

(1) the term “construction” includes reconstruction or renovation (as such terms are defined in the first sentence of subparagraph (B) of section 1132e–1 (2) ^[1] of title 20); and

(2) the term “academic facilities” has the meaning provided such term under section 1132e–1 (1) ^[1] of title 20.

[1] See References in Text note below.

U.S. Code

§ 1813. Construction of new facilities