HCS CSSB 36(HES): "An Act relating to public schools; relating to the definition of a school district, to the transportation of students, to employment of chief school administrators, to school district layoff plans, to the special education service agency, and to the child care grant program; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 36(HES) 01 "An Act relating to public schools; relating to the definition of a school district, 02 to the transportation of students, to employment of chief school administrators, to 03 school district layoff plans, to the special education service agency, and to the 04 child care grant program; and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. PURPOSE. The purposes of sec. 2 of this Act are to 07 (1) provide a level of funding through the public school funding program that 08 allows for an equitable level of educational opportunities for those students attending the 09 public schools of the state; 10 (2) provide an equitable level of funding to each school within a school 11 district; and 12 (3) impose a public school local contribution requirement on regional 13 educational attendance areas by imposition of a three percent employment tax in the 14 unorganized borough.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 14.17 is amended by adding new sections to read: 02 Article 1. State Aid to Public Schools. 03 Sec. 14.17.300. Public school account. (a) The public school account is 04 established. The account consists of appropriations for distribution to school districts, 05 the state boarding school, and for centralized correspondence study under this chapter. 06 (b) The money in the account may be used only in aid of public schools, 07 including community school programs, and for centralized correspondence study 08 programs under this chapter. 09 Sec. 14.17.400. State aid for districts. (a) The state aid for which a school 10 district is eligible in a fiscal year is equal to the amount for which a district qualifies 11 under AS 14.17.410. 12 (b) If the amount in the public school account is insufficient to meet the 13 amounts authorized under (a) of this section for a fiscal year, the department shall 14 reduce pro rata each district's basic need by the necessary percentage as determined 15 by the department. If the basic need of each district is reduced under this subsection, 16 the department shall also reduce state funding for centralized correspondence study and 17 the state boarding school by the same percentage. 18 Sec. 14.17.410. Public school funding. (a) A district is eligible for public 19 school funding in an amount equal to the sum calculated under (b) and (c) of this 20 section. 21 (b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, 22 and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: 23 (1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 24 90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum 25 obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out 26 in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 27 (A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 28 applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 29 (B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is 30 multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 31 (C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted according
01 to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then multiplied by the 02 special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1); 03 (D) the number obtained for intensive services under 04 AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under 05 AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph; 06 (2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district 07 is the equivalent of a four mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real 08 and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal 09 year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under 10 AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, not to exceed 100 percent of a district's basic need 11 for the preceding fiscal year as determined under (1) of this subsection; 12 (3) the local contribution of a regional educational attendance area is 13 equal to the employment tax imposed under AS 43.42 that is collected in the previous 14 fiscal year from individuals, including nonresidents, employed in the regional 15 educational attendance area. 16 (c) In addition to the local contribution required under (b)(2) of this section, 17 a city or borough school district in a fiscal year may make a local contribution of not 18 more than the greater of 19 (1) the equivalent of a two mill tax levy on the full and true value of 20 the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second 21 preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional 22 Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; or 23 (2) 23 percent of the district's basic need for the fiscal year under 24 (b)(1) of this section. 25 (d) State aid may not be provided to a city or borough school district if the 26 local contributions required under (b)(2) of this section have not been made. 27 (e) If a city or borough school district is established after July 1, 1998, for the 28 first three fiscal years in which the city or borough school district operates schools, 29 local contributions may be less than the amount that would otherwise be required 30 under (b)(2) of this section, except that 31 (1) in the second fiscal year of operations, local contributions must be
01 at least the greater of 02 (A) the local contributions, excluding federal impact aid, for the 03 previous fiscal year; or 04 (B) the sum of 10 percent of the district's eligible federal 05 impact aid for that year and the equivalent of a two mill tax levy on the full 06 and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the city or borough 07 school district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as 08 determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under 09 AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; and 10 (2) in the third year of operation, local contributions must be at least 11 the greater of 12 (A) the local contributions, excluding federal impact aid, for the 13 previous fiscal year; or 14 (B) the sum of 10 percent of the district's eligible federal 15 impact aid for that year and the equivalent of a three mill tax levy on the full 16 and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of 17 January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department 18 of Community and Regional Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110. 19 (f) A school district is eligible for additional state aid in the amount by which 20 the local contributions that would otherwise have been required under (b)(2) of this 21 section exceed the district's actual local contributions under (e) of this section. 22 (g) In the fiscal year following the fiscal year of collection, a regional 23 educational attendance area is, subject to appropriation, entitled to receive money 24 collected under AS 43.42 in that regional educational attendance area. 25 Sec. 14.17.420. Special needs and intensive services funding. (a) As a 26 component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special needs funding and 27 may be eligible for intensive services funding as follows: 28 (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district 29 in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, and 30 bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 shall 31 be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1);
01 (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is 02 eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding 03 for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is 04 enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each such student, intensive services 05 funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by five. 06 (b) A district is not eligible to receive funding under (a) of this section unless 07 the district has on file with the department a plan that indicates the services that will 08 be provided to students who receive special education, gifted and talented education, 09 vocational education, and bilingual education services. 10 (c) In this section, "intensive services" has the meaning given by the 11 department by regulation adopted under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350. 12 Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 13 in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for 14 (1) the state centralized correspondence study program or a district that 15 offers a statewide correspondence study program includes an allocation from the public 16 school account in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the correspondence 17 program by the base student allocation and multiplying that product by 65 percent; and 18 (2) a district correspondence program includes an allocation from the 19 public school account in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the district 20 correspondence program by the base student allocation. 21 Sec. 14.17.440. State funding for state boarding schools. (a) Except as 22 provided in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for state boarding schools established under 23 AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public school account in an amount 24 calculated by 25 (1) determining the ADM of state boarding schools by applying the 26 school size factor to the student count as described in AS 14.17.450; 27 (2) multiplying the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the 28 special needs factor in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and multiplying that product by the base 29 student allocation; and 30 (3) multiplying the product determined under (2) of this subsection by 31 the district cost factor that is applicable to calculation of the state aid for the adjacent
01 school district under AS 14.17.460. 02 (b) State boarding schools are also eligible for intensive services funding under 03 AS 14.17.420(a)(2). 04 Sec. 14.17.450. School size factor. (a) For purposes of calculating a school's 05 ADM to determine state aid, the ADM of each school in a district shall be computed 06 by applying the following formula: 07 If the student count The adjusted student count is 08 in a school is The number of 09 students in 10 At least But less than Base Multiplier excess of 11 10 - 20 39.6 12 20 - 30 39.6 + (1.62 x 20) 13 30 - 75 55.8 + (1.49 x 30) 14 75 - 150 122.85 + (1.27 x 75) 15 150 - 250 218.1 + (1.08 x 150) 16 250 - 400 326.1 + (0.97 x 250) 17 400 - 750 471.6 + (0.92 x 400) 18 750 or over 793.6 + (0.84 x 750). 19 (b) If the ADM in a school is less than 10, those students shall be included in 20 the ADM of the school in that district with the highest ADM as determined by the 21 most recent student count data for that district. 22 Sec. 14.17.460. District cost factors. (a) For purposes of calculating a 23 district's adjusted ADM under AS 14.17.410(b)(1), the district cost factor for a school 24 district is as follows: 25 DISTRICT DISTRICT COST FACTOR 26 Alaska Gateway 1.291 27 Aleutians East 1.423 28 Aleutians Region 1.736 29 Alyeska Central School 1.000 30 Anchorage 1.000 31 Annette Island 1.011
01 Bering Strait 1.525 02 Bristol Bay 1.262 03 Chatham 1.120 04 Chugach 1.294 05 Copper River 1.176 06 Cordova 1.096 07 Craig 1.010 08 Delta/Greely 1.106 09 Denali 1.313 10 Dillingham 1.254 11 Fairbanks 1.039 12 Galena 1.348 13 Haines 1.008 14 Hoonah 1.055 15 Hydaburg 1.085 16 Iditarod 1.470 17 Juneau 1.005 18 Kake 1.025 19 Kashunamiut 1.389 20 Kenai Peninsula 1.004 21 Ketchikan 1.000 22 Klawock 1.017 23 Kodiak Island 1.093 24 Kuspuk 1.434 25 Lake and Peninsula 1.558 26 Lower Kuskokwim 1.491 27 Lower Yukon 1.438 28 Matanuska-Susitna 1.010 29 Mt. Edgecumbe 1.000 30 Nenana 1.270 31 Nome 1.319
01 North Slope 1.504 02 Northwest Arctic 1.549 03 Pelican 1.290 04 Petersburg 1.000 05 Pribilof 1.419 06 Sitka 1.000 07 Skagway 1.143 08 Southeast Island 1.124 09 Southwest Region 1.423 10 St. Mary's 1.351 11 Tanana 1.496 12 Unalaska 1.245 13 Valdez 1.095 14 Wrangell 1.000 15 Yakutat 1.046 16 Yukon Flats 1.668 17 Yukon/Koyukuk 1.502 18 Yupiit 1.469. 19 (b) The department shall monitor the cost factors established under (a) of this 20 section and shall prepare and submit to the legislature by January 15 of every other 21 fiscal year proposed district cost factors. In determining the proposed district cost 22 factors, the department shall consider cost-of-living changes as measured by the 23 Anchorage Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers. 24 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is 25 $3,944. 26 Article 2. Preparation of Public School Funding Budget. 27 Sec. 14.17.500. Student count estimate. (a) A district shall prepare and 28 submit to the department by November 5 of each fiscal year, in the manner and on 29 forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its ADM and other student count 30 data, including per school student count data, for the succeeding fiscal year upon 31 which computations can be made to estimate the amount of state aid for which the
01 district may be eligible under AS 14.17.400 in the succeeding fiscal year. In making 02 its report, the district shall consider its ADM, other student count data, the pattern of 03 growth or decline of the student population in preceding years, and other pertinent 04 information available to the district. 05 (b) Part-time students shall be included in the student count data in accordance 06 with regulations adopted by the department. 07 Sec. 14.17.505. Fund balance in school operating fund. (a) A district may 08 not accumulate in a fiscal year an unreserved portion of its year-end fund balance in 09 its school operating fund, as defined by department regulations, that is greater than 10 10 percent of its expenditures for that fiscal year. 11 (b) The department shall review each district's annual audit under 12 AS 14.14.050 for the preceding fiscal year to ascertain its year-end operating fund 13 balance. The amount by which the unreserved portion of that balance exceeds the 14 amount permitted in (a) of this section shall be deducted from the state aid that would 15 otherwise be paid to the district in the current fiscal year. 16 Sec. 14.17.510. Determination of full and true value by Department of 17 Community and Regional Affairs. (a) To determine the amount of required local 18 contribution under AS 14.17.410(b)(2) and to aid the department and the legislature 19 in planning, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs, in consultation with 20 the assessor for each district in a city or borough, shall determine the full and true 21 value of the taxable real and personal property in each district in a city or borough. 22 If there is no local assessor or current local assessment for a city or borough school 23 district, then the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall make the 24 determination of full and true value from information available. In making the 25 determination, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall be guided by 26 AS 29.45.110. The determination of full and true value shall be made by October 1 27 and sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before that date to the 28 president of the school board in each city or borough school district. Duplicate copies 29 shall be sent to the commissioner. The governing body of a city or borough that is a 30 school district may obtain judicial review of the determination. The superior court 31 may modify the determination of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs
01 only upon a finding of abuse of discretion or upon a finding that there is no substantial 02 evidence to support the determination. 03 (b) Motor vehicles subject to the motor vehicle registration tax under 04 AS 28.10.431 shall be treated as taxable property under this section. 05 Sec. 14.17.520. Minimum expenditure for instruction. (a) A district shall 06 budget for and spend a minimum of 70 percent of its school operating expenditures in 07 each fiscal year on the instructional component of the district budget. 08 (b) The commissioner shall reject a district budget that does not comply with 09 (a) of this section and, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this 10 section, shall withhold payments of state aid from that district, beginning with the 11 payment for the second full month after rejection and continuing until the school board 12 of the district revises the district budget to comply with (a) of this section. 13 (c) The commissioner shall review the annual audit of each district for 14 compliance with the expenditure requirements of (a) of this section. If the 15 commissioner determines that a district does not meet those requirements, the 16 commissioner shall advise the district of the determination, calculate the amount of the 17 deficiency, and deduct that amount from state aid paid to the district for the current 18 fiscal year. A deduction in state aid required under this subsection begins with the 19 payment for the second full month after the determination, unless a waiver has been 20 granted by the board under (d) of this section. 21 (d) A district that has been determined by the commissioner to be out of 22 compliance with the requirements of this section may, within 20 days of the 23 commissioner's determination, request a waiver by the board of the imposition by the 24 commissioner of any reduction in state aid payments under (b) or (c) of this section. 25 The request must be in writing and must include an analysis of the reasons and causes 26 for the district's inability to comply with the requirements of this section. The board 27 shall either grant or deny the waiver. The request must also be submitted to the 28 Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which shall review the district's request and 29 forward the committee's recommendations on it to the board. 30 (e) The commissioner shall submit an annual report on actions taken by the 31 commissioner or the board under this section to the Legislative Budget and Audit
01 Committee by April 15 of each year. 02 (f) In this section, "instructional component" includes expenditures for teachers 03 and for pupil support services. 04 Article 3. Procedure for Payments of State Aid. 05 Sec. 14.17.600. Student counting periods. (a) Within two weeks after the 06 end of the 20-school-day period ending the fourth Friday in October, each district shall 07 transmit a report to the department that, under regulations adopted by the department, 08 reports its ADM for that counting period and other student count information that will 09 aid the department in making a determination of its state aid under the public school 10 funding program. For centralized correspondence study, the October report shall be 11 based on the period from July 1 through the fourth Friday in October, except that 12 summer school students shall be counted as a proportionate fraction as determined by 13 the department. The department may make necessary corrections in the report 14 submitted and shall notify the district of changes made. The commissioner shall notify 15 the governor of additional appropriations the commissioner estimates to be necessary 16 to fully finance the public school funding program for the current fiscal year. 17 (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 18 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period other than the period set out 19 in (a) of this section. However, a counting period approved under this subsection must 20 be 20 consecutive school days unless one or more alternate counting periods are 21 necessary to permit a district to implement flexible scheduling that meets the district's 22 needs and goals without jeopardizing the state aid for which the district would be 23 ordinarily be eligible under this chapter. 24 Sec. 14.17.610. Distribution of state aid. (a) The department shall determine 25 the state aid for each school district in a fiscal year on the basis of the district's 26 student count data reported under AS 14.17.600. On or before the 15th day of each 27 of the first nine months of each fiscal year, one-twelfth of each district's state aid shall 28 be distributed on the basis of the data reported for the preceding fiscal year. On or 29 before the 15th day of each of the last three months of each fiscal year, one-third of 30 the balance of each district's state aid shall be distributed, after the balance has been 31 recomputed on the basis of student count and other data reported for the current fiscal
01 year. 02 (b) Distribution of state aid under (a) of this section shall be made as required 03 under AS 14.17.410. If a district receives more state aid than it is entitled to receive 04 under this chapter, the district shall immediately remit the amount of overpayment to 05 the commissioner, to be returned to the public school account. The department may 06 make adjustments to a district's state aid to correct underpayments made in previous 07 fiscal years. 08 (c) Upon an adequate showing of a cash flow shortfall of a district, and in the 09 discretion of the commissioner, the department may make advance payments to a 10 district. The total of advance payments may not exceed the amount of state aid for 11 which the district is eligible for the fiscal year. 12 Article 4. General Provisions. 13 Sec. 14.17.900. Construction and implementation of chapter. (a) This 14 chapter does not create a debt of the state. Each district shall establish, maintain, and 15 operate under a balanced budget. The state is not responsible for the debts of a school 16 district. 17 (b) Money to carry out the provisions of this chapter may be appropriated 18 annually by the legislature into the public school account. If the amount in the 19 account is insufficient to meet the allocations authorized under AS 14.17.400 - 20 14.17.470 for a fiscal year, state aid shall be reduced according to AS 14.17.400(b). 21 Sec. 14.17.910. Restrictions governing receipt and expenditure of district 22 money. (a) Each district shall maintain complete financial records of the receipt and 23 disbursement of state aid, money acquired from local effort, and other money received 24 or held by the district. The records must be in the form required by the department 25 and are subject to audit by the department at a time and place designated by the 26 department. 27 (b) State aid provided under this chapter is for general operational purposes 28 of the district. All district money, including state aid, shall be received, held, 29 allocated, and expended by the district under applicable local law and state and federal 30 constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations, including those related to ethical 31 standards and accounting principles.
01 Sec. 14.17.920. Regulations. The department shall adopt regulations necessary 02 to implement this chapter. 03 Sec. 14.17.990. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context requires 04 otherwise, 05 (1) "ADM or average daily membership" means the aggregate number 06 of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a school district during the student count 07 period for which a determination is being made, divided by the actual number of days 08 that school is in session for the student count period for which the determination is 09 being made; 10 (2) "district" means a city or borough school district or a regional 11 educational attendance area; 12 (3) "district adjusted ADM" means the number resulting from the 13 calculations under AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 14 (4) "district ADM" means the sum of the ADMs in a district; 15 (5) "eligible federal impact aid" means the amount of federal impact 16 aid received by a district as of March 1 of the fiscal year as a result of an application 17 submitted in the preceding fiscal year, including advance payments and adjustments 18 received since March 1 of the preceding fiscal year from prior year applications, under 19 20 U.S.C. 7701 - 7714, except payments received under 20 U.S.C. 7703(f)(2)(B), to 20 the extent the state may consider that aid as local resources under federal law; 21 (6) "local contribution" means appropriations and the value of in-kind 22 services made by a district; 23 (7) "taxable real and personal property" means all real and personal 24 property taxable under the laws of the state. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 26 (d) Each public school shall, by May 31 of each year, prepare a report on the 27 school's performance and the performance of the school's students. The report shall 28 be presented to parents, students, and community members at a public meeting [AND 29 FORWARDED TO THE CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE DISTRICT]. 30 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.120(g) is amended to read: 31 (g) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990
01 [AS 14.17.250]. 02 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.125(e) is amended to read: 03 (e) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 04 [AS 14.17.250]. 05 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.150(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) The department may not award a school construction or major maintenance 07 grant under AS 14.11 to a municipality that is a school district or a regional 08 educational attendance area that is not in compliance with (a) of this section. The 09 department shall reduce the amount of state [FOUNDATION] aid under AS 14.17.400 10 [AS 14.17.021] for which a school district may qualify [,] by the amount, if any, paid 11 by the department under (b) of this section. 12 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.160(f)(2) is amended to read: 13 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250]. 14 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03.260(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) The charter school shall provide the financial and accounting information 16 requested by the local school board or the Department of Education [,] and shall 17 cooperate with the local school district or the department in complying with the 18 requirements of AS 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.190]. 19 * Sec. 9. AS 14.07.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (c) In implementing its duties under (a)(2) of this section, the department shall 21 develop 22 (1) performance standards in reading, writing, and mathematics to be 23 met at designated age levels by each student in public schools in the state; and 24 (2) a comprehensive system of student assessments, composed of 25 multiple indicators of proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics; this 26 comprehensive system must 27 (A) be made available to all districts and regional educational 28 attendance areas; 29 (B) include a developmental profile for students entering 30 kindergarten or first grade; and 31 (C) include performance standards in reading, writing, and
01 mathematics for students in age groups five through seven, eight through 10, 02 and 11 - 14. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 14.08.101 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 04 (11) employ a chief school administrator. 05 * Sec. 11. AS 14.08.111(3) is amended to read: 06 (3) [EMPLOY A CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR AND] approve 07 the employment of the professional administrators, teachers, and noncertificated 08 personnel necessary to operate its schools; 09 * Sec. 12. AS 14.09.010(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 10 (b) A school district that enters into a contract described under (a)(1) of this 11 section shall be reimbursed for 12 (1) at least 90 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 13 system if the transportation is provided by the school district; and 14 (2) 100 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 15 system when the transportation is provided under a contract with the school district. 16 * Sec. 13. AS 14.11.008(b) is amended to read: 17 (b) The required participating share for a municipal school district is based on 18 the district's full value per average daily membership ( ADM ) , which is calculated 19 by dividing the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the 20 district, calculated as described in AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.025(a)(1),] by the district 21 ADM [AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP (ADM)] as defined in AS 14.17.990 22 [AS 14.17.250], for the same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The 23 municipal district's full value per ADM determines the district's required participating 24 share, as follows: 25 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 26 $1 - $100,000 5 percent 27 100,001 - 200,000 10 percent 28 200,001 - 600,000 30 percent 29 over 600,000 35 percent. 30 * Sec. 14. AS 14.14.115(c)(2) is amended to read: 31 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250].
01 * Sec. 15. AS 14.14.130(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) A [EACH] school board may [SHALL] select and employ a qualified 03 person as the chief school administrator for the district. In this subsection, "employ" 04 includes employment by contract. 05 * Sec. 16. AS 14.14.130(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 07 administrator [OF THE DISTRICT] shall administer the district in accordance with 08 the policies that the school board prescribes by bylaw. 09 * Sec. 17. AS 14.14.130(c) is amended to read: 10 (c) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 11 administrator shall select, appoint, and otherwise control all school district employees 12 that serve under the chief school administrator subject to the approval of the school 13 board. 14 * Sec. 18. AS 14.16.020(2) is amended to read: 15 (2) [EMPLOY CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND] approve 16 the employment of [OTHER] personnel necessary to operate state boarding schools; 17 * Sec. 19. AS 14.16.050(a)(2) is amended to read: 18 (2) requirements relating to the public school funding program 19 [STATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION] and the receipt and 20 expenditure of that funding [ASSISTANCE]: 21 (A) AS 14.17.500 [AS 14.17.080] (relating to student count 22 estimates); 23 (B) AS 14.17.505 [AS 14.17.082] (relating to school operating 24 fund balances); 25 (C) AS 14.17.500 - 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.160 - 14.17.220] 26 (setting out the procedure for payment of public school funding [FINANCIAL 27 ASSISTANCE,] and imposing general requirements and limits on money paid); 28 * Sec. 20. AS 14.16.080(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) AS 14.17.440 [AS 14.17.024] applies to the calculation of public school 30 funding [STATE AID] payable for operation of a state boarding school. 31 * Sec. 21. AS 14.20.025 is amended to read:
01 Sec. 14.20.025. Limited teacher certificates. Notwithstanding 02 AS 14.20.020(b), a person may be issued a limited certificate, valid only in the area 03 of expertise for which it is issued, to teach Alaska Native language or culture, military 04 science, or a vocational or technical course for which the board determines by 05 regulation that baccalaureate degree training is not sufficiently available. A limited 06 certificate may be issued under this section only if the school board of the district or 07 regional educational attendance area in which the person will be teaching 08 [, THROUGH THE CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR,] has requested its issuance. 09 A person who applies for a limited certificate shall demonstrate, as required by 10 regulations adopted by the board, instructional skills and subject matter expertise 11 sufficient to ensure the public that the person is competent as a teacher. The board 12 may require a person issued a limited certificate to undertake academic training as may 13 be required by the board by regulation and make satisfactory progress in the academic 14 training. 15 * Sec. 22. AS 14.20.147(a) is amended to read: 16 (a) When an attendance area is transferred from a currently operating district 17 to, or absorbed into, a new or existing school district, the teachers for the attendance 18 area also shall be transferred unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher or 19 teachers and the chief school administrator of the new district if the district employs 20 a chief school administrator . Accumulated or earned benefits, including [BUT NOT 21 LIMITED TO,] seniority, salary level, tenure, leave, and retirement, accompany the 22 teacher who is transferred. 23 * Sec. 23. AS 14.20.148 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 14.20.148. Intradistrict teacher reassignments. When a teacher is 25 involuntarily transferred or reassigned to a position for which the teacher is qualified, 26 within the district, the teacher's moving expenses shall be paid unless the one-way 27 driving distance is 20 miles or less from the teacher's present place of residence, or 28 unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher and chief school administrator of the 29 district if the district employs a chief school administrator . 30 * Sec. 24. AS 14.20.177(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) A school district may implement a layoff plan under this section if it is
01 necessary for the district to reduce the number of tenured teachers because 02 (1) school attendance in the district has decreased; or 03 (2) the basic need of the school district determined under 04 AS 14.17.410(b)(1) [AS 14.17.021(c) AND ADJUSTED UNDER AS 14.17.225(b)] 05 decreases by three percent or more from the previous year. 06 * Sec. 25. AS 14.30.305 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 14.30.305. State support of programs for children hospitalized or 08 confined to their homes. A child who is hospitalized or confined to home and who 09 receives at least 10 hours of special education and related services per week may be 10 counted as a pupil in average daily membership when computing state support under 11 the public school funding [FOUNDATION] program. 12 * Sec. 26. AS 14.30.347 is amended to read: 13 Sec. 14.30.347. Transportation of exceptional children. When transportation 14 is required to be provided as related services, an exceptional child [CHILDREN] shall 15 be carried with other children if the district provides transportation to other 16 children in the district [,] except when the nature of the [THEIR] physical or mental 17 disability [DISABILITIES] is such that it is in the best interest of the exceptional 18 child [CHILDREN], as determined by the school district, that the child [THEY] be 19 transported separately. State reimbursement for transportation of exceptional children 20 shall be as provided for transportation of all other pupils except that eligibility for 21 reimbursement is not subject to restriction based on the minimum distance between the 22 school and the residence of the exceptional child. 23 * Sec. 27. AS 14.30.650 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 14.30.650. Funding. Each fiscal year the department shall allocate to the 25 agency not less than $15.75 times the number of students in the state in average 26 daily membership in the preceding fiscal year as determined under AS 14.17.600. 27 Money to carry out the provisions of this section may be appropriated annually 28 by the legislature. If amounts are insufficient to meet the allocation authorized 29 under this section for a fiscal year, the allocation shall be reduced pro rata [$85 30 FOR EACH SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT IN THE STATE IN AVERAGE 31 DAILY MEMBERSHIP OR THE EQUIVALENT OF TWO PERCENT OF THE
01 FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR THAT FISCAL 02 YEAR, WHICHEVER IS GREATER]. The amount allocated to the agency shall be 03 reduced each fiscal year by the amount contributed by the department to the Teachers' 04 Retirement System (AS 14.25) or the Public Employees' Retirement System 05 (AS 39.35) on behalf of employees of the agency. 06 * Sec. 28. AS 14.36.030(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A district operating a community school program under an approved plan 08 of operation may receive an annual grant from the state of one-half of one percent of 09 its public school funding [FOUNDATION SUPPORT] or $10,000, whichever is 10 greater. 11 * Sec. 29. AS 29.45.020(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) If a municipality levies and collects property taxes, the governing body 13 shall provide the following notice: 14 "NOTICE TO TAXPAYER 15 For the current fiscal year the (city)(borough) has been allocated the following amount 16 of state aid for school and municipal purposes under the applicable financial assistance 17 Acts: 18 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING [FOUNDATION] 19 PROGRAM [ASSISTANCE] (AS 14.17) $ 20 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT OF SCHOOL 21 CONSTRUCTION DEBT (AS 14.11.100) $ 22 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE EQUALIZATION 23 (AS 29.60.010 - 29.60.080) $ 24 PRIORITY REVENUE SHARING FOR 25 MUNICIPAL SERVICES (AS 29.60.100 - 29.60.180) $ 26 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE COMMUNITIES 27 (AS 29.60.350 - 29.60.375) $ 28 TOTAL AID $ 29 The millage equivalent of this state aid, based on the dollar value of a mill in the 30 municipality during the current assessment year and for the preceding assessment year, 31 is:
01 MILLAGE EQUIVALENT 02 PREVIOUS YEAR THIS YEAR 03 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING 04 [FOUNDATION] PROGRAM 05 ASSISTANCE . . . . MILLS . . . . MILLS 06 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT 07 OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 08 DEBT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 09 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE 10 EQUALIZATION . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 11 PRIORITY REVENUE FOR SHARING 12 MUNICIPAL SERVICES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 13 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE 14 COMMUNITIES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 15 TOTAL MILLAGE 16 EQUIVALENT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS" 17 Notice shall be provided by 18 (1) [BY] furnishing a copy of the notice with tax statements mailed for 19 the fiscal year for which aid is received; or 20 (2) [BY] publishing in a newspaper of general circulation in the 21 municipality a copy of the notice once each week for a period of three successive 22 weeks, with publication to occur not later than 45 days after the final adoption of the 23 municipality's budget. 24 * Sec. 30. AS 29.60.030(d) is amended to read: 25 (d) The full and true assessed property value shall be determined by the 26 department in the manner provided for the computation of state aid to education under 27 AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.140]. When the determination of locally generated revenue 28 includes revenue of a utility received under AS 29.60.010(c)(1)(E), the full and true 29 assessed property value must include the computed assessed value of the utility, 30 determined by dividing the amount of the payment in place of taxes made by the 31 utility by the millage rate that would apply to the utility if the utility were subject to
01 levy and collection of taxes under AS 29.45. 02 * Sec. 31. AS 36.10.090(b) is amended to read: 03 (b) A local government or school district covered by the provisions of this 04 chapter that is found to be in violation of these provisions may be required to forfeit 05 all or part of the state aid made available for the project in which the violation occurs 06 and in addition may be denied up to 12 months of state revenue sharing or public 07 school funding [FOUNDATION MONEY]. A state department or agency head found 08 to be in violation of this chapter may be required to forfeit the position of department 09 or agency head. 10 * Sec. 32. AS 36.10.125(c) is amended to read: 11 (c) In an action brought under (b) of this section , the court may, in its 12 discretion, order denial of state revenue sharing or public school funding 13 [FOUNDATION MONEY], forfeiture of office or position, or injunctive or other 14 relief. If the court finds for the plaintiff in an action brought under (b) of this section, 15 it may award the plaintiff an amount equal to the actual costs and attorney fees 16 incurred by the plaintiff. 17 * Sec. 33. AS 43 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 18 Chapter 42. Unorganized Borough Employment Tax. 19 Sec. 43.42.010. Purpose; nonresident taxation. It is the purpose of this 20 chapter to impose an employment tax on individuals who are employed in the 21 unorganized borough, including those individuals who are nonresidents who are 22 employed in the unorganized borough. 23 Sec. 43.42.020. Tax imposed. In each calendar year, there is levied an 24 employment tax upon each individual who receives compensation for services 25 performed in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city as an 26 employee or receives self-employment earnings from business activities conducted in 27 the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city. The tax on an 28 individual is three percent of 29 (1) compensation paid to that individual by an employer who has a 30 business situs in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city for 31 services performed in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class
01 city in the calendar year as an employee of that employer; 02 (2) that individual's self-employment earnings from business activities 03 conducted in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city in the 04 calendar year. 05 Sec. 43.42.030. Determination of business situs. For purposes of 06 AS 43.42.020, an employer has a business situs in the unorganized borough outside 07 of a home rule or first class city if, at any time in the calendar year, an individual 08 performs services in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city 09 as an employee of that employer. 10 Sec. 43.42.035. Credit against tax. An individual is entitled to a tax credit 11 against the tax levied on the individual by this chapter equal to the amount paid by the 12 individual in taxes in a city or borough school district that is contributed to the school 13 district. An individual may claim a credit under this section by providing proof of 14 payment to the employer on a form approved by the Department of Labor or by 15 providing proof satisfactory to the Department of Labor of payment of the tax in the 16 city or borough school district. 17 Sec. 43.42.040. Collection, reporting, and remittance of tax on employee 18 compensation. (a) An employer making payment of compensation for services 19 performed in the unorganized borough outside of a home rule or first class city shall 20 withhold from the payment the tax levied by this chapter. Unless a credit is allowed 21 under AS 43.42.035, the employer shall withhold three percent of each payment of 22 compensation and shall file a return and remit the taxes as required by (b) or (c) of 23 this section. 24 (b) Except as provided in (c) of this section, the return required by this section 25 must be filed, and the withheld taxes remitted, by the date the employer's regular 26 quarterly report of employment security contributions under AS 23.20 is required to 27 be filed. The employer shall file a return by reporting amounts withheld under this 28 section during the preceding calendar quarter, and any additional information required 29 by regulation adopted under AS 43.42.050(a), to the Department of Labor on forms 30 provided by the Department of Labor together with the employer's regular quarterly 31 report of employment security contributions under AS 23.20. With each return filed
01 under this subsection, the employer shall remit the taxes required to be withheld under 02 this section during the preceding calendar quarter. 03 (c) An employer who is required to withhold and remit taxes under this section 04 but who is not subject to the reporting requirements of AS 23.20 shall file a return and 05 remit the taxes as required by this subsection. On or before the last day of the month 06 following each calendar quarter in which taxes were withheld under this section, the 07 employer shall file with the department a return on forms provided by the department 08 and shall remit the taxes required to be withheld during the preceding calendar quarter. 09 In the return, the employer shall report amounts withheld under this section during the 10 preceding calendar quarter and any additional information required by regulation 11 adopted under AS 43.42.050(a). 12 Sec. 43.42.050. Administration of tax on employee compensation. (a) After 13 consultation with the Department of Labor, the department shall prescribe, by 14 regulation, any additional information that must be included in a return filed under 15 AS 43.42.040 in order for the department to calculate, determine, collect, or enforce 16 the tax levied by this chapter. The Department of Labor shall include, on forms for 17 reporting under AS 23.20, space designated for reporting amounts withheld under 18 AS 43.42.040 and for providing any additional information required by department 19 regulations. The department shall coordinate with the Department of Labor to 20 maximize the use of existing reports to the department and to the Department of 21 Labor. 22 (b) The Department of Labor shall provide to the department the information 23 collected under AS 43.42.040 that relates to the tax levied by this chapter. 24 (c) The Department of Labor shall report to the department a failure of an 25 employer to timely report or remit the tax levied by this chapter. The Department of 26 Labor may not use the provisions of AS 23.20 to enforce the collection or remittance 27 of the tax levied by this chapter. Reporting forms and other records relating to the tax 28 levied by this chapter that are maintained by the Department of Labor are prima facie 29 evidence of timely reporting and remittance, or failure to timely report or remit, under 30 AS 43.42.040. 31 Sec. 43.42.060. Administration and payment of tax on self-employment
01 earnings. (a) An individual who is subject to the tax on self-employment earnings 02 levied by this chapter shall file a return with the department, and with the return shall 03 pay the tax, in the manner required by this section. The return must be filed on a form 04 provided by the department. 05 (b) The individual shall file a return for each calendar quarter in which the 06 individual had self-employment earnings and make a payment of three percent of the 07 individual's self-employment earnings in that quarter. 08 (c) Returns must be filed and payments made, as required by (b) of this 09 section, on or before the following dates: 10 (1) April 15, for the first calendar quarter of a year; 11 (2) July 15, for the second calendar quarter of a year; 12 (3) October 15, for the third calendar quarter of a year; 13 (4) January 15 of the following year, for the fourth calendar quarter of 14 a year. 15 Sec. 43.42.070. Record of tax withheld from employees; refunds. (a) An 16 employer who withholds tax under AS 43.42.040 shall furnish to the employee before 17 February 1 of each calendar year a record of the amount of tax withheld from that 18 employee's compensation in the preceding calendar year. The employer shall pay to 19 the department a penalty of $10 for each failure to provide the record required by this 20 subsection. 21 (b) On or before April 15 of a calendar year, an individual may file with the 22 department, on forms provided by the department, a claim for the refund of excess tax 23 withheld or paid for the preceding calendar year. The individual shall attach the 24 records provided by employers or other proof of payment acceptable to the department 25 to support the refund claim. 26 Sec. 43.42.080. Disposition of and accounting for tax proceeds. (a) The 27 money collected by the department under this chapter shall be deposited in the general 28 fund of the state, and the proceeds from the tax shall be separately accounted for by 29 regional educational attendance area. A regional educational attendance area is, subject 30 to appropriation, entitled to receive money collected under this chapter from that area. 31 The legislature may appropriate the estimated balance of the account to the public
01 school account established under AS 14.17.300. 02 (b) In this section, "regional educational attendance area" means an area of the 03 unorganized borough specified as an educational service area under AS 14.08.031(a). 04 Sec. 43.42.090. Regulations. The department may adopt regulations to 05 interpret and implement this chapter. 06 Sec. 43.42.099. Definitions. In this chapter, 07 (1) "business activities" means activities or acts of a commercial, 08 occupational, professional, or like nature, that are engaged in or caused to be engaged 09 in with the object of financial or pecuniary gain, profit, or benefit; "business activities" 10 does not include 11 (A) providing services as an employee; 12 (B) furnishing or selling of property, services, substances, or 13 things by a person who does not represent to be regularly engaging in those 14 transactions; 15 (C) an individual's investment or banking activities relating to 16 that individual's personal property; 17 (2) "calendar quarter" means each of the three-month periods ending 18 March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31; 19 (3) "compensation for services" means gross wages, salaries, tips, and 20 other remuneration paid to an employee by an employer; "compensation for services" 21 does not include 22 (A) remuneration for attendance at events such as trade shows, 23 conventions, or educational or scientific workshops or seminars; or 24 (B) compensation earned by a prisoner under AS 33 at a rate 25 less than the minimum wage established under AS 23.10; 26 (4) "employer" means a person making payment of compensation for 27 services who is required to deduct and withhold income taxes under provisions of 28 26 U.S.C. (Internal Revenue Code); 29 (5) "individual" means a natural person who was 19 years of age or 30 older on January 1 of a calendar year; 31 (6) "self-employment earnings" means gross receipts from a business
01 activity that are not paid by an employer less the expenses incurred to produce the 02 gross receipts; 03 (7) "tax" means the employment tax levied by this chapter. 04 * Sec. 34. AS 44.47.305(c) is amended to read: 05 (c) A grant under (a) of this section may not exceed $50 per month for each 06 child the child care facility cares for, or for each full-time equivalent, as determined 07 by the department. The grant shall be adjusted on a geographic basis by the same 08 factor [PERCENTAGES] as funding for a school district is [INSTRUCTIONAL 09 UNIT ALLOTMENTS ARE] adjusted under AS 14.17.460 [AS 14.17.051]. 10 * Sec. 35. AS 14.16.050(a)(1)(G); AS 14.17.010, 14.17.021, 14.17.022, 14.17.024, 11 14.17.025, 14.17.026, 14.17.031, 14.17.041, 14.17.043, 14.17.045, 14.17.047, 14.17.051, 12 14.17.056, 14.17.080, 14.17.082, 14.17.140, 14.17.160, 14.17.170, 14.17.190, 14.17.200, 13 14.17.210, 14.17.220, 14.17.225, 14.17.250; and AS 14.30.315(a) are repealed. 14 * Sec. 36. TRANSITION: TRANSITION FUNDING. (a) Except as provided in (b) and 15 (c) of this section, if, for a fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, or July 1, 1999, a city or 16 borough school district or a regional educational attendance area would receive less public 17 school funding under AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, than the district or area 18 would have received as state aid for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, the district or area 19 is eligible to receive additional public school funding equal to a percentage of the difference 20 between the state aid the district or area would have received for the fiscal year beginning 21 July 1, 1998, and the public school funding the district or area is eligible to receive under 22 AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, according to the following table: 23 For the fiscal year beginning Percentage of difference 24 July 1, 1998 75 25 July 1, 1999 50 26 (b) A city or borough school district is not eligible for additional funding authorized 27 under (a) of this section unless, during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997, the district 28 received the local contribution described under AS 14.17.025(a)(1), as that provision existed 29 on the day before the effective date of this Act. 30 (c) For the purposes of the reduction required under AS 14.17.400(b), enacted by sec. 31 2 of this Act, transition funding authorized under (a) of this section is treated the same as the
01 state share of public school funding under AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act. 02 (d) For purposes of this section, "state aid" means state foundation aid distributed 03 under the provisions of AS 14.17, if those provisions had not been repealed by this Act, and 04 additional district support appropriated by the legislature. 05 * Sec. 37. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. (a) To the extent the regulations are not 06 inconsistent with the language and purposes of this Act, regulations relating to state aid for 07 public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the effective date of this 08 section remain in effect as valid regulations implementing this Act; all other regulations 09 relating to state aid for public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the 10 effective date of this section are annulled. The Department of Education may administer and 11 enforce those previously adopted regulations relating to state foundation aid for public schools. 12 (b) The Department of Education shall, by regulation, define the term "school" for 13 purposes of AS 14.17. 14 * Sec. 38. TRANSITION: PROPOSED DISTRICT COST FACTORS. The Department 15 of Education shall submit the initial proposed district cost factors, required under 16 AS 14.17.460(b), enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, to the Alaska State Legislature by January 15, 17 2001. 18 * Sec. 39. TRANSITION: BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION. Notwithstanding 19 AS 14.17.470, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, the base student allocation is as follows: 20 For the fiscal year beginning Base student allocation 21 July 1, 1998 $3,856 22 July 1, 1999 $3,889 23 * Sec. 40. TRANSITION: MINIMUM EXPENDITURE FOR INSTRUCTION. 24 Notwithstanding AS 14.17.520, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, the minimum expenditure for the 25 instructional component of the school district budget is as follows: 26 For the fiscal year beginning Minimum expenditure 27 July 1, 1998 60 percent 28 July 1, 1999 65 percent 29 * Sec. 41. TRANSITION: UNORGANIZED BOROUGH EMPLOYMENT TAX. (a) 30 AS 43.42, enacted by sec. 33 of this Act, applies to compensation and self-employment 31 earnings income received on or after January 1, 1999.
01 * Sec. 42. TRANSITION: SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING. If, for fiscal year 1999, 02 the special education service agency would receive less funding under AS 14.30.650, as 03 amended by sec. 27 of this Act, than the agency would have received for fiscal year 1999 04 under AS 14.30.650 as that provision read before the effective date of this Act, the agency is 05 eligible to receive additional state funding equal to the difference between the state funding 06 the agency is eligible to receive under AS 14.30.650, as amended by sec. 27 of this Act, and 07 the state funding the agency is eligible to receive on the day before the effective date of this 08 Act. 09 * Sec. 43. This Act takes effect July 1, 1998.