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HOUSE BILL NO. 165
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY THE HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Introduced: 4/19/23
Referred:
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to charter schools; relating to correspondence study programs; and 1
providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 4
Sec. 14.03.251. Charter schools established by the board. (a) The board may 5
establish a charter school in a school district under procedures established by the board 6
in regulation. The procedures must include provisions for establishment of an 7
academic policy committee consisting of parents of students attending the school, 8
teachers, and school employees. 9
(b) A local school board shall operate a charter school established by the 10
board under this section as provided in AS 14.03.255 - 14.03.290. 11
* Sec. 2. AS 14.03.310(a) is amended to read: 12
(a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, the department or a district that 13
provides a correspondence study program shall [MAY] provide an annual student
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allotment to a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the correspondence study 1
program for the purpose of meeting instructional expenses for the student enrolled in 2
the program as provided in this section. 3
* Sec. 3. AS 14.03.310 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 4
(f) If a student enrolled in a correspondence study program is not a 5
correspondence intensive student, the annual student allotment is equal to the amount 6
calculated by 7
(1) multiplying the number obtained for the correspondence program 8
under AS 14.17.430(a)(1) by the base student allocation set out in AS 14.17.470; and 9
(2) dividing the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the 10
ADM of the correspondence study program. 11
(g) If a student enrolled in a correspondence study program is a 12
correspondence intensive student, the annual student allotment is equal to the amount 13
calculated by multiplying the number obtained for the correspondence program under 14
(f) of this section by 11. 15
(h) In this section, "correspondence intensive student" has the meaning given 16
in AS 14.17.430(b). 17
* Sec. 4. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 15, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 18
(a) The department shall 19
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 20
except the University of Alaska; 21
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 22
adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 23
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 24
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 25
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 26
preparatory courses; 27
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 28
governing bodies and personnel; 29
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 30
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in Amer
ican Sign Language is 31 33-LS0620\B
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given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 1
(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 2
Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile 3
detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in 4
AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 5
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 6
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 7
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 8
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 9
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 10
the members of each house; 11
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 12
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 13
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 14
physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 15
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 16
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 17
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 18
a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education 19
program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the 20
board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if 21
the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under 22
AS 14.07.165(a)(5); 23
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 24
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 25
educational attendance areas; [THE DEPARTMENT MAY ALSO OFFER AN D 26
MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY ALASKAN THROUGH A CENTRALIZED 27
OFFICE A CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM;] 28
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 29
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 30
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 31 33-LS0620\B
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licensed; 1
(11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 2
secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 3
elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 4
department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 5
construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 6
include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 7
and costs, and final contract documents; 8
(12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 9
education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 10
are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 11
unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 12
will lead to employment opportunities; 13
(13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 14
(14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 15
school bus driver training course; 16
(15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 17
and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 18
behavior; 19
(16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 20
under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 21
practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 22
(A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 23
and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 24
(B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 25
AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 26
consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 27
increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 28
arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and
29
(C) a process for districts to petition the department for 30
continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 31 33-LS0620\B
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(17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 1
education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 2
redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 3
(18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and 4
intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described 5
in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; 6
(19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to 7
review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department 8
and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410, 14.03.420, 9
AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel 10
(A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, 11
the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and 12
reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs 13
focused on cultural education within the department; 14
(B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native 15
languages and other non-English languages; 16
(C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and 17
include teachers of grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, 18
parents of students in grades kindergarten through three, stakeholders from 19
indigenous language immersion programs, representatives from early 20
education stakeholder groups, and researchers of best practices for improving 21
literacy performance, including best practices for instruction of indigenous 22
students and students whose first language is not English; 23
(20) offer and make available to any Alaskan through a 24
centralized office a correspondence study program if required to do so by the 25
board. 26
* Sec. 5. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 27
(a) The department shall 28
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 29
except the University of Alaska; 30
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 31 33-LS0620\B
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adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 1
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 2
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 3
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 4
preparatory courses; 5
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 6
governing bodies and personnel; 7
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 8
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 9
given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 10
(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 11
Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile 12
detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in 13
AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 14
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 15
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 16
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 17
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 18
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 19
the members of each house; 20
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 21
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 22
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 23
physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 24
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 25
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 26
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 27
a school district for students four and five years of age; 28
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 29
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional
30
educational attendance areas; [THE DEPARTMENT MAY ALSO OFFER AN D 31 33-LS0620\B
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MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY ALASKAN THROUGH A CENTRALIZED 1
OFFICE A CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM;] 2
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 3
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 4
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 5
licensed; 6
(11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 7
secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 8
elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 9
department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 10
construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 11
include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 12
and costs, and final contract documents; 13
(12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 14
education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 15
are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 16
unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 17
will lead to employment opportunities; 18
(13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 19
(14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 20
school bus driver training course; 21
(15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 22
and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 23
behavior; 24
(16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 25
under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 26
practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 27
(A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 28
and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 29
(B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 30
AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district dem
onstrates three 31 33-LS0620\B
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consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 1
increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 2
arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 3
(C) a process for districts to petition the department for 4
continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 5
(17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 6
education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 7
redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 8
(18) offer and make available to any Alaskan through a 9
centralized office a correspondence study program if required to do so by the 10
board. 11
* Sec. 6. AS 14.07.165(a), as amended by sec. 21, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 12
(a) The board shall adopt 13
(1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 14
goals that are consistent with local needs; 15
(2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under 16
AS 14.03.125; 17
(3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 18
(4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 19
state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 20
(5) regulations establishing standards for an early education program 21
provided by a school district for children who are four and five years of age; the 22
regulations must include 23
(A) standards for a locally designed, evidence-based program 24
that meets Head Start Program Performance Standards and other federal 25
standards required for early education programs to receive federal funding; 26
(B) a requirement that a teacher in charge of a program hold a 27
valid teacher certificate issued under AS 14.20 and 28
(i) have satisfactorily completed a minimum of six 29
credit hours in early childhood education or complete the minimum 30
credit hours within two years of the date the teacher's employment with 31 33-LS0620\B
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the early education program begins; or 1
(ii) have two or more years of experience teaching 2
kindergarten or another early education program and have completed 3
additional coursework related to reading instruction, as required by the 4
department; 5
(C) developmentally appropriate objectives for children four 6
and five years of age rather than academic standards appropriate for older 7
children; the objectives must allow school districts to adapt the content of an 8
early education program to be culturally responsive to local communities; 9
(D) accommodations for the needs of all early education 10
children and their families regardless of socioeconomic circumstances; and 11
(E) standards for day in session requirements appropriate for 12
children four and five years of age; 13
(6) regulations establishing standards for day in session requirements 14
appropriate for kindergarten students; 15
(7) regulations regarding establishment of charter schools by the 16
board. 17
* Sec. 7. AS 14.17.430 is amended to read: 18
Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 19
in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for the state centralized correspondence study program or 20
a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a statewide 21
correspondence study program, includes an allocation from the public education fund 22
in an amount calculated by 23
(1) multiplying the ADM of the correspondence program by 150 [90] 24
percent; 25
(2) multiplying the correspondence intensive student count by 11; 26
and 27
(3) adding the number obtained under (1) of this section to the 28
number obtained under (2) of this section. 29
* Sec. 8. AS 14.17.430 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 30
(b) In this section, 31 33-LS0620\B
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(1) "correspondence intensive student" means a special education 1
student who 2
(A) needs and receives intensive services; and 3
(B) is enrolled in the state centralized correspondence study 4
program or a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a 5
statewide correspondence study program, on the last day of the student count 6
period as described in AS 14.17.600; 7
(2) "intensive services" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.420(c). 8
* Sec. 9. Section 6 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 9
2022. 10
* Sec. 10. Except as provided in sec. 9 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2023. 11