Alaska Native Education Enrollment for Grandparents: Title VI 506 Form and Tribal School Programs

Alaska Native Education Programs in Public Schools

Many Alaska school districts operate Alaska Native Education (ANE) programs funded under Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. These programs provide academic support, cultural programming, tutoring, and supplemental services specifically for Alaska Native and American Indian students.

For a child in a relative's care, these programs can provide meaningful educational support — but enrollment requires specific documentation that a grandparent or relative caregiver needs to understand.

The Title VI 506 Form

An ED 506 form (Indian Student Eligibility Certification) documents a student's eligibility for the Title VI Indian Education formula-grant student count. The U.S. Department of Education says families do not have to submit the form unless they want the child included in that count. If the child is not a member of a tribe or band, federal law allows eligibility to be established through the membership of a parent or grandparent.

The form requires:

• The student's name, date of birth, and grade
• The name of the federally recognized tribe or village
• Tribal enrollment number, if applicable
• A signature from a parent, guardian, or person acting in place of a parent

Districts like the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD) administer the 506 form through their Alaska Native Education department. FNSBSD recognizes grandparent enrollment history for program eligibility — meaning a grandparent's own tribal affiliation can establish the child's eligibility when the child is not yet individually enrolled.

Who Can Sign the 506 Form

The current ED 506 form has a signature line for a parent or guardian, and its instructions allow the child's, parent's, or grandparent's tribal membership to establish eligibility. It does not state that every PG-701 holder may sign for the child. If you are the caregiver and are not the child's parent or court-appointed guardian, ask the district's Alaska Native Education program who may sign and what documentation it accepts.

Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood (CDIB)

Some schools or programs ask for a Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood (CDIB). A CDIB documents a person's degree of Indian or Alaska Native blood; tribal membership is determined by each tribe, and a CDIB does not itself establish membership.

Not every family has tribal-membership documentation readily available. A student may qualify for the Title VI count through the membership of a parent or grandparent even if the student is not individually enrolled. The ED 506 form allows other evidence of membership when an enrollment number is not readily available. Some districts will provisionally accept the 506 form while documentation is pending.

ICWA Considerations for School Guardianship

If a child is an "Indian child" under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) — an unmarried person under 18 who is a member of an Indian tribe, or is eligible for membership and is the biological child of a member — and the family situation leads to a guardianship petition, the filing must use the Alaska Court System's PG-601 packet (Indian child), not the standard PG-600 packet. The PG-601 packet includes required tribal notice provisions.

For day-to-day school enrollment and program participation, ICWA does not change the process. PG-701 works the same way for Alaska Native children as for any other child.

Rural and Village Schools

In remote Alaska and Regional Educational Attendance Areas (REEAs), school administrators routinely work with tribal councils and kinship networks. Rural districts may coordinate directly with tribal enrollment clerks and village health clinics. If you are in a village, your tribal council office is often the best starting point for both school enrollment support and help completing tribal documentation.

For a complete walkthrough of school enrollment, medical consent, and authority documentation for grandparents and relatives in Alaska, see the School and Medical Consent for Grandparents and Relatives in Alaska guide.

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