00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 278(FIN) 01 "An Act increasing the base student allocation used in the formula for state funding of 02 public education; relating to the exemption from jury service for certain teachers; 03 relating to the powers of the Department of Education and Early Development; relating 04 to high school course credit earned through assessment; relating to school performance 05 reports; relating to assessments; relating to charter schools and student transportation; 06 relating to residential school applications; relating to tenure of public school teachers; 07 relating to unemployment contributions for the Alaska technical and vocational 08 education program; relating to earning high school credit for completion of vocational 09 education courses offered by institutions receiving technical and vocational education 10 program funding; relating to schools operated by a federal agency; relating to the school 11 size factor for public school funding; adjusting the calculation of state aid for public 12 school funding; relating to the local contribution to public education funding; relating to 01 the withholding of state aid to public education for teacher retirement contributions; 02 relating to the teachers' defined benefit retirement plan; establishing the teachers' 03 pension reserve fund; relating to education tax credits; establishing an optional 04 municipal tax exemption for privately owned real property rented or leased for use as a 05 charter school; requiring the Department of Administration to provide a proposal for a 06 salary and benefits schedule for school districts; making conforming amendments; and 07 providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09  * Section 1. AS 09.20.030(b) is amended to read: 10 (b) A person may claim exemption and shall be excused by the court from 11 service as a juror during the school term if it is shown that the person is a teacher in a 12 school that is designated as a low performing school under regulations adopted by  13 the state Board of Education and Early Development [FAILING TO MAKE 14 ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS UNDER P.L. 107-110]. In this subsection, 15 "teacher" means a person who serves a school district in a teaching capacity in a 16 classroom setting and is required to be certificated in order to hold the position. 17  * Sec. 2. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18 Sec. 14.03.073. Secondary school course credit. (a) A school district shall 19 provide the opportunity for students enrolled in a secondary school in the district to 20 challenge a course provided by the district by demonstrating mastery in mathematics, 21 language arts, science, social studies, and world languages at the level of the course 22 challenged. A school district shall give full credit for a course to a student who 23 successfully challenges that course as provided under this section. 24 (b) A school district shall establish, within a reasonable time, an assessment 25 tool and a standard for demonstrating mastery in secondary school courses provided 26 by the district that are likely to be or have been the subject of a challenge requested 27 under this section. 28 (c) The board shall adopt regulations to implement this section. 01 (d) In this section, "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350. 02  * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.078 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 14.03.078. Report. The department shall provide to the legislature by 04 February 15 of each year an annual report regarding the progress of each school and 05 school district toward high academic performance by all students. The report required 06 under this section must include 07 (1) information described under AS 14.03.120(d); 08 (2) the number and percentage of students in each school who pass the 09 examination required under AS 14.03.075, and the number who pass each section of 10 the examination; 11 (3) progress of the department 12 (A) toward implementing the school accountability provisions 13 of AS 14.03.123; and 14 (B) in assisting high schools to become accredited; 15 (4) a description of the resources provided to each school and school 16 district for coordinated school improvement activities and staff training in each school 17 and school district; 18 (5) each school district's and each school's progress in aligning 19 curriculum with state education performance standards; 20 (6) a description of the efforts by the department to assist a public 21 school or school district that receives a low performance designation under  22 AS 14.03.123 [OF DEFICIENT OR IN CRISIS]; 23 (7) a description of intervention efforts by each school district and 24 school for students who are not meeting state performance standards; 25 (8) the number and percentage of turnover in certificated personnel and 26 superintendents; 27 (9) the number of teachers by district and by school who are teaching 28 outside the teacher's area of endorsement but in areas tested by the high school 29 competency examination. 30  * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.083 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (d) The department and the state Board of Education and Early Development 01 may not enter into or renew a contract or agreement, or participate, with any 02 organization, entity, group, or consortium after the effective date of this section that 03 requires the state to cede any measure of autonomy or control over education 04 standards and assessments, including the determination of passing scores. 05  * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 06 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 07 public school shall deliver to the department for posting on the department's Internet 08 website and provide, in a public meeting of parents, students, and community 09 members, a report on the school's performance and the performance of the school's 10 students. The report shall be prepared on a form prescribed by the department and 11 must include 12 (1) information on accreditation; 13 (2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests; 14 (3) results of state standards-based assessments in language arts 15 [READING, WRITING,] and mathematics; 16 (4) a description, including quantitative and qualitative measures, of 17 student, parent, community, and business involvement in student learning; 18 (5) a description of the school's attendance, retention, dropout, and 19 graduation rates, including the number and percentage of students who received a 20 diploma under a waiver from the competency examination required under 21 AS 14.03.075(a), as specified by the state board; 22 (6) the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, and 23 the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the 24 school district; 25 (7) if Native language education is provided, a summary and 26 evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420; 27 (8) the number and percentage of students in each school who take and 28 who successfully complete an alternative assessment program in reading, English, or 29 mathematics; and the number and percentage of pupils in each school who 30 successfully complete the alternative assessment program but who do not reach the 31 state performance standards at the competency exam level in reading, English, or 01 mathematics; a school may not report results under this paragraph unless the school 02 complies with the family educational rights and privacy requirements of 34 C.F.R. 99; 03 (9) the performance designation assigned the school under 04 AS 14.03.123 and the methodology used to assign the performance designation, 05 including the measures used and their relative weights; [AND] 06 (10) other information concerning school performance and the 07 performance of the school's students as required by the state board in regulation; and 08 (11) information on the number, attendance, and performance of  09 students enrolled in the school whose parents or guardians are on active duty in  10 the armed forces of the United States, the United States Coast Guard, the Alaska  11 National Guard, the Alaska Naval Militia, or the Alaska State Defense Force. 12  * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.123(f) is amended to read: 13 (f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this 14 section, the department shall 15 (1) implement 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (Elementary and Secondary 16 Education Act of 1965), as amended; 17 (2) implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including 18 the use of 19 (A) measures of student performance on standards-based 20 assessments in language arts [READING, WRITING,] and mathematics, and 21 including competency tests required under AS 14.03.075; 22 (B) measures of student improvement; and 23 (C) other measures identified that are indicators of student 24 success and achievement; and 25 (3) to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on 26 districts. 27  * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.250 is repealed and reenacted to read: 28 Sec. 14.03.250. Application for charter school. (a) A local school board shall 29 prescribe an application procedure for the establishment of a charter school in that 30 school district. The application procedure must include provisions for an academic 31 policy committee consisting of parents of students attending the school, teachers, and 01 school employees and a proposed form for a contract between a charter school and the 02 local school board, setting out the contract elements required under AS 14.03.255(c). 03 (b) A decision of a local school board approving or denying an application for 04 a charter school must be in writing, must be issued within 60 days after the 05 application, and must include all relevant findings of fact and conclusions of law. 06 (c) If a local school board approves an application for a charter school, the 07 local school board shall forward the application to the state Board of Education and 08 Early Development for review and approval. 09 (d) If a local school board denies an application for a charter school, the 10 applicant may appeal the denial to the commissioner. The appeal to the commissioner 11 shall be filed not later than 60 days after the local school board issues its written 12 decision of denial. The commissioner shall review the local school board's decision to 13 determine whether the findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence and 14 whether the decision is contrary to law. A decision of the commissioner upholding the 15 denial by the local school board may be appealed within 30 days to the state Board of 16 Education and Early Development. 17 (e) If the commissioner approves a charter school application, the 18 commissioner shall forward the application to the state Board of Education and Early 19 Development for review and approval. The application shall be forwarded not later 20 than 30 days after the commissioner issues a written decision. The state Board of 21 Education and Early Development shall exercise independent judgment in evaluating 22 the application. 23 (f) A local school board that denied an application for a charter school 24 approved by the state board on appeal shall operate the charter school as provided in 25 AS 14.03.255 - 14.03.290. 26  * Sec. 8. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 27 Sec. 14.03.253. Charter school application appeal. (a) In an appeal to the 28 commissioner under AS 14.03.250, the commissioner shall review the record before 29 the local school board. The commissioner may request written supplementation of the 30 record from the applicant or the local school board. The commissioner may 31 (1) remand the appeal to the local school board for further review; 01 (2) approve the charter school application and forward the application 02 to the state Board of Education and Early Development with or without added 03 conditions; or 04 (3) uphold the decision denying the charter school application; if the 05 commissioner upholds a local school board's decision to deny a charter school 06 application and the applicant appeals to the State Board of Education and Early 07 Development, the commissioner shall immediately forward the application and record 08 to the state Board of Education and Early Development. 09 (b) In an appeal to the state Board of Education and Early Development of a 10 denial of a charter school application under (a)(3) of this section, the state board shall 11 determine, based on the record, whether the commissioner's findings are supported by 12 substantial evidence and whether the decision is contrary to law. The state board shall 13 issue a written decision within 90 days after an appeal. 14  * Sec. 9. AS 14.03.255(d) is amended to read: 15 (d) A school district shall offer to a charter school the right of first refusal  16 for a lease of space [CHARTER SCHOOL MAY BE OPERATED] in an existing 17 school district facility or in a facility within the school district that is not currently 18 being used as a public school, if the chief school administrator determines the facility 19 meets requirements for health and safety applicable to public buildings or other public 20 schools in the district. If the school district requires lease payments by a charter  21 school, the school district shall negotiate a lease agreement with the charter  22 school for an amount that does not exceed the true operational costs calculated  23 on a square foot basis for space leased under this subsection. 24  * Sec. 10. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 26 annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the 27 students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local 28 school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the 29 department up to 4 percent. A local school board shall provide a charter school  30 with a report itemizing the administrative costs retained by the local school  31 board under this section [DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY 01 DEVELOPMENT]. The "amount generated by students enrolled in the charter school" 02 is to be determined in the same manner as it would be for a student enrolled in another 03 public school in that school district and includes funds generated by special needs  04 under AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and secondary school vocational and technical  05 instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3). A school district shall direct state aid under  06 AS 14.11 for the construction or major maintenance of a charter school facility to  07 the charter school that generated the state aid, subject to the same terms and  08 conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for construction or major  09 maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school. 10  * Sec. 11. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Sec. 14.03.263. Charter school grant program. (a) A charter school that is 12 established on or after the effective date of this section may receive a one-time grant 13 from the department equal to the amount of $500 for each student enrolled in the 14 school on October 1 of the first year in which the school applies for the grant. The 15 charter school shall use a grant received under this section to provide educational 16 services. In this subsection, "educational services" includes curriculum development, 17 program development, and special education services. 18 (b) The department shall establish by regulation procedures for the application 19 for and expenditure of grant funds under (a) of this section. 20 (c) If the amount appropriated in a fiscal year for the charter school grant 21 program is insufficient to meet the amounts authorized under (a) of this section, the 22 department shall reduce pro rata the per pupil grant amount by the necessary 23 percentage as determined by the department. If a charter school grant is reduced under 24 this subsection, the charter school may apply to the department in a subsequent fiscal 25 year for the balance of the grant amount. 26  * Sec. 12. AS 14.07.020(a)(16) is amended to read: 27 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 28 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 29 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 30 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 31 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 01 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 02 AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 03 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 04 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language  05 arts and mathematics, [READING, AND WRITING] as provided in 06 AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A); and 07 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 08 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 09  * Sec. 13. AS 14.07.020(b) is amended to read: 10 (b) In implementing its duties under (a)(2) of this section, the department may  11 not spend money on implementing standards that are based on the Common  12 Core State Standards Initiative and shall develop 13 (1) performance standards in language arts [READING, WRITING,] 14 and mathematics to be met at designated age levels by each student in public schools 15 in the state; and 16 (2) a comprehensive system of student assessments, composed of 17 multiple indicators of proficiency in language arts [READING, WRITING,] and 18 mathematics; this comprehensive system must 19 (A) be made available to all districts and regional educational 20 attendance areas; 21 (B) include a developmental profile for students entering 22 kindergarten or first grade; and 23 (C) include performance standards in language arts 24 [READING, WRITING,] and mathematics for students in age groups five 25 through seven, eight through 10, and 11 - 14. 26  * Sec. 14. AS 14.07.168 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 28 day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 29 person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 30 report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 31 improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 01 bylaws of the board. The report must include 02 (1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 03 policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 04 (2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 05 recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 06 (3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 07 maintain the public education system; 08 (4) recommendations for changes in the method of education  09 spending by the state and school districts that result in improved efficiencies in  10 and administration of public education in the state. 11  * Sec. 15. AS 14.09.010 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 12 (e) A school district that provides transportation services under this section 13 shall provide transportation services to students attending a charter school operated by 14 the district under a policy adopted by the district. The policy must 15 (1) be developed with input solicited from individuals involved with 16 the charter school, including staff, students, and parents; 17 (2) at a minimum, provide transportation services for students enrolled 18 in the charter school on a space available basis along the regular routes that the 19 students attending schools in an attendance area in the district are transported; and 20 (3) be approved by the department. 21 (f) If a school district fails to adopt a policy under (e) of this section, the 22 school district shall allocate the amount received for each student under (a) of this 23 section to each charter school operated by the district based on the number of students 24 enrolled in the charter school. 25 (g) Nothing in (e) of this section requires a school district to establish 26 dedicated transportation routes for the exclusive use of students enrolled in a charter 27 school or authorizes a charter school to opt out of a policy adopted by a school district 28 for the purpose of acquiring transportation funding. 29  * Sec. 16. AS 14.16.050(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) The following provisions apply with respect to the operation and 31 management of a state boarding school as if it were a school district: 01 (1) requirements relating to school district operations: 02 (A) AS 14.03.030 - 14.03.050 (defining the school term, day in 03 session, and school holidays); 04 (B) AS 14.03.073 and 14.03.083 - 14.03.140 [AS 14.03.083 - 05 14.03.140] (miscellaneous provisions applicable to school district operations); 06 (C) regulations adopted by the board under authority of 07 AS 14.07.020(a) that are applicable to school districts and their schools, unless 08 the board specifically exempts state boarding schools from compliance with a 09 regulation; 10 (D) AS 14.12.150 (authorizing school districts to establish and 11 participate in the services of a regional resource center); 12 (E) AS 14.14.050 (imposing the requirement of an annual 13 audit); 14 (F) AS 14.14.110 (authorizing cooperation with other school 15 districts); 16 (G) AS 14.14.140(b) (establishing a prohibition on 17 employment of a relative of the chief school administrator); 18 (H) AS 14.18 (prohibiting discrimination based on sex in 19 public education); 20 (2) requirements relating to the public school funding program and the 21 receipt and expenditure of that funding: 22 (A) AS 14.17.500 (relating to student count estimates); 23 (B) AS 14.17.505 (relating to school operating fund balances); 24 (C) AS 14.17.500 - 14.17.910 (setting out the procedure for 25 payment of public school funding and imposing general requirements and 26 limits on money paid); 27 (3) requirements relating to teacher employment and retirement: 28 (A) AS 14.14.105 and 14.14.107 (relating to sick leave); 29 (B) AS 14.20.095 - 14.20.215 (relating to the employment and 30 tenure of teachers); 31 (C) AS 14.20.220 (relating to the salaries of teachers 01 employed); 02 (D) AS 14.20.280 - 14.20.350 (relating to sabbatical leave 03 provisions for teachers); 04 (E) AS 23.40.070 - 23.40.260 (authorizing collective 05 bargaining by certificated employees), except with regard to teachers who are 06 administrators and except that the board may delegate some or all of its 07 responsibilities under those statutes; 08 (F) AS 14.25 (provisions regarding the teachers' retirement 09 system); 10 (4) requirements relating to students and educational programs: 11 (A) AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350 (relating to educational services 12 for children with disabilities); 13 (B) AS 14.30.360 - 14.30.370 (establishing health education 14 program standards); 15 (C) AS 14.30.400 - 14.30.410 (relating to bilingual and 16 bicultural education). 17  * Sec. 17. AS 14.16 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: 18 Sec. 14.16.100. Application for residential school. A school district shall 19 apply to the department for approval to establish and operate a statewide or district- 20 wide residential school. The department shall accept applications during an open 21 application period conducted annually. A period of open application in itself does not 22 indicate that the department will approve the establishment of a new residential 23 school. 24  * Sec. 18. AS 14.17.300(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) The public education fund is established. The fund consists of 26 appropriations for 27 (1) distribution to school districts, to the state boarding school, and for 28 centralized correspondence study under this chapter; [AND] 29 (2) transportation of pupils under AS 14.09.010; and 30 (3) the teachers' retirement system. 31  * Sec. 19. AS 14.17.410(b) is amended to read: 01 (b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, 02 and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: 03 (1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 04 90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum 05 obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out 06 in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 07 (A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 08 applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 09 (B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is 10 multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 11 (C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted 12 according to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then 13 multiplied by the special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and the 14 secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in 15 AS 14.17.420(a)(3); 16 (D) the number obtained for intensive services under 17 AS 14.17.420(a)(2), [AND] the number obtained for correspondence study 18 under AS 14.17.430, and the number obtained under (E) of this paragraph, 19 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph; 20 (E) if the commissioner of administration or the  21 commissioner's designee under AS 14.25.003 determines that the defined  22 benefit plan under AS 14.25.009 - 14.25.220 has an unfunded liability, the  23 commissioner shall determine a teachers' retirement cost adjustment  24 equal to the annual rate applied under AS 14.25.070(a) for the ensuing  25 fiscal year minus 12.56 percent, multiplied by the estimated total of all  26 base salaries paid by the employer to active members of the teachers'  27 retirement system (AS 14.25) for the ensuing fiscal year, and divided by  28 the base student allocation under AS 14.17.470;  29 (F) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if a school 30 district's ADM adjusted for school size under (A) of this paragraph decreases 31 by five percent or more from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year, the school 01 district may use the last fiscal year before the decrease as a base fiscal year to 02 offset the decrease, according to the following method: 03 (i) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year 04 determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 05 for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 06 the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 75 percent of the 07 difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 08 base fiscal year and the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 09 (ii) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year 10 determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 11 for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 12 the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 50 percent of the 13 difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 14 base fiscal year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 15 (iii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year 16 determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted 17 for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as 18 the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 25 percent of the 19 difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the 20 base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year; 21 (G) [(F)] the method established in (F) [(E)] of this paragraph 22 is available to a school district for the three fiscal years following the base 23 fiscal year determined under (F) [(E)] of this paragraph only if the district's 24 ADM adjusted for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph for each 25 fiscal year is less than the district's ADM adjusted for school size in the base 26 fiscal year; 27 (H) [(G)] the method established in (F) [(E)] of this paragraph 28 does not apply to a decrease in the district's ADM adjusted for school size 29 resulting from a loss of enrollment that occurs as a result of a boundary change 30 under AS 29; 31 (2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district is 01 the equivalent of a 2.65 mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and 02 personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as 03 determined by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic 04 Development under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, not to exceed 40 [45] percent of 05 a district's basic need for the preceding fiscal year as determined under (1) of this 06 subsection. 07  * Sec. 20. AS 14.17.450(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) For purposes of calculating a school's ADM to determine state aid, the 09 ADM of each school in a district shall be computed by applying the following 10 formula: 11 If the student count The adjusted student count is 12 in a school is The number of 13 students in 14 At least But less than Base Multiplier excess of 15 10 - 20 39.6 16 20 - 30 39.6 + (1.62 x 20) 17 30 - 75 55.8 + (1.49 x 30) 18 75 - 150 122.85 + (1.27 x 75) 19 150 - 250 218.1 + (1.08 x 150) 20 250 or over [- 400] 326.1 + (0.97 x 250) 21 [400 - 750 471.6 + (0.92 x 400) 22 750 OR OVER 793.6 + (0.84 x 750)]. 23  * Sec. 21. AS 14.17.470 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,865 25 [$5,680]. 26  * Sec. 22. AS 14.17.470, as amended by sec. 21 of this Act, is amended to read: 27 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,923 28 [$5,865]. 29  * Sec. 23. AS 14.17.470, as amended by secs. 21 and 22 of this Act, is amended to read: 30 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,981 31 [$5,923]. 01  * Sec. 24. AS 14.17.610 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 02 (d) Notwithstanding the distribution required under (a) and (b) of this section, 03 the department may withhold from a school district an amount of state aid calculated 04 under AS 14.17.410(b)(1) for the school district that is equivalent to the projected 05 annual employer contribution to the teachers' retirement system calculated under 06 AS 14.25.070(a), including the amount added as a result of the teachers' retirement 07 cost adjustment under AS 14.17.410(b)(1)(E). If the department withholds state aid 08 under this subsection, the department shall 09 (1) on July 1, or as soon after July 1 as funds become available, 10 transmit the withheld funds to the teachers' retirement system for deposit into the 11 teachers' retirement trust fund; and 12 (2) in the last month of the fiscal year in which the funds were 13 withheld, distribute the balance of funds as necessary to make up the difference 14 between the amount withheld and the total annual amount owed under 15 AS 14.25.070(a) for employer contributions by the district. 16  * Sec. 25. AS 14.20.150(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) Except as provided in (c) or (d) of this section, a teacher acquires tenure 18 rights in a district when the teacher 19 (1) possesses a valid teaching certificate that authorizes the teacher to 20 be employed as a certificated teacher or as an administrator under regulations adopted 21 by the department; 22 (2) has been employed as a teacher in the same district continuously 23 for five [THREE] full school years; 24 (3) receives, in the fifth [THIRD] year of any five-year [THREE- 25 YEAR] period of continuous employment with the district, an evaluation under the 26 district's evaluation system stating that the teacher's performance meets the district 27 performance standards; and 28 (4) on or before October 15 of the school year, 29 (A) accepts a contract for employment as a teacher in the 30 district for a sixth [FOURTH] consecutive school year; and 31 (B) performs a day of teaching services in the district during 01 that school year. 02  * Sec. 26. AS 14.20.150 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 03 (f) For teachers employed by a rural school district, the years of employment 04 required to acquire tenure rights as provided in (a) of this section shall be reduced by 05 two years. In this subsection, "rural school district" means a regional educational 06 attendance area or a school district located in a small borough or first class city with a 07 population of less than 5,500. 08  * Sec. 27. AS 14.25.070(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) Each employer shall contribute to the system every payroll period an 10 amount calculated by applying [A RATE OF 12.56 PERCENT] to the total of all base 11 salaries paid by the employer to active members of the system an annual rate that is  12 the lesser of  13 (1) 32.56 percent; or  14 (2) a rate calculated by dividing the total pension benefits the  15 administrator expects to be paid from the plan for the ensuing fiscal year minus  16 employee contributions the administrator expects to be made to the plan for the  17 ensuing fiscal year, by the total of all base salaries the employer expects to pay to  18 active members of the system for the ensuing fiscal year [, INCLUDING ANY 19 ADJUSTMENTS TO CONTRIBUTIONS REQUIRED BY AS 14.25.173(a)]. 20  * Sec. 28. AS 14.25.070 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 21 (i) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, if the department withholds funds for 22 contribution to the teachers' retirement system under AS 14.17.610(d), the department 23 shall transmit the funds to the administrator for deposit in the teachers' retirement trust 24 fund. The administrator shall allocate the contributions received from the department 25 for full payment of employer contributions as provided in (b)(1) and (2) of this 26 section. 27  * Sec. 29. AS 14.25.085 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 14.25.085. Additional state contributions. In addition to the 29 contributions that the state is required to make under AS 14.25.070 as an employer, 30 the state shall contribute annually to the plan on [EACH] July 1 or, if funds are not 31 available on July 1, as soon after July 1 as funds become available, an amount for the 01 ensuing fiscal year that, when combined with the corpus of the plan's trust fund,  02 money appropriated to the plan for the ensuing fiscal year from the teachers'  03 pension reserve fund established under AS 37.14.900, the total of contributions  04 the administrator estimates will be made by members under AS 14.25.050 for the  05 ensuing fiscal year, and the total employer contributions that the administrator 06 estimates will be allocated under AS 14.25.070(c) for the ensuing fiscal year, is 07 sufficient to pay the pension benefits that the administrator estimates will become  08 payable under the plan for the ensuing [PLAN'S PAST SERVICE LIABILITY AT 09 THE CONTRIBUTION RATE ADOPTED BY THE BOARD UNDER AS 37.10.220 10 FOR THAT] fiscal year. 11  * Sec. 30. AS 23.15.835(d) is amended to read: 12 (d) Notwithstanding AS 23.15.840(a), for the fiscal years ending June 30, 13 2009, through June 30, 2017 [2014], the money collected under this section or 14 otherwise appropriated to the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, formerly known as 15 the Alaska Human Resource Investment Council, shall be allocated directly in the 16 following percentages to the following institutions for programs consistent with 17 AS 23.15.820 - 23.15.850 and capital improvements: 18 University of Alaska 45 percent 19 University of Alaska Southeast 5 percent 20 Galena Project Education Vocational Training Center 4 percent 21 Kotzebue Technical Center 9 percent 22 Alaska Vocational Technical Center 17 percent 23 Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center 3 percent 24 Southwest Alaska Vocational and Education Center 3 percent 25 Yuut Elitnaurviat, Inc. People's Learning Center 9 percent 26 Delta Career Advancement Center 3 percent 27 New Frontier Vocational Technical Center 2 percent. 28  * Sec. 31. AS 23.15.835(e) is amended to read: 29 (e) The institutions receiving funding under (d) of this section shall provide an 30 expenditure and performance report to the department by November 1 of each year 31 that includes [THE] 01 (1) the percentage of former participants in the program who have jobs 02 one year after leaving the program; 03 (2) the median wage of former participants seven to 12 months after 04 leaving the program; 05 (3) the percentage of former participants who were employed after 06 leaving the program who received training under the program that was related or 07 somewhat related to the former participants' jobs seven to 12 months after leaving the 08 program; 09 (4) a description of each vocational education course funded  10 through the allocation set out in (d) of this section that permits high school  11 students to earn dual credit upon course completion, and the number of high  12 school students who earned dual credit in the past year;  13 (5) a copy of any articulation agreement established under (g) of  14 this section that either was in effect for the preceding year or is in process for the  15 next year of funding, and the number of high school students who earned dual  16 credit under each articulation agreement; and  17 (6) the performance and financial information needed to verify the  18 performance of the program as specified by the department by regulation 19 [PERCENTAGE OF FORMER PARTICIPANTS WHO INDICATE SOME LEVEL 20 OF SATISFACTION WITH THE TRAINING RECEIVED UNDER THE 21 PROGRAM; AND 22 (5) PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYERS WHO INDICATE 23 SATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH THE 24 PROGRAM]. 25  * Sec. 32. AS 23.15.835 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 26 (g) The institutions receiving funding under (d) of this section shall establish 27 and maintain at least one articulation agreement under which dual credit may be 28 earned by high school students upon completion of a vocational education course. 29 (h) An institution's failure to comply with (e) or (g) of this section shall result 30 in a withholding penalty of 20 percent of the funding allocated under (d) of this 31 section in the following year. 01  * Sec. 33. AS 23.15.850 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 02 (3) "articulation agreement" means a dual-credit partnership between a 03 school district and an institution receiving funding under AS 23.15.835(d) that 04 describes vocational education courses, student eligibility, course location, academic 05 policies, student support services, credit on a student's transcript, funding, and other 06 items required by the partnering institutions; 07 (4) "dual credit" means simultaneous high school credit and credit 08 toward a career or vocational certification. 09  * Sec. 34. AS 29.45.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (v) A municipality may by ordinance classify and exempt or partially exempt 11 from taxation all or a portion of privately owned real property rented or leased for use 12 as a charter school established under AS 14.03.250. 13  * Sec. 35. AS 37.10.210(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) The Alaska Retirement Management Board is established in the 15 Department of Revenue. The board's primary mission is to serve as the trustee of the 16 assets of the state's retirement systems, the State of Alaska Supplemental Annuity Plan 17 [,] and the deferred compensation program for state employees, the teachers' pension  18 reserve fund under AS 37.14.900, and the Alaska retiree health care trusts 19 established under AS 39.30.097. Consistent with standards of prudence, the board has 20 the fiduciary obligation to manage and invest these assets in a manner that is sufficient 21 to meet the liabilities and pension obligations of the systems, plan, program, and 22 trusts. The board may, with the approval of the commissioner of revenue and upon 23 agreement with the responsible fiduciary, manage and invest other state funds so long 24 as the activity does not interfere with the board's primary mission. In making 25 investments, the board shall exercise the powers and duties of a fiduciary of a state 26 fund under AS 37.10.071. 27  * Sec. 36. AS 37.10.220(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The board shall 29 (1) hold regular and special meetings at the call of the chair or of at 30 least five members; meetings are open to the public, and the board shall keep a full 31 record of all its proceedings; 01 (2) after reviewing recommendations from the Department of 02 Revenue, adopt investment policies for each of the funds entrusted to the board; 03 (3) determine the appropriate investment objectives for the defined 04 benefit plans established under the teachers' retirement system under AS 14.25 and the 05 public employees' retirement system under AS 39.35; 06 (4) assist in prescribing the policies for the proper operation of the 07 systems and take other actions necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of the 08 systems in accordance with AS 37.10.210 - 37.10.390; 09 (5) provide a range of investment options and establish the rules by 10 which participants can direct their investments among those options with respect to 11 accounts established under 12 (A) AS 14.25.340 - 14.25.350 (teachers' retirement system 13 defined contribution individual accounts); 14 (B) AS 39.30.150 - 39.30.180 (State of Alaska Supplementary 15 Annuity Plan); 16 (C) AS 39.35.730 - 39.35.750 (public employees' retirement 17 system defined contribution individual accounts); and 18 (D) AS 39.45.010 - 39.45.060 (public employees' deferred 19 compensation program); 20 (6) establish the rate of interest that shall be annually credited to each 21 member's individual contribution account in accordance with AS 14.25.145 and 22 AS 39.35.100 and the rate of interest that shall be annually credited to each member's 23 account in the health reimbursement arrangement plan under AS 39.30.300 - 24 39.30.495; the rate of interest shall be adopted on the basis of the probable effective 25 rate of interest on a long-term basis, and the rate may be changed from time to time; 26 (7) adopt a contribution surcharge as necessary under AS 39.35.160(c); 27 (8) coordinate with the retirement system administrator to have an 28 annual actuarial valuation of each retirement system prepared to determine system 29 assets, accrued liabilities, and funding ratios and to certify to the appropriate 30 budgetary authority of each employer in the system 31 [(A)] an appropriate contribution rate for normal costs; [AND 01 (B) AN APPROPRIATE CONTRIBUTION RATE FOR 02 LIQUIDATING ANY PAST SERVICE LIABILITY;] 03 (9) review actuarial assumptions prepared and certified by a member 04 of the American Academy of Actuaries and conduct experience analyses of the 05 retirement systems not less than once every four years, except for health cost 06 assumptions, which shall be reviewed annually; the results of all actuarial assumptions 07 prepared under this paragraph shall be reviewed and certified by a second member of 08 the American Academy of Actuaries before presentation to the board; 09 (10) contract for an independent audit of the state's actuary not less 10 than once every four years; 11 (11) contract for an independent audit of the state's performance 12 consultant not less than once every four years; 13 (12) obtain an external performance review to evaluate the investment 14 policies of each fund entrusted to the board and report the results of the review to the 15 appropriate fund fiduciary; 16 (13) by the first day of each regular legislative session, report to the 17 governor, the legislature, and the individual employers participating in the state's 18 retirement systems on the financial condition of the systems in regard to 19 (A) the valuation of trust fund assets and liabilities; 20 (B) current investment policies adopted by the board; 21 (C) a summary of assets held in trust listed by the categories of 22 investment; 23 (D) the income and expenditures for the previous fiscal year; 24 (E) the return projections for the next calendar year; 25 (F) one-year, three-year, five-year, and 10-year investment 26 performance for each of the funds entrusted to the board; and 27 (G) other statistical data necessary for a proper understanding 28 of the financial status of the systems; 29 (14) submit quarterly updates of the investment performance reports to 30 the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee; 31 (15) develop an annual operating budget; [AND] 01 (16) administer pension forfeitures required under AS 37.10.310 using 02 the procedures of AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act); and  03 (17) manage the teachers' pension reserve fund established under  04 AS 37.14.900. 05  * Sec. 37. AS 37.14 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Article 11. Teachers' Pension Reserve Fund.  07 Sec. 37.14.900. Teachers' pension reserve fund. (a) The teachers' pension 08 reserve fund is established in the general fund. The fund consists of money 09 appropriated to the fund and the accumulated earnings of the fund. Money 10 appropriated to the fund does not lapse. 11 (b) The legislature may appropriate money from the teachers' pension reserve 12 fund to the teachers' defined benefit retirement plan in AS 14.25.009 - 14.25.220. 13 Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. 14 (c) The Alaska Retirement Management Board shall manage the teachers' 15 pension reserve fund in accordance with AS 37.10.210(a) and 37.10.220(a). 16  * Sec. 38. AS 43.20.014(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) A taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter for 18 cash contributions accepted for 19 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 20 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 21 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 22 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  23 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 24 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 25 facilities by a school district in the state; 26 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 27 operated vocational technical education and training school; 28 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 29 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 30 regional accreditation association or by a public or private nonprofit elementary or  31 secondary school in the state; 01 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 02 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 03 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 04 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 05 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 06 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 07 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750;  08 (8) funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization to a  09 dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the cost of  10 (A) tuition and textbooks;  11 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  12 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  13 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  14 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  15 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  16 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  17 dual-credit course; and  18 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  19 (9) constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential housing  20 facility by a residential school in the state approved by the Department of  21 Education and Early Development under AS 14.16.200; 22 (10) childhood early learning and development programs and  23 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  24 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  25 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  26 Development, or through a state grant; and 27 (11) science, technology, engineering, and math programs  28 provided by a nonprofit agency or a school district for school staff and for  29 students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state. 30  * Sec. 39. AS 43.20.014(a), as amended by sec. 14, ch. 92, SLA 2010, sec. 14, ch. 7, 31 FSSLA 2011, and sec. 15, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 01 (a) A taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter for 02 cash contributions accepted 03 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 04 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 05 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 06 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  07 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 08 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 09 programs by a school district in the state; 10 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 11 school; [AND] 12 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 13 AS 37.14.750;  14 (5) for funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization  15 to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the  16 cost of  17 (A) tuition and textbooks;  18 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  19 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  20 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  21 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  22 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  23 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  24 dual-credit course; and  25 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  26 (6) for constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential  27 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education  28 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200; and 29 (7) for childhood early learning and development programs and  30 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  31 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  01 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  02 Development, or through a state grant.  03  * Sec. 40. AS 43.20.014(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 04 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 05 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 06 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 07 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 08 (Internal Revenue Code). 09  * Sec. 41. AS 43.65.018(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A person engaged in the business of mining in the state is allowed a credit 11 against the tax due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted for 12 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 13 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 14 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 15 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  16 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 17 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 18 facilities by a school district in the state; 19 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 20 operated vocational technical education and training school; 21 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 22 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 23 regional accreditation association or by a public or private nonprofit elementary or  24 secondary school in the state; 25 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 26 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 27 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 28 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 29 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 30 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 31 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750;  01 (8) funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization to a  02 dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the cost of  03 (A) tuition and textbooks;  04 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  05 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  06 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  07 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  08 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  09 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  10 dual-credit course; and  11 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  12 (9) constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential housing  13 facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education and  14 Early Development under AS 14.16.200; 15 (10) childhood early learning and development programs and  16 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  17 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  18 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  19 Development, or through a state grant; and  20 (11) science, technology, engineering, and math programs  21 provided by a nonprofit agency or a school district for school staff and for  22 students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state. 23  * Sec. 42. AS 43.65.018(a), as amended by sec. 35, ch. 92, SLA 2010, sec. 14, ch. 7, 24 FSSLA 2011, and sec. 21, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 25 (a) A person engaged in the business of mining in the state is allowed a credit 26 against the tax due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted 27 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 28 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 29 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 30 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  31 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 01 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 02 programs by a school district in the state; 03 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 04 school; [AND] 05 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 06 AS 37.14.750;  07 (5) for funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization  08 to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the  09 cost of  10 (A) tuition and textbooks;  11 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  12 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  13 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  14 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  15 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  16 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  17 dual-credit course; and  18 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  19 (6) for constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential  20 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education  21 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200; and 22 (7) for childhood early learning and development programs and  23 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  24 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  25 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  26 Development, or through a state grant.  27  * Sec. 43. AS 43.65.018(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 28 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 29 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 30 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 31 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 01 (Internal Revenue Code). 02  * Sec. 44. AS 43.75.018(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) A person engaged in a fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax 04 due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted for 05 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 06 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 07 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 08 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  09 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 10 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 11 facilities by a school district in the state; 12 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 13 operated vocational technical education and training school; 14 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 15 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 16 regional accreditation association or by a public or private nonprofit elementary or  17 secondary school in the state; 18 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 19 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 20 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 21 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 22 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 23 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 24 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750;  25 (8) funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization to a  26 dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the cost of  27 (A) tuition and textbooks;  28 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  29 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  30 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  31 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  01 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  02 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  03 dual-credit course; and  04 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  05 (9) constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential housing  06 facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education and  07 Early Development under AS 14.16.200; 08 (10) childhood early learning and development programs and  09 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  10 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  11 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  12 Development, or through a state grant; and  13 (11) science, technology, engineering, and math programs  14 provided by a nonprofit agency or a school district for school staff and for  15 students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state. 16  * Sec. 45. AS 43.75.018(a), as amended by sec. 42, ch. 92, SLA 2010, sec. 14, ch. 7, 17 FSSLA 2011, and sec. 23, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 18 (a) A person engaged in a fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax 19 due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted 20 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 21 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 22 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 23 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  24 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 25 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 26 programs by a school district in the state; 27 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 28 school; [AND] 29 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 30 AS 37.14.750;  31 (5) for funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization  01 to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the  02 cost of  03 (A) tuition and textbooks;  04 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  05 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  06 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  07 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  08 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  09 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  10 dual-credit course; and  11 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  12 (6) for constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential  13 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education  14 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200; and 15 (7) for childhood early learning and development programs and  16 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  17 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  18 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  19 Development, or through a state grant.  20  * Sec. 46. AS 43.75.018(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 21 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 22 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 23 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 24 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 25 (Internal Revenue Code). 26  * Sec. 47. AS 43.77.045(a) is amended to read: 27 (a) In addition to the credit allowed under AS 43.77.040, a person engaged in 28 a floating fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter 29 for cash contributions accepted for 30 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 31 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 01 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 02 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  03 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 04 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 05 facilities by a school district in the state; 06 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 07 operated vocational technical education and training school; 08 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 09 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 10 regional accreditation association or by a public or private nonprofit elementary or  11 secondary school in the state; 12 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 13 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 14 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 15 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 16 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 17 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 18 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750;  19 (8) funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization to a  20 dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the cost of  21 (A) tuition and textbooks;  22 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  23 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  24 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  25 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  26 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  27 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  28 dual-credit course; and  29 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  30 (9) constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential housing  31 facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education and  01 Early Development under AS 14.16.200; 02 (10) childhood early learning and development programs and  03 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  04 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  05 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  06 Development, or through a state grant; and  07 (11) science, technology, engineering, and math programs  08 provided by a nonprofit agency or a school district for school staff and for  09 students in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state. 10  * Sec. 48. AS 43.77.045(a), as amended by sec. 49, ch. 92, SLA 2010, sec. 14, ch. 7, 11 FSSLA 2011, and sec. 25, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 12 (a) In addition to the credit allowed under AS 43.77.040, a person engaged in 13 a floating fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter 14 for cash contributions accepted 15 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 16 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 17 Alaska university foundation, [OR] by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year 18 or four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association, or by a public  19 or private nonprofit elementary or secondary school in the state; 20 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 21 programs by a school district in the state; 22 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 23 school; [AND] 24 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 25 AS 37.14.750;  26 (5) for funding a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit organization  27 to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of a dual-credit course, including the  28 cost of  29 (A) tuition and textbooks;  30 (B) registration, course, and programmatic student fees;  31 (C) on-campus room and board at the postsecondary  01 institution in the state that provides the dual-credit course;  02 (D) transportation costs to and from a residential school  03 approved by the Department of Education and Early Development under  04 AS 14.16.200 or the postsecondary school in the state that provides the  05 dual-credit course; and  06 (E) other related educational and programmatic costs;  07 (6) for constructing, operating, or maintaining a residential  08 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education  09 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200; and 10 (7) for childhood early learning and development programs and  11 educational support to childhood early learning and development programs  12 provided by a nonprofit corporation organized under AS 10.20, a tribal entity, or  13 a school district in the state, by the Department of Education and Early  14 Development.  15  * Sec. 49. AS 43.77.045(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 16 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 17 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 18 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 19 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 20 (Internal Revenue Code). 21  * Sec. 50. AS 14.20.147(b) is repealed. 22  * Sec. 51. Section 3, ch. 91, SLA 2010, is repealed. 23  * Sec. 52. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 APPLICABILITY. Sections 25 and 26 of this Act apply to a contract or collective 26 bargaining agreement that becomes legally binding on or after the effective date of secs. 25 27 and 26 of this Act. 28  * Sec. 53. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 29 read: 30 TRANSITION: CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS. Sections 7 and 8 of this Act 31 apply to charter school applications filed with a local school board on or after July 1, 2014. 01  * Sec. 54. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education and Early 04 Development, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Department of 05 Revenue may adopt regulations necessary to implement their respective changes made by this 06 Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not 07 before the effective date of the relevant provision of this Act implemented by the regulation. 08  * Sec. 55. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION SALARY AND BENEFITS PROPOSAL. 11 Not later than January 1, 2016, the Department of Administration shall present to the 12 legislature a written proposal to implement a salary and benefits schedule for school districts 13 as defined under AS 14.30.350. 14 * Sec. 56. Sections 30 and 54 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 15  * Sec. 57. AS 14.17.410(b)(1), as amended by sec. 19 of this Act, and secs. 27 and 35 - 37 16 of this Act take effect June 30, 2014. 17  * Sec. 58. Sections 2, 22 and 31 - 33 of this Act take effect July 1, 2015. 18 * Sec. 59. Section 23 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2016. 19  * Sec. 60. Sections 39, 42, 45, and 48 of this Act take effect January 1, 2021. 20  * Sec. 61. Except as provided in secs. 56 - 60 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2014.