HB0165b -1- CSHB 165(W&M)
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CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 165(W&M)
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY THE HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
Offered: 5/8/23
Referred: Education, Finance
Sponsor(s): HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to charter schools; relating to correspondence study programs; 1
relating to public school funding; and providing for an effective date." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 4
to read: 5
LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that a school district spend 6
the increase in state aid to the school district resulting from the amendments made to 7
AS 14.17.430 in secs. 6 and 7 of this Act on student allotments under AS 14.03.310 and not 8
on administering the school district's correspondence program. 9
* Sec. 2. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10
Sec. 14.03.251. Charter schools established by the board. (a) The board may 11
establish a charter school in a school district under procedures established by the board 12
in regulation. The procedures must include provisions for establishment of an 13
academic policy committee consisting of parents of students attending the school, 14 33-LS0620\R
CSHB 165(W&M) -2- HB0165b
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teachers, and school employees. 1
(b) A local school board shall operate a charter school established by the 2
board under this section as provided in AS 14.03.255 - 14.03.290. 3
* Sec. 3. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 15, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 4
(a) The department shall 5
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 6
except the University of Alaska; 7
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 8
adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 9
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 10
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 11
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 12
preparatory courses; 13
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 14
governing bodies and personnel; 15
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 16
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 17
given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 18
(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 19
Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile 20
detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in 21
AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 22
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 23
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 24
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 25
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 26
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 27
the members of each house; 28
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 29
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 30
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 31 33-LS0620\R
HB0165b -3- CSHB 165(W&M)
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physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 1
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 2
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 3
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 4
a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education 5
program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the 6
board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if 7
the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under 8
AS 14.07.165(a)(5); 9
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 10
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 11
educational attendance areas; [THE DEPARTMENT MAY ALSO OFFER AN D 12
MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY ALASKAN THROUGH A CENTRALIZED 13
OFFICE A CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM;] 14
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 15
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 16
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 17
licensed; 18
(11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 19
secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 20
elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 21
department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 22
construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 23
include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 24
and costs, and final contract documents; 25
(12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 26
education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 27
are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 28
unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 29
will lead to employment opportunities; 30
(13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 31 33-LS0620\R
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(14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 1
school bus driver training course; 2
(15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 3
and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 4
behavior; 5
(16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 6
under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 7
practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 8
(A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 9
and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 10
(B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 11
AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 12
consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 13
increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 14
arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 15
(C) a process for districts to petition the department for 16
continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 17
(17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 18
education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 19
redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 20
(18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and 21
intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described 22
in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; 23
(19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to 24
review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department 25
and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410, 14.03.420, 26
AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel 27
(A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, 28
the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and 29
reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs 30
focused on cultural education within the department; 31 33-LS0620\R
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(B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native 1
languages and other non-English languages; 2
(C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and 3
include teachers of grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, 4
parents of students in grades kindergarten through three, stakeholders from 5
indigenous language immersion programs, representatives from early 6
education stakeholder groups, and researchers of best practices for improving 7
literacy performance, including best practices for instruction of indigenous 8
students and students whose first language is not English; 9
(20) offer and make available to any Alaskan through a 10
centralized office a correspondence study program if required to do so by the 11
board; 12
(21) for each school district that offers a correspondence study 13
program, including a school district that offers a statewide correspondence study 14
program, calculate the amount allocated to the school district under AS 14.17.430 15
and inform the school district of the amount resulting from the calculation. 16
* Sec. 4. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 17
(a) The department shall 18
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 19
except the University of Alaska; 20
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 21
adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 22
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 23
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 24
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 25
preparatory courses; 26
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 27
governing bodies and personnel; 28
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 29
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 30
given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 31 33-LS0620\R
CSHB 165(W&M) -6- HB0165b
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(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 1
Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile 2
detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in 3
AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 4
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 5
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 6
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 7
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 8
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 9
the members of each house; 10
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 11
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 12
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 13
physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 14
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 15
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 16
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 17
a school district for students four and five years of age; 18
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 19
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 20
educational attendance areas; [THE DEPARTMENT MAY ALSO OFFER AN D 21
MAKE AVAILABLE TO ANY ALASKAN THROUGH A CENTRALIZED 22
OFFICE A CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM;] 23
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 24
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 25
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 26
licensed; 27
(11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 28
secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 29
elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 30
department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 31 33-LS0620\R
HB0165b -7- CSHB 165(W&M)
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construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 1
include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 2
and costs, and final contract documents; 3
(12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 4
education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 5
are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 6
unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 7
will lead to employment opportunities; 8
(13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 9
(14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 10
school bus driver training course; 11
(15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 12
and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 13
behavior; 14
(16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 15
under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 16
practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 17
(A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 18
and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 19
(B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 20
AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 21
consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 22
increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 23
arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 24
(C) a process for districts to petition the department for 25
continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 26
(17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 27
education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 28
redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 29
(18) offer and make available to any Alaskan through a 30
centralized office a correspondence study program if required to do so by the 31 33-LS0620\R
CSHB 165(W&M) -8- HB0165b
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board; 1
(19) for each school district that offers a correspondence study 2
program, including a school district that offers a statewide correspondence study 3
program, calculate the amount allocated to the school district under AS 14.17.430 4
and inform the school district of the amount resulting from the calculation. 5
* Sec. 5. AS 14.07.165(a), as amended by sec. 21, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 6
(a) The board shall adopt 7
(1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 8
goals that are consistent with local needs; 9
(2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under 10
AS 14.03.125; 11
(3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 12
(4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 13
state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 14
(5) regulations establishing standards for an early education program 15
provided by a school district for children who are four and five years of age; the 16
regulations must include 17
(A) standards for a locally designed, evidence-based program 18
that meets Head Start Program Performance Standards and other federal 19
standards required for early education programs to receive federal funding; 20
(B) a requirement that a teacher in charge of a program hold a 21
valid teacher certificate issued under AS 14.20 and 22
(i) have satisfactorily completed a minimum of six 23
credit hours in early childhood education or complete the minimum 24
credit hours within two years of the date the teacher's employment with 25
the early education program begins; or 26
(ii) have two or more years of experience teaching 27
kindergarten or another early education program and have completed 28
additional coursework related to reading instruction, as required by the 29
department; 30
(C) developmentally appropriate objectives for children four 31 33-LS0620\R
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and five years of age rather than academic standards appropriate for older 1
children; the objectives must allow school districts to adapt the content of an 2
early education program to be culturally responsive to local communities; 3
(D) accommodations for the needs of all early education 4
children and their families regardless of socioeconomic circumstances; and 5
(E) standards for day in session requirements appropriate for 6
children four and five years of age; 7
(6) regulations establishing standards for day in session requirements 8
appropriate for kindergarten students; 9
(7) regulations regarding establishment of charter schools by the 10
board. 11
* Sec. 6. AS 14.17.430 is amended to read: 12
Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 13
in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for the state centralized correspondence study program or 14
a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a statewide 15
correspondence study program, includes an allocation from the public education fund 16
in an amount calculated by 17
(1) multiplying the ADM of the correspondence program by 121.5 [90] 18
percent; 19
(2) multiplying the correspondence intensive student count by 11; 20
and 21
(3) adding the number obtained under (1) of this section to the 22
number obtained under (2) of this section. 23
* Sec. 7. AS 14.17.430 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 24
(b) Each district that offers a district correspondence program, including a 25
district that offers a statewide correspondence study program, shall 26
(1) separately account for money allocated to the district under (a) of 27
this section; 28
(2) maintain complete financial records of the receipt, transfer, and 29
expenditure of money allocated to the district under (a) of this section; and 30
(3) provide an annual report to the department on the district's receipt, 31 33-LS0620\R
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transfer, and expenditure of money allocated to the district under (a) of this section 1
and make the report available on an Internet website that is accessible to the public at 2
no cost. 3
(c) In this section, 4
(1) "correspondence intensive student" means a special education 5
student who 6
(A) needs and receives intensive services; and 7
(B) is enrolled in the state centralized correspondence study 8
program or a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a 9
statewide correspondence study program, on the last day of the student count 10
period as described in AS 14.17.600; 11
(2) "intensive services" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.420(c). 12
* Sec. 8. Section 5 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 13
2022. 14
* Sec. 9. Except as provided in sec. 8 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2023. 15