AK
Alaska Senate Bill SB266

Alaska 2023-2024 Regular Session

Alaska Senate Bill SB266 Compare Versions

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10-CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 266(EDC)
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11+ SENATE BILL NO. 266
1112
1213 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
1314
1415 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
1516
1617 BY THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1718
18-Offered: 5/9/24
19-Referred: Finance
19+Introduced: 4/26/24
20+Referred: Education
2021
21-Sponsor(s): SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
22+
2223 A BILL
2324
2425 FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
2526
2627 "An Act relating to standards-based assessments; relating to correspondence study 1
27-programs; relating to allotments for correspondence study programs; and providing for 2
28-an effective date." 3
28+programs; relating to student fund accounts for correspondence study programs; and 2
29+providing for an effective date." 3
2930 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
3031 * Section 1. AS 14.03.016(a) is amended to read: 5
3132 (a) A local school board shall, in consultation with parents, teachers, and 6
3233 school administrators, adopt policies to promote the involvement of parents in the 7
3334 school district's education program. The policies must include procedures 8
34-(1) recognizing the authority of a parent and allowing a parent to 9
35-[OBJECT TO AND] withdraw the child from a standards-based assessment or test 10
36-required by the state and select as an alternative to the standards-based assessment
37-11
38-or test either 12
39-(A) an alternative assessment selected and approved by the 13
40-department; or 14 33-LS1578\U
41-CSSB 266(EDC) -2- SB0266B
35+(1) [RECOGNIZING THE AUTHORITY OF A PARENT AND 9
36+ALLOWING A PARENT TO OBJECT TO AND WITHDRAW THE CHILD FROM 10
37+A STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT OR TEST REQUIRED BY THE STATE; 11
38+(2)] recognizing the authority of a parent and allowing a parent to 12
39+object to and withdraw the child from an activity, class, or program; 13
40+(2) [(3)] providing for parent notification not less than two weeks
41+14 33-LS1578\B
42+SB 266 -2- SB0266A
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44-(B) a student portfolio based on criteria established by the 1
45-department; 2
46-(2) recognizing the authority of a parent and allowing a parent to 3
47-object to and withdraw the child from an activity, class, or program; 4
48-(3) providing for parent notification not less than two weeks before 5
49-any activity, class, or program that includes content involving human reproduction or 6
50-sexual matters is provided to a child; 7
51-(4) recognizing the authority of a parent and allowing a parent to 8
52-withdraw the child from an activity, class, program, or standards-based assessment or 9
53-test required by the state for a religious holiday, as defined by the parent; 10
54-(5) providing a parent with an opportunity to review the content of an 11
55-activity, class, performance standard, or program; 12
56-(6) ensuring that, when a child is absent from an activity, class, 13
57-program, or standards-based assessment or test required by the state under this section, 14
58-the absence is not considered an unlawful absence under AS 14.30.020 if the child's 15
59-parent withdrew the child from the activity, class, program, or standards-based 16
60-assessment or test or gave permission for the child's absence. 17
61- * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.300 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 18
62-(c) The department or a district that provides a correspondence study program 19
63-shall create an annual report on the program's performance and the performance of the 20
64-program's students. The report must include 21
65-(1) information on accreditation; 22
66-(2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests; 23
67-(3) results of state standards-based assessments in language arts and 24
68-mathematics; 25
69-(4) a description, including quantitative and qualitative measures, of 26
70-student, parent, community, and business involvement in student learning; 27
71-(5) a description of the program's attendance, retention, dropout, and 28
72-graduation rates as specified by the state board; 29
73-(6) the annual percentage of enrollment change, regardless of reason, 30
74-and the annual percentage of enrollment change because of student transfers into and 31 33-LS1578\U
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45+before any activity, class, or program that includes content involving human 1
46+reproduction or sexual matters is provided to a child; 2
47+(3) [(4)] recognizing the authority of a parent and allowing a parent to 3
48+withdraw the child from an activity, class, program, or standards-based assessment or 4
49+test required by the state for a religious holiday, as defined by the parent; 5
50+(4) [(5)] providing a parent with an opportunity to review the content 6
51+of an activity, class, performance standard, or program; 7
52+(5) [(6)] ensuring that, when a child is absent from an activity, class, or 8
53+program [, OR STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT OR TEST] required by t he 9
54+state under this section, the absence is not considered an unlawful absence under 10
55+AS 14.30.020 if the child's parent withdrew the child from the activity, class, or 11
56+program [, OR STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT OR TEST] or gave 12
57+permission for the child's absence. 13
58+ * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.300 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14
59+(c) The department or a district that provides a correspondence study program 15
60+shall submit an annual report to the department that includes 16
61+(1) the number of students enrolled in the program; 17
62+(2) the demographic information of the students enrolled in the 18
63+program; 19
64+(3) an accounting of funds disbursed from student fund accounts under 20
65+AS 14.03.310; 21
66+(4) assessment and proficiency scores of the students enrolled in the 22
67+program; and 23
68+(5) administrative costs of the program. 24
69+ * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.310 is repealed and reenacted to read: 25
70+Sec. 14.03.310. Student fund accounts. (a) Except as provided in (e) of this 26
71+section, the department or a district that provides a correspondence study program may 27
72+provide a student fund account to a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the 28
73+program for the purpose of meeting instructional expenses for the student enrolled in 29
74+the program as provided in this section. 30
75+(b) A student fund account may not be used by the district or the parent or 31 33-LS1578\B
76+SB0266A -3- SB 266
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78-out of the program; 1
79-(7) if Native language education is provided, a summary and 2
80-evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420; 3
81-(8) the performance designation assigned the district providing the 4
82-program under AS 14.03.123 and the methodology used to assign the performance 5
83-designation, including the measures used and the relative weights of the measures 6
84-used; 7
85-(9) other information concerning the performance of the program and 8
86-the performance of the program's students as required by the state board in regulation; 9
87-and 10
88-(10) information on the number, attendance, and performance of 11
89-students enrolled in the program whose parents or guardians are on active duty in the 12
90-armed forces of the United States, the Alaska National Guard, the Alaska Naval 13
91-Militia, or the Alaska State Defense Force. 14
92-(d) A district that provides a correspondence study program shall annually 15
93-submit the report created under (c) of this section to the department. 16
94- * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.310 is repealed and reenacted to read: 17
95-Sec. 14.03.310. Student allotments. (a) The department or a district that 18
96-provides a correspondence study program may provide an allotment to a parent or 19
97-guardian of a student enrolled in the program for the purpose of providing student 20
98-textbooks, materials, and services determined necessary under the student's individual 21
99-learning plan created under AS 14.03.300. 22
100-(b) An allotment may not be used by the district or the parent or guardian of a 23
101-student enrolled in the correspondence study program to supplant district funds or 24
102-obligations for individualized education program services. 25
103-(c) The board shall adopt regulations requiring that an expenditure made from 26
104-an allotment must be approved by the department or the district that provides the 27
105-allotment. The approval process may include preauthorization for items identified in 28
106-regulations. The regulations must require that textbooks, services, and other 29
107-curriculum materials 30
108-(1) be approved by the department or school district that provides the 31 33-LS1578\U
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79+guardian of a student enrolled in the correspondence study program to supplant district 1
80+funds or obligations for individualized education program services. 2
81+(c) The board shall adopt regulations requiring the department or a district that 3
82+provides a correspondence study program to approve expenditures from a student fund 4
83+account. The regulations must 5
84+(1) allow the department or a district to require prior authorization of 6
85+the purchase of items identified in regulation; and 7
86+(2) require that textbooks, services, and other curriculum materials 8
87+(A) be approved by the department or school district that 9
88+provides the correspondence study program; 10
89+(B) be appropriate for the student; 11
90+(C) comply with state standards; 12
91+(D) comply with AS 14.03.090 and AS 14.18.060 and (e) - (g) 13
92+of this section. 14
93+(d) The department or a district that provides a student fund account shall 15
94+(1) annually return the unexpended balance of a student fund account 16
95+to the budget of the department or district; 17
96+(2) immediately return the unexpended balance of a student fund 18
97+account provided to a student to the budget of the department or district when the 19
98+student is no longer enrolled in the correspondence study program; 20
99+(3) maintain a record of approved expenditures from student fund 21
100+accounts; and 22
101+(4) implement a routine monitoring of audits and expenditures. 23
102+(e) A student fund account may not be used to pay for 24
103+(1) services provided to a student by a family member; in this 25
104+paragraph, "family member" means the student's spouse, guardian, parent, stepparent, 26
105+sibling, stepsibling, grandparent, stepgrandparent, child, uncle, or aunt; 27
106+(2) services or materials provided by a private or religious educational 28
107+institution; 29
108+(3) family travel, including transportation, food, lodging, or expenses 30
109+during the family travel, or any travel out of state, unless the department, school 31 33-LS1578\B
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112-correspondence study program; 1
113-(2) be appropriate for the student; 2
114-(3) comply with state standards; 3
115-(4) comply with AS 14.03.090 and AS 14.18.060. 4
116-(d) The department or a district that provides allotments shall 5
117-(1) annually return at least 90 percent of the unexpended balance of 6
118-each allotment to the budget of the department or district; 7
119-(2) immediately return to the budget of the department or district the 8
120-unexpended balance of each allotment provided to a student when the student is no 9
121-longer enrolled in the correspondence study program; 10
122-(3) maintain a record of approved expenditures from the allotments; 11
123-and 12
124-(4) implement a routine monitoring of expenditures. 13
125-(e) An allotment may not be used to pay for 14
126-(1) services provided to a student by the student's spouse, guardian, 15
127-parent, stepparent, sibling, stepsibling, grandparent, stepgrandparent, child, uncle, or 16
128-aunt; 17
129-(2) out-of-state travel unless the travel is approved by the governing 18
130-body or superintendent of a district; or 19
131-(3) religious, partisan, sectarian, or denominational courses, classes, 20
132-textbooks, or other curriculum materials. 21
133-(f) The department or a district that provides a correspondence study program 22
134-may approve the use of up to 15 percent of an allotment to allow the program or a 23
135-parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the program to contract with a private 24
136-individual to provide tutoring in fine arts, music, or physical education if the tutoring 25
137-is part of the student's individual learning plan created under AS 14.03.300. A 26
138-certificated teacher who is employed by the correspondence study program and who is 27
139-qualified to teach the subject or grade level has the primary responsibility to plan the 28
140-course of study on the subject, provide instruction, and evaluate the student's learning 29
141-of the subject. Tutoring paid for under this subsection may not be provided by a 30
142-private or religious educational institution. 31 33-LS1578\U
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113+board, or superintendent of the district approves the expenses incurred in the out-of-1
114+state travel associated with direct instructional activities; in this paragraph, "family 2
115+travel" does not include travel in which a student is accompanied by the student's 3
116+family for assessments or other required activities initiated by the department or 4
117+district; 5
118+(4) annual passes or family memberships to a sports or recreational 6
119+facility; however, an annual pass or membership for a student may be purchased for 7
120+entry into a sports or recreational facility in which the student is provided lessons 8
121+under the student's individual learning plan if the cost of the pass or membership is 9
122+prorated to include only the cost of the student's instructional time; 10
123+(5) fees that allow entrance to a facility in which no instruction directly 11
124+connected to a student's individual learning plan is given; 12
125+(6) religious, partisan, sectarian, or denominational textbooks or other 13
126+curriculum materials; 14
127+(7) clothing, uniforms, physical education equipment, or personal 15
128+items; 16
129+(8) pets and other animals; 17
130+(9) furniture; 18
131+(10) taxes, testing other than educational assessments required by the 19
132+department or district, or parking fees; 20
133+(11) entertainment; 21
134+(12) permanent items that adhere to or enhance the value of a 22
135+nonschool facility; or 23
136+(13) items that exceed the needs of the student's individual learning 24
137+plan under AS 14.03.300 as determined by the chief school administrator. 25
138+(f) A statewide correspondence study program or a parent or guardian of a 26
139+student enrolled in the program may use a student fund account to contract with a 27
140+private individual to provide tutoring in fine arts, music, or physical education if the 28
141+tutoring is part of the student's individual learning plan under AS 14.03.300. A 29
142+certificated teacher who is employed by the correspondence study program and who is 30
143+qualified to teach the subject or grade level has the primary responsibility to plan, 31 33-LS1578\B
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146- * Sec. 4. AS 14.07.168 is amended to read: 1
147-Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 2
148-day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 3
149-person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 4
150-report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 5
151-improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 6
152-bylaws of the board. The report must include 7
153-(1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 8
154-policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 9
155-(2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 10
156-recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 11
157-(3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 12
158-maintain the public education system; 13
159-(4) a summary of implementation and utilization of the consortium 14
160-established under AS 14.30.800, including a review of consortium effectiveness and 15
161-the participation rates of districts, teachers, and students; 16
162-(5) the information included in the report created under 17
163-AS 14.03.300(c); 18
164-(6) the information reported to the department under 19
165-AS 14.03.300(d). 20
166- * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.168, as amended by sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 21
167-Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 22
168-day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 23
169-person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 24
170-report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 25
171-improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 26
172-bylaws of the board. The report must include 27
173-(1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 28
174-policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 29
175-(2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 30
176-recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 31 33-LS1578\U
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147+instruct, and evaluate the student's learning of the subject. Tutoring paid for under this 1
148+subsection may not be provided by a private or religious educational institution. 2
149+(g) Textbooks and other curriculum materials purchased with student fund 3
150+account funds are property of the department or district. A parent or guardian of a 4
151+student enrolled in the correspondence study program shall return materials that are 5
152+not consumables to the district when the student exits the program for any reason. 6
153+(h) Any unexpended balances in student fund accounts shall be included in the 7
154+calculation of the unreserved portion of a district's year-end fund balance in its school 8
155+operating fund under AS 14.17.505. 9
156+ * Sec. 4. AS 14.07.168 is amended to read: 10
157+Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 11
158+day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 12
159+person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 13
160+report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 14
161+improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 15
162+bylaws of the board. The report must include 16
163+(1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 17
164+policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 18
165+(2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 19
166+recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 20
167+(3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 21
168+maintain the public education system; 22
169+(4) a summary of implementation and utilization of the consortium 23
170+established under AS 14.30.800, including a review of consortium effectiveness and 24
171+the participation rates of districts, teachers, and students; 25
172+(5) the information reported to the department under 26
173+AS 14.03.300(c). 27
174+ * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.168, as amended by sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 28
175+Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 29
176+day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 30
177+person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 31 33-LS1578\B
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180-(3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 1
181-maintain the public education system; 2
182-(4) the information included in the report created under 3
183-AS 14.03.300(c); 4
184-(5) the information reported to the department under 5
185-AS 14.03.300(d). 6
186- * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.300(b) is repealed. 7
187- * Sec. 7. Section 5 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 8
188-2022. 9
189- * Sec. 8. Except as provided in sec. 7 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 10
190-AS 01.10.070(c). 11
181+report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 1
182+improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 2
183+bylaws of the board. The report must include 3
184+(1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 4
185+policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 5
186+(2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 6
187+recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 7
188+(3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 8
189+maintain the public education system; 9
190+(4) the information reported to the department under 10
191+AS 14.03.300(c). 11
192+ * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.300(b) is repealed. 12
193+ * Sec. 7. Section 5 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 13
194+2022. 14
195+ * Sec. 8. Except as provided in sec. 7 of this Act, this Act takes effect immediately under 15
196+AS 01.10.070(c). 16