The Pueblo of Laguna's Tribal Council took a historic educational step when it won the right to build a new middle school through a judicial decision. Original plans called for the B.I.A. to construct the new facility; however, the Laguna Tribal Council developed the strategy of acquiring the funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs through a Public Law 93-638 contract. The construction process was an overwhelming success, and the B.I.A. acknowledged the success of the approach the tribe took in building the facility.

The Department of Education

The success of the Laguna Middle School construction project was the impetus for the Tribal Council to establish its own Department of Education to operate the new middle school and other programs such as Administrative Services, Early Childhood Programs, and Facilities Management. More recently, the Laguna Elementary School and the Partners for Success program have been added to the Department.

A Board of Education was appointed by the Tribal Council to oversee the operation of educational services. In its first year of operation as a Department of Education, the organization included four programs: Early Childhood Program, Facility Management, Administrative Services, and Laguna Middle School. All programs completed their first year under budget. The savings went toward salary increases, more technology equipment and additional staff.

The Department began operations in 1992 with the administration of Laguna Middle School, the Facilities Management program, and the Office of the Executive Director. Over the past several years, the Department has experienced tremendous growth, with the reorganization of the Division of Early Childhood, and the transfer of the Laguna Higher Education program.

The Laguna Early Childhood program was established in 1993 as a home-based early intervention program for children with special needs under the age of three. later that same year, the program received a Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to fund the Laguna Child Care Center. By November, 1994, the Tribal Council made a formal decision re-establishing the Laguna Head Start program under the Laguna Dept. of Education. With these programs now serving over 250 children and their families, the LDoE School Board established the Division of Early Childhood to manage these programs jointly.

A revised Educational Scholarship Ordinance was passed in May, 1995, by the Tribal Council, providing almost three times as much funding than in previous years for higher education. As part of the establishment of this fund, the Council also transferred the Laguna Higher Education program to the LDoE.