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CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 52(FIN)
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
Offered: 5/10/23
Referred: Today's Calendar
Sponsor(s): SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to education; requiring the Department of Education and Early 1
Development to provide information relating to public schools on an Internet website; 2
relating to information on the post-secondary education, career path, and residency of 3
graduates from high schools in the state; relating to transportation of students; relating 4
to state funding for districts operating residential schools; increasing the base student 5
allocation; and providing for an effective date." 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 7
* Section 1. AS 14.03.120 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 8
(k) The department shall establish and maintain a user-friendly Internet 9
website that allows a member of the public to view and download information 10
described in this subsection and to make recommendations relating to improving 11
public education in the state. The information on the Internet website must be 12
presented in a fashion that is easily understood. To the extent practicable, and without 13 33-LS0369\D
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disclosing information that is confidential under state or federal law, the department 1
shall make the following information available on the Internet website: 2
(1) reports required under this section and AS 14.03.078; 3
(2) copies of audits made under AS 14.14.050; and 4
(3) a description of how each district is addressing the needs of 5
students who receive special education services. 6
(l) A district may provide on the district's Internet website a link to the 7
Internet website described in (k) of this section. 8
(m) The department shall collaborate with the Department of Labor and 9
Workforce Development under AS 44.31.020 to gather data on the progress of each 10
high school graduating class in a district by collecting career, postsecondary 11
education, and residency data on each student in the graduating class. The departments 12
shall gather the data every five years for 20 years after the high school graduation date 13
of the class. 14
* Sec. 2. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 15, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 15
(a) The department shall 16
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 17
except the University of Alaska; 18
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 19
adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 20
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 21
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 22
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 23
preparatory courses; 24
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 25
governing bodies and personnel; 26
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 27
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 28
given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 29
(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Family a
nd 30
Community Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held 31 33-LS0369\D
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in juvenile detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are 1
defined in AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 2
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 3
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 4
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 5
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 6
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 7
the members of each house; 8
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 9
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 10
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 11
physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 12
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 13
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 14
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 15
a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education 16
program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the 17
board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if 18
the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under 19
AS 14.07.165(a)(5); 20
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 21
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 22
educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 23
Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 24
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 25
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 26
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 27
licensed; 28
(11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 29
secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 30
elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 31 33-LS0369\D
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department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 1
construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 2
include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 3
and costs, and final contract documents; 4
(12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 5
education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 6
are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 7
unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 8
will lead to employment opportunities; 9
(13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 10
(14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 11
school bus driver training course; 12
(15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 13
and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 14
behavior; 15
(16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 16
under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 17
practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 18
(A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 19
and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 20
(B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 21
AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 22
consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 23
increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 24
arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 25
(C) a process for districts to petition the department for 26
continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 27
(17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 28
education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 29
redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15);
30
(18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and 31 33-LS0369\D
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intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described 1
in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; 2
(19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to 3
review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department 4
and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410, 14.03.420, 5
AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel 6
(A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, 7
the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and 8
reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs 9
focused on cultural education within the department; 10
(B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native 11
languages and other non-English languages; 12
(C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and 13
include teachers of grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, 14
parents of students in grades kindergarten through three, stakeholders from 15
indigenous language immersion programs, representatives from early 16
education stakeholder groups, and researchers of best practices for improving 17
literacy performance, including best practices for instruction of indigenous 18
students and students whose first language is not English; 19
(20) collaborate with the Department of Labor and Workforce 20
Development to gather data on the progress of each high school graduating class 21
as required under AS 14.03.120(m). 22
* Sec. 3. AS 14.07.020(a), as amended by sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 23
(a) The department shall 24
(1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 25
except the University of Alaska; 26
(2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 27
adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 28
performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 29
of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 30
develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 31 33-LS0369\D
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preparatory courses; 1
(3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 2
governing bodies and personnel; 3
(4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 4
schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 5
given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 6
(5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Family and 7
Community Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held 8
in juvenile detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are 9
defined in AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 10
(6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 11
prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 12
department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 13
session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 14
whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 15
the members of each house; 16
(7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 17
marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 18
conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 19
physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 20
private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 21
(8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 22
receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 23
a school district for students four and five years of age; 24
(9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 25
correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 26
educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 27
Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 28
(10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 29
accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the departm
ent; nothing in this 30
paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 31 33-LS0369\D
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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-LS0369\D
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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) collaborate with the Department of Labor and Workforce 4
Development to gather data on the progress of each high school graduating class 5
as required under AS 14.03.120(m). 6
* Sec. 4. AS 14.09.010(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 7
(a) A school district that provides student transportation services for the 8
transportation of students who reside a distance from established schools is eligible to 9
receive funding for operating or subcontracting the operation of the transportation 10
system for students to and from the schools within the student's transportation service 11
area. Subject to appropriation, the amount of funding provided by the state for 12
operating the student transportation system is the amount of a school district's ADM, 13
less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during the current fiscal year, 14
multiplied by the per student amount for the school district as follows, for the school 15
years beginning July 1, 2023: 16
DISTRICT PER STUDENT AMOUNT 17
Alaska Gateway $2,536 18
Aleutians East 378 19
Anchorage 531 20
Annette Island 222 21
Bering Strait 60 22
Bristol Bay 3,257 23
Chatham 342 24
Copper River 1,934 25
Cordova 409 26
Craig 515 27
Delta/Greely 2,019 28
Denali 2,203 29
Dillingham 1,484 30
Fairbanks 995 31 33-LS0369\D
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Galena 310 1
Haines 763 2
Hoonah 364 3
Iditarod 258 4
Juneau 735 5
Kake 331 6
Kashunamiut 6 7
Kenai Peninsula 1,115 8
Ketchikan 886 9
Klawock 712 10
Kodiak Island 974 11
Kuspuk 797 12
Lake and Peninsula 468 13
Lower Kuskokwim 338 14
Lower Yukon 1 15
Matanuska-Susitna 1,109 16
Nenana 716 17
Nome 757 18
North Slope 1,365 19
Northwest Arctic 30 20
Pelican 88 21
Petersburg 457 22
Saint Mary's 235 23
Sitka 522 24
Skagway 44 25
Southeast Island 1,408 26
Southwest Region 728 27
Tanana 581 28
Unalaska 790 29
Valdez 897 30
Wrangell 854 31 33-LS0369\D
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Yakutat 907 1
Yukon Flats 322 2
Yukon/Koyukuk 365 3
Yupiit 2. 4
* Sec. 5. AS 14.16.200(b) is amended to read: 5
(b) Costs that may be claimed by a district for reimbursement under (a) of this 6
section are 7
(1) one round trip on the least expensive means of transportation 8
between the student's community of residence and the school during the school year if 9
the district expends money for the trip; and 10
(2) a per-pupil monthly stipend to cover room and board expenses as 11
determined by the department on a regional basis and not to exceed the following 12
amounts: 13
(A) for the Southeast Region (Region I), $1,845 [$1,230]; 14
(B) for the Southcentral Region (Region II), $1,800 [$1,200]; 15
(C) for the Interior Region (Region III), $2,178 [$1,452]; 16
(D) for the Southwest Region (Region IV), $2,264 [$1,509]; 17
(E) for the Northern Remote Region (Region V), $2,664 18
[$1,776]. 19
* Sec. 6. AS 14.17.470, as amended by sec. 26, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 20
Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $6,640 21
[$5,960]. 22
* Sec. 7. AS 44.31.020 is amended to read: 23
Sec. 44.31.020. Duties of department. The Department of Labor and 24
Workforce Development shall 25
(1) enforce the laws and adopt regulations under them concerning 26
employer-employee relationships, including the safety, hours of work, wages, and 27
conditions of workers, including children; 28
(2) accumulate, analyze, and report labor statistics; 29
(3) operate systems of workers' compensation and unemployment 30
insurance; 31 33-LS0369\D
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(4) gather data reflecting the cost of living in various locations of the 1
state upon request of the director of personnel under AS 39.27.030; 2
(5) operate the federally funded employment and training programs 3
under 29 U.S.C. 2801 - 2945 (Workforce Investment Act of 1998); 4
(6) administer the state's program of adult basic education and adopt 5
regulations to administer the program; and 6
(7) administer the programs of the Alaska Vocational Technical Center 7
and adopt regulations to administer the programs, including regulations that set rates 8
for student tuition and room and board and fees for the programs and services 9
provided by the department regarding the Alaska Vocational Technical Center; 10
(8) gather data on the progress of each high school graduating 11
class in a district by collecting career, postsecondary education, and residency 12
data on each student in the graduating class; the department shall gather the 13
data required under this paragraph every five years for 20 years after the high 14
school graduation date of each high school graduating class; the department shall 15
publish a biennial report on the data gathered under this paragraph; in this 16
paragraph, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990. 17
* Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18
read: 19
RETROACTIVITY. Section 4 of this Act is retroactive to July 1, 2023. 20
* Sec. 9. Section 3 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 16, ch. 40, SLA 21
2022. 22
* Sec. 10. Sections 4 - 6 and 8 of this Act take effect on the effective date of sec. 26, ch. 40, 23
SLA 2022. 24
* Sec. 11. AS 14.03.120(k) and (l), enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, take effect July 1, 2024. 25
* Sec. 12. AS 14.03.120(m), enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, and secs. 2 and 7 of this Act take 26
effect July 1, 2025. 27