HCS CSSB 36(FIN): "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(FIN) 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; and 10 (2) provide an equitable level of funding to each school within a school 11 district. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 14.17 is amended by adding new sections to read: 13 Article 1. State Aid to Public Schools. 14 Sec. 14.17.300. Public school account. (a) The public school account is
01 established. The account consists of appropriations for distribution to school districts, 02 the state boarding school, and for centralized correspondence study under this chapter. 03 (b) The money in the account may be used only in aid of public schools, 04 including community school programs, and for centralized correspondence study 05 programs under this chapter. 06 Sec. 14.17.400. State aid for districts. (a) The state aid for which a school 07 district is eligible in a fiscal year is equal to the amount for which a district qualifies 08 under AS 14.17.410. 09 (b) If the amount in the public school account is insufficient to meet the 10 amounts authorized under (a) of this section for a fiscal year, the department shall 11 reduce pro rata each district's basic need by the necessary percentage as determined 12 by the department. If the basic need of each district is reduced under this subsection, 13 the department shall also reduce state funding for centralized correspondence study and 14 the state boarding school by the same percentage. 15 Sec. 14.17.410. Public school funding. (a) A district is eligible for public 16 school funding in an amount equal to the sum calculated under (b) and (c) of this 17 section. 18 (b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, 19 and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: 20 (1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 21 90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum 22 obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out 23 in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 24 (A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 25 applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 26 (B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is 27 multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 28 (C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted according 29 to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then multiplied by the 30 special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1); 31 (D) the number obtained for intensive services under
01 AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under 02 AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph; 03 (2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district 04 is the equivalent of a four mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real 05 and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal 06 year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under 07 AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, not to exceed 45 percent of a district's basic need 08 for the preceding fiscal year as determined under (1) of this subsection. 09 (c) In addition to the local contribution required under (b)(2) of this section, 10 a city or borough school district in a fiscal year may make a local contribution of not 11 more than the greater of 12 (1) the equivalent of a two mill tax levy on the full and true value of 13 the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second 14 preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional 15 Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; or 16 (2) 23 percent of the district's basic need for the fiscal year under 17 (b)(1) of this section. 18 (d) State aid may not be provided to a city or borough school district if the 19 local contributions required under (b)(2) of this section have not been made. 20 (e) If a city or borough school district is established after July 1, 1998, for the 21 first three fiscal years in which the city or borough school district operates schools, 22 local contributions may be less than the amount that would otherwise be required 23 under (b)(2) of this section, except that 24 (1) in the second fiscal year of operations, local contributions must be 25 at least the greater of 26 (A) the local contributions, excluding federal impact aid, for the 27 previous fiscal year; or 28 (B) the sum of 10 percent of the district's eligible federal 29 impact aid for that year and the equivalent of a two mill tax levy on the full 30 and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the city or borough 31 school district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as
01 determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under 02 AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; and 03 (2) in the third year of operation, local contributions must be at least 04 the greater of 05 (A) the local contributions, excluding federal impact aid, for the 06 previous fiscal year; or 07 (B) the sum of 10 percent of the district's eligible federal 08 impact aid for that year and the equivalent of a three mill tax levy on the full 09 and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of 10 January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department 11 of Community and Regional Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110. 12 (f) A school district is eligible for additional state aid in the amount by which 13 the local contributions that would otherwise have been required under (b)(2) of this 14 section exceed the district's actual local contributions under (e) of this section. 15 Sec. 14.17.420. Special needs and intensive services funding. (a) As a 16 component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special needs funding and 17 may be eligible for intensive services funding as follows: 18 (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district 19 in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, and 20 bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 shall 21 be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 22 (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is 23 eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding 24 for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is 25 enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each such student, intensive services 26 funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by five. 27 (b) If a district offers special education, gifted and talented education, 28 vocational education, or bilingual education services, in order to receive funding under 29 (a)(1) of this section, the district must file with the department a plan that indicates the 30 services that will be provided to students who receive these services. 31 (c) In this section, "intensive services" has the meaning given by the
01 department by regulation adopted under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350. 02 Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 03 in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for the state centralized correspondence study program or 04 a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a statewide 05 correspondence study program, includes an allocation from the public school account 06 in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the correspondence program by 07 80 percent. 08 Sec. 14.17.440. State funding for state boarding schools. (a) Except as 09 provided in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for state boarding schools established under 10 AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public school account in an amount 11 calculated by 12 (1) determining the ADM of state boarding schools by applying the 13 school size factor to the student count as described in AS 14.17.450; 14 (2) multiplying the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the 15 special needs factor in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and multiplying that product by the base 16 student allocation; and 17 (3) multiplying the product determined under (2) of this subsection by 18 the district cost factor that is applicable to calculation of the state aid for the adjacent 19 school district under AS 14.17.460. 20 (b) State boarding schools are also eligible for intensive services funding under 21 AS 14.17.420(a)(2). 22 Sec. 14.17.450. School size factor. (a) For purposes of calculating a school's 23 ADM to determine state aid, the ADM of each school in a district shall be computed 24 by applying the following formula: 25 If the student count The adjusted student count is 26 in a school is The number of 27 students in 28 At least But less than Base Multiplier excess of 29 10 - 20 39.6 30 20 - 30 39.6 + (1.62 x 20) 31 30 - 75 55.8 + (1.49 x 30)
01 75 - 150 122.85 + (1.27 x 75) 02 150 - 250 218.1 + (1.08 x 150) 03 250 - 400 326.1 + (0.97 x 250) 04 400 - 750 471.6 + (0.92 x 400) 05 750 or over 793.6 + (0.84 x 750). 06 (b) If the ADM in a school is less than 10, those students shall be included in 07 the ADM of the school in that district with the lowest ADM as determined by the most 08 recent student count data for that district. 09 Sec. 14.17.460. District cost factors. (a) For purposes of calculating a 10 district's adjusted ADM under AS 14.17.410(b)(1), the district cost factor for a school 11 district is as follows: 12 DISTRICT DISTRICT COST FACTOR 13 Alaska Gateway 1.291 14 Aleutians East 1.423 15 Aleutians Region 1.736 16 Alyeska Central School 1.000 17 Anchorage 1.000 18 Annette Island 1.011 19 Bering Strait 1.525 20 Bristol Bay 1.262 21 Chatham 1.120 22 Chugach 1.294 23 Copper River 1.176 24 Cordova 1.096 25 Craig 1.010 26 Delta/Greely 1.106 27 Denali 1.313 28 Dillingham 1.254 29 Fairbanks 1.039 30 Galena 1.348 31 Haines 1.008
01 Hoonah 1.055 02 Hydaburg 1.085 03 Iditarod 1.470 04 Juneau 1.005 05 Kake 1.025 06 Kashunamiut 1.389 07 Kenai Peninsula 1.004 08 Ketchikan 1.000 09 Klawock 1.017 10 Kodiak Island 1.093 11 Kuspuk 1.434 12 Lake and Peninsula 1.558 13 Lower Kuskokwim 1.491 14 Lower Yukon 1.438 15 Matanuska-Susitna 1.010 16 Mt. Edgecumbe 1.000 17 Nenana 1.270 18 Nome 1.319 19 North Slope 1.504 20 Northwest Arctic 1.549 21 Pelican 1.290 22 Petersburg 1.000 23 Pribilof 1.419 24 Sitka 1.000 25 Skagway 1.143 26 Southeast Island 1.124 27 Southwest Region 1.423 28 St. Mary's 1.351 29 Tanana 1.496 30 Unalaska 1.245 31 Valdez 1.095
01 Wrangell 1.000 02 Yakutat 1.046 03 Yukon Flats 1.668 04 Yukon/Koyukuk 1.502 05 Yupiit 1.469. 06 (b) The department shall monitor the cost factors established under (a) of this 07 section and shall prepare and submit to the legislature by January 15 of every other 08 fiscal year proposed district cost factors. 09 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is 10 $3,940. 11 Sec. 14.17.480. Quality school funding. (a) As a component of public 12 school funding, a district is eligible to receive a quality school funding grant not to 13 exceed the district's adjusted ADM multiplied by $16. The department shall by 14 regulation establish a grant process to implement this section. 15 (b) For purposes of the reduction required under AS 14.17.400(b), funding 16 authorized under (a) of this section is treated the same as the state share of public 17 school funding under AS 14.17.410. 18 Sec. 14.17.490. Supplementary public school funding floor. (a) Except as 19 provided in (b) - (e) of this section, if, in fiscal year 1999, a city or borough school 20 district or a regional educational attendance area would receive less public school 21 funding under AS 14.17.410 than the district or area would have received as state aid, 22 the district or area is, in each fiscal year, eligible to receive additional public school 23 funding equal to the difference between the public school funding the district or area 24 was eligible to receive under AS 14.17.410 in fiscal year 1999 and the state aid the 25 district or area would have received in fiscal year 1999. 26 (b) A city or borough school district is not eligible for additional funding 27 authorized under (a) of this section unless, during the fiscal year in which the district 28 receives funding under (a) of this section, the district received a local contribution 29 equal to at least the equivalent of a four mill tax levy on the full and true value of the 30 taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second 31 preceding fiscal year as determined by the Department of Community and Regional
01 Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110. 02 (c) For the purposes of the reduction required under AS 14.17.400(b), funding 03 authorized under (a) of this section is treated the same as the state share of public 04 school funding under AS 14.17.410. 05 (d) Beginning in fiscal year 2000, if a district receives more public school 06 funding under AS 14.17.410 than the district received in the preceding fiscal year, any 07 amount received by the district under this section shall be reduced. The amount of the 08 reduction required under this subsection is equal to the amount of increase from the 09 preceding fiscal year in public school funding multiplied by 40 percent. In this 10 subsection, "public school funding" does not include funding under this section. 11 (e) Beginning in fiscal year 2000, in each fiscal year, the department shall 12 compare each district's ADM with the district's ADM in fiscal year 1999. If the 13 current fiscal year ADM is less than 95 percent of the district's ADM in fiscal year 14 1999, the department shall reduce the district's public school funding calculated under 15 (a) of this section by a percentage equal to the percentage of decrease in the district's 16 ADM. 17 (f) For purposes of this section, "state aid" means state aid distributed under 18 the provisions of AS 14.17, as those provisions read on January 1, 1998, and additional 19 district support appropriated by the legislature for fiscal year 1998. 20 Article 2. Preparation of Public School Funding Budget. 21 Sec. 14.17.500. Student count estimate. (a) A district shall prepare and 22 submit to the department by November 5 of each fiscal year, in the manner and on 23 forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its ADM and other student count 24 data, including per school student count data, for the succeeding fiscal year upon 25 which computations can be made to estimate the amount of state aid for which the 26 district may be eligible under AS 14.17.400 in the succeeding fiscal year. In making 27 its report, the district shall consider its ADM, other student count data, the pattern of 28 growth or decline of the student population in preceding years, and other pertinent 29 information available to the district. 30 (b) Part-time students shall be included in the student count data in accordance 31 with regulations adopted by the department.
01 Sec. 14.17.505. Fund balance in school operating fund. (a) A district may 02 not accumulate in a fiscal year an unreserved portion of its year-end fund balance in 03 its school operating fund, as defined by department regulations, that is greater than 10 04 percent of its expenditures for that fiscal year. 05 (b) The department shall review each district's annual audit under 06 AS 14.14.050 for the preceding fiscal year to ascertain its year-end operating fund 07 balance. The amount by which the unreserved portion of that balance exceeds the 08 amount permitted in (a) of this section shall be deducted from the state aid that would 09 otherwise be paid to the district in the current fiscal year. 10 Sec. 14.17.510. Determination of full and true value by Department of 11 Community and Regional Affairs. (a) To determine the amount of required local 12 contribution under AS 14.17.410(b)(2) and to aid the department and the legislature 13 in planning, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs, in consultation with 14 the assessor for each district in a city or borough, shall determine the full and true 15 value of the taxable real and personal property in each district in a city or borough. 16 If there is no local assessor or current local assessment for a city or borough school 17 district, then the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall make the 18 determination of full and true value from information available. In making the 19 determination, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall be guided by 20 AS 29.45.110. The determination of full and true value shall be made by October 1 21 and sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before that date to the 22 president of the school board in each city or borough school district. Duplicate copies 23 shall be sent to the commissioner. The governing body of a city or borough that is a 24 school district may obtain judicial review of the determination. The superior court 25 may modify the determination of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs 26 only upon a finding of abuse of discretion or upon a finding that there is no substantial 27 evidence to support the determination. 28 (b) Motor vehicles subject to the motor vehicle registration tax under 29 AS 28.10.431 shall be treated as taxable property under this section. 30 Sec. 14.17.520. Minimum expenditure for instruction. (a) A district shall 31 budget for and spend a minimum of 70 percent of its school operating expenditures in
01 each fiscal year on the instructional component of the district budget. 02 (b) The commissioner shall reject a district budget that does not comply with 03 (a) of this section and, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this 04 section, shall withhold payments of state aid from that district, beginning with the 05 payment for the second full month after rejection and continuing until the school board 06 of the district revises the district budget to comply with (a) of this section. 07 (c) The commissioner shall review the annual audit of each district for 08 compliance with the expenditure requirements of (a) of this section. If the 09 commissioner determines that a district does not meet those requirements, the 10 commissioner shall advise the district of the determination, calculate the amount of the 11 deficiency, and deduct that amount from state aid paid to the district for the current 12 fiscal year. A deduction in state aid required under this subsection begins with the 13 payment for the second full month after the determination, unless a waiver has been 14 granted by the board under (d) of this section. 15 (d) A district that has been determined by the commissioner to be out of 16 compliance with the requirements of this section may, within 20 days of the 17 commissioner's determination, request a waiver by the board of the imposition by the 18 commissioner of any reduction in state aid payments under (b) or (c) of this section. 19 The request must be in writing and must include an analysis of the reasons and causes 20 for the district's inability to comply with the requirements of this section. The board 21 may grant the waiver if the board determines that the district's failure to meet the 22 expenditure requirements of this section was due to circumstances beyond the control 23 of the district. The request must also be submitted to the Legislative Budget and Audit 24 Committee, which shall review the district's request and forward the committee's 25 recommendations on it to the board. 26 (e) The commissioner shall submit an annual report on actions taken by the 27 commissioner or the board under this section to the Legislative Budget and Audit 28 Committee by April 15 of each year. 29 (f) In this section, "instructional component" includes expenditures for teachers 30 and for pupil support services. 31 Article 3. Procedure for Payments of State Aid.
01 Sec. 14.17.600. Student counting periods. (a) Within two weeks after the 02 end of the 20-school-day period ending the fourth Friday in October, each district shall 03 transmit a report to the department that, under regulations adopted by the department, 04 reports its ADM for that counting period and other student count information that will 05 aid the department in making a determination of its state aid under the public school 06 funding program. For centralized correspondence study, the October report shall be 07 based on the period from July 1 through the fourth Friday in October, except that 08 summer school students shall be counted as a proportionate fraction as determined by 09 the department. The department may make necessary corrections in the report 10 submitted and shall notify the district of changes made. The commissioner shall notify 11 the governor of additional appropriations the commissioner estimates to be necessary 12 to fully finance the public school funding program for the current fiscal year. 13 (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 14 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period other than the period set out 15 in (a) of this section. However, a counting period approved under this subsection must 16 be 20 consecutive school days unless one or more alternate counting periods are 17 necessary to permit a district to implement flexible scheduling that meets the district's 18 needs and goals without jeopardizing the state aid for which the district would be 19 ordinarily be eligible under this chapter. 20 Sec. 14.17.610. Distribution of state aid. (a) The department shall determine 21 the state aid for each school district in a fiscal year on the basis of the district's 22 student count data reported under AS 14.17.600. On or before the 15th day of each 23 of the first nine months of each fiscal year, one-twelfth of each district's state aid shall 24 be distributed on the basis of the data reported for the preceding fiscal year. On or 25 before the 15th day of each of the last three months of each fiscal year, one-third of 26 the balance of each district's state aid shall be distributed, after the balance has been 27 recomputed on the basis of student count and other data reported for the current fiscal 28 year. 29 (b) Distribution of state aid under (a) of this section shall be made as required 30 under AS 14.17.410. If a district receives more state aid than it is entitled to receive 31 under this chapter, the district shall immediately remit the amount of overpayment to
01 the commissioner, to be returned to the public school account. The department may 02 make adjustments to a district's state aid to correct underpayments made in previous 03 fiscal years. 04 (c) Upon an adequate showing of a cash flow shortfall of a district, and in the 05 discretion of the commissioner, the department may make advance payments to a 06 district. The total of advance payments may not exceed the amount of state aid for 07 which the district is eligible for the fiscal year. 08 Article 4. General Provisions. 09 Sec. 14.17.900. Construction and implementation of chapter. (a) This 10 chapter does not create a debt of the state. Each district shall establish, maintain, and 11 operate under a balanced budget. The state is not responsible for the debts of a school 12 district. 13 (b) Money to carry out the provisions of this chapter may be appropriated 14 annually by the legislature into the public school account. If the amount in the 15 account is insufficient to meet the allocations authorized under AS 14.17.400 - 16 14.17.470 for a fiscal year, state aid shall be reduced according to AS 14.17.400(b). 17 Sec. 14.17.905. Facilities constituting a school. (a) For purposes of this 18 chapter, the determination of the number of schools in a district is subject to the 19 following: 20 (1) a community with an ADM of at least 10, but not more than 100, 21 shall be counted as one school; 22 (2) a community with an ADM of at least 101, but not more than 750, 23 shall be counted as 24 (A) one elementary school, which includes those students in 25 grades kindergarten through 6; and 26 (B) one secondary school, which includes students in grades 7 27 through 12; 28 (3) in a community with an ADM of greater than 750, each facility that 29 is administered as a separate school shall be counted as one school, except that each 30 alternative school with an ADM of less than 200 shall be counted as a part of the 31 school in the district with the highest ADM.
01 Sec. 14.17.910. Restrictions governing receipt and expenditure of district 02 money. (a) Each district shall maintain complete financial records of the receipt and 03 disbursement of state aid, money acquired from local effort, and other money received 04 or held by the district. The records must be in the form required by the department 05 and are subject to audit by the department at a time and place designated by the 06 department. 07 (b) State aid provided under this chapter is for general operational purposes 08 of the district. All district money, including state aid, shall be received, held, 09 allocated, and expended by the district under applicable local law and state and federal 10 constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations, including those related to ethical 11 standards and accounting principles. 12 Sec. 14.17.920. Regulations. The department shall adopt regulations necessary 13 to implement this chapter. 14 Sec. 14.17.990. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context requires 15 otherwise, 16 (1) "ADM or average daily membership" means the aggregate number 17 of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a school district during the student count 18 period for which a determination is being made, divided by the actual number of days 19 that school is in session for the student count period for which the determination is 20 being made; 21 (2) "district" means a city or borough school district or a regional 22 educational attendance area; 23 (3) "district adjusted ADM" means the number resulting from the 24 calculations under AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 25 (4) "district ADM" means the sum of the ADMs in a district; 26 (5) "eligible federal impact aid" means the amount of federal impact 27 aid received by a district as of March 1 of the fiscal year as a result of an application 28 submitted in the preceding fiscal year, including advance payments and adjustments 29 received since March 1 of the preceding fiscal year from prior year applications, under 30 20 U.S.C. 7701 - 7714, except payments received under 20 U.S.C. 7703(f)(2)(B), to 31 the extent the state may consider that aid as local resources under federal law;
01 (6) "local contribution" means appropriations and the value of in-kind 02 services made by a district; 03 (7) "taxable real and personal property" means all real and personal 04 property taxable under the laws of the state. 05 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.120(d) is repealed and reenacted to read: 06 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 07 public school shall provide, in a public meeting of parents, students, and community 08 members, a report on the school's performance and the performance of the school's 09 students. The report shall be prepared on a form prescribed by the department and 10 must include 11 (1) information on accreditation; 12 (2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests; 13 (3) results of state standards-based assessments in reading, writing, and 14 mathematics; 15 (4) a description, including quantitative and qualitative measures, of 16 student, parent, community, and business involvement in student learning; 17 (5) a description of the school's attendance, retention, dropout, and 18 graduation rates as specified by the state board; and 19 (6) the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, and 20 the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the 21 school district. 22 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.120(e) is repealed and reenacted to read: 23 (e) By a date set by the district, each public school in the district shall provide 24 the report described in (d) of this section to the district's governing body. Along with 25 the report, each public school shall submit a summary of comments made on the report 26 by parents, students, and community members. By July 1 of each year, beginning in 27 2000, each district shall provide to the department a report on the performance of each 28 public school and the public school students in the district. The district's report must 29 (1) be entitled "School District Report Card to the Public"; and 30 (2) include 31 (A) copies of the reports and summaries of comments submitted
01 under this section by each public school in the district; and 02 (B) a compilation of the material described in (A) of this 03 paragraph by each public school in the district. 04 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.120(f) is repealed and reenacted to read: 05 (f) By January 15 of each year, beginning in 2001, the department shall 06 provide to the governor and make available to the public and the legislature a report 07 on the performance of public schools in this state. The report must be entitled 08 "Alaska's Public Schools: A Report Card to the Public." The report must include 09 (1) comprehensive information on each public school compiled, 10 collected, and reported under (d) and (e) of this section for the prior school year; 11 (2) a summary of the information described in (1) of this subsection; 12 the summary must be prepared in a manner that allows school performance to be 13 measured against established state education standards; and 14 (3) for a report due by or after January 15, 2003, the performance 15 designation under AS 14.03.123(b) received by each public school during the prior 16 school year. 17 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.120(g) is amended to read: 18 (g) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 19 [AS 14.17.250]. 20 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 21 Sec. 14.03.123. School accountability. (a) Beginning in August 2002, and 22 during each of the following 12-month periods, the department shall assign each public 23 school in each district the performance designation of distinguished, successful, 24 deficient, or in crisis based on multiple student measures, including student 25 achievement. The state board of education shall establish this process by regulation. 26 (b) A public school assigned a performance designation of deficient or in crisis 27 shall develop a school improvement plan under (e) of this section. The department 28 shall inform the governing body of each district of the performance designation 29 assigned to each public school in the district. 30 (c) The state board shall adopt regulations to allow a district to appeal the 31 performance designation assigned to a public school in that district.
01 (d) The department may establish a program of special recognition for those 02 public schools that achieve a distinguished performance designation. 03 (e) A public school that receives a designation of deficient or in crisis shall 04 prepare a school improvement plan to improve student performance based on a process 05 established by the state board of education. The public school shall undertake an 06 improvement process under that plan to lead to a designation of successful or 07 distinguished. The school improvement plan must be prepared with the maximum 08 feasible public participation of the community, including, if appropriate, interested 09 individuals, teachers, parents, parent organizations, students, tribal organizations, local 10 government representatives, and other community groups. The district shall consult 11 with and assist the public school in the preparation of the school improvement plan. 12 The school improvement plan must be approved by the local school board. The 13 commissioner may provide technical assistance to a public school or the district at any 14 time during the preparation and implementation of the school improvement plan on the 15 request of an interested person and the approval of the district. 16 (f) Beginning August 1, 2002, and periodically during each of the following 17 12-month periods, the department shall monitor the progress of the implementation of 18 each school improvement plan prepared under (e) of this section. 19 (g) The department may use existing staff or contract with one or more 20 qualified persons to assist a public school that is deficient or in crisis under this 21 section to improve student performance. Qualified persons to provide assistance under 22 this section include educators, business leaders, members of the governing body of that 23 district, and community leaders. The provisions of AS 36.30 do not apply to a 24 contract awarded under this subsection. 25 (h) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this title, if the performance 26 designation of a public school has continued to be deficient or in crisis for two 27 consecutive school years, the chief school administrator, if the district employs a chief 28 school administrator, the president of the governing body, and the principal of the 29 public school shall, at a public meeting of the state board of education, present a 30 written report on the performance of that public school. 31 (i) The state board of education shall develop, by regulation, measures that
01 may be progressively implemented by the commissioner to assist a public school to 02 improve student performance in accordance with this section. 03 (j) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990. 04 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03.125(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 06 [AS 14.17.250]. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 14.03.150(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) The department may not award a school construction or major maintenance 09 grant under AS 14.11 to a municipality that is a school district or a regional 10 educational attendance area that is not in compliance with (a) of this section. The 11 department shall reduce the amount of state [FOUNDATION] aid under AS 14.17.400 12 [AS 14.17.021] for which a school district may qualify [,] by the amount, if any, paid 13 by the department under (b) of this section. 14 * Sec. 10. AS 14.03.160(f)(2) is amended to read: 15 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250]. 16 * Sec. 11. AS 14.03.260(c) is amended to read: 17 (c) The charter school shall provide the financial and accounting information 18 requested by the local school board or the Department of Education [,] and shall 19 cooperate with the local school district or the department in complying with the 20 requirements of AS 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.190]. 21 * Sec. 12. AS 14.07.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (c) In implementing its duties under (a)(2) of this section, the department shall 23 develop 24 (1) performance standards in reading, writing, and mathematics to be 25 met at designated age levels by each student in public schools in the state; and 26 (2) a comprehensive system of student assessments, composed of 27 multiple indicators of proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics; this 28 comprehensive system must 29 (A) be made available to all districts and regional educational 30 attendance areas; 31 (B) include a developmental profile for students entering
01 kindergarten or first grade; and 02 (C) include performance standards in reading, writing, and 03 mathematics for students in age groups five through seven, eight through 10, 04 and 11 - 14. 05 * Sec. 13. AS 14.08.101 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06 (11) employ a chief school administrator. 07 * Sec. 14. AS 14.08.111(3) is amended to read: 08 (3) [EMPLOY A CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR AND] approve 09 the employment of the professional administrators, teachers, and noncertificated 10 personnel necessary to operate its schools; 11 * Sec. 15. AS 14.09.010(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 12 (b) A school district that enters into a contract described under (a)(1) of this 13 section shall be reimbursed for 14 (1) at least 90 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 15 system if the transportation is provided by the school district; and 16 (2) 100 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 17 system when the transportation is provided under a contract with the school district. 18 * Sec. 16. AS 14.09.010 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (d) The department shall apply the same criteria in determining eligibility for 20 reimbursement under (b)(1) or (2) of this section. 21 * Sec. 17. AS 14.11.008(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) The required participating share for a municipal school district is based on 23 the district's full value per average daily membership ( ADM ) , which is calculated 24 by dividing the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the 25 district, calculated as described in AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.025(a)(1),] by the district 26 ADM [AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP (ADM)] as defined in AS 14.17.990 27 [AS 14.17.250], for the same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The 28 municipal district's full value per ADM determines the district's required participating 29 share, as follows: 30 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 31 $1 - $100,000 5 percent
01 100,001 - 200,000 10 percent 02 200,001 - 600,000 30 percent 03 over 600,000 35 percent. 04 * Sec. 18. AS 14.14.115(c)(2) is amended to read: 05 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250]. 06 * Sec. 19. AS 14.14.130(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A [EACH] school board may [SHALL] select and employ a qualified 08 person as the chief school administrator for the district. In this subsection, "employ" 09 includes employment by contract. 10 * Sec. 20. AS 14.14.130(b) is amended to read: 11 (b) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 12 administrator [OF THE DISTRICT] shall administer the district in accordance with 13 the policies that the school board prescribes by bylaw. 14 * Sec. 21. AS 14.14.130(c) is amended to read: 15 (c) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 16 administrator shall select, appoint, and otherwise control all school district employees 17 that serve under the chief school administrator subject to the approval of the school 18 board. 19 * Sec. 22. AS 14.16.020(2) is amended to read: 20 (2) [EMPLOY CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND] approve 21 the employment of [OTHER] personnel necessary to operate state boarding schools; 22 * Sec. 23. AS 14.16.050(a)(2) is amended to read: 23 (2) requirements relating to the public school funding program 24 [STATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION] and the receipt and 25 expenditure of that funding [ASSISTANCE]: 26 (A) AS 14.17.500 [AS 14.17.080] (relating to student count 27 estimates); 28 (B) AS 14.17.505 [AS 14.17.082] (relating to school operating 29 fund balances); 30 (C) AS 14.17.500 - 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.160 - 14.17.220] 31 (setting out the procedure for payment of public school funding [FINANCIAL
01 ASSISTANCE,] and imposing general requirements and limits on money paid); 02 * Sec. 24. AS 14.16.080(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) AS 14.17.440 [AS 14.17.024] applies to the calculation of public school 04 funding [STATE AID] payable for operation of a state boarding school. 05 * Sec. 25. AS 14.20.025 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 14.20.025. Limited teacher certificates. Notwithstanding 07 AS 14.20.020(b), a person may be issued a limited certificate, valid only in the area 08 of expertise for which it is issued, to teach Alaska Native language or culture, military 09 science, or a vocational or technical course for which the board determines by 10 regulation that baccalaureate degree training is not sufficiently available. A limited 11 certificate may be issued under this section only if the school board of the district or 12 regional educational attendance area in which the person will be teaching 13 [, THROUGH THE CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR,] has requested its issuance. 14 A person who applies for a limited certificate shall demonstrate, as required by 15 regulations adopted by the board, instructional skills and subject matter expertise 16 sufficient to ensure the public that the person is competent as a teacher. The board 17 may require a person issued a limited certificate to undertake academic training as may 18 be required by the board by regulation and make satisfactory progress in the academic 19 training. 20 * Sec. 26. AS 14.20.147(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) When an attendance area is transferred from a currently operating district 22 to, or absorbed into, a new or existing school district, the teachers for the attendance 23 area also shall be transferred unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher or 24 teachers and the chief school administrator of the new district if the district employs 25 a chief school administrator . Accumulated or earned benefits, including [BUT NOT 26 LIMITED TO,] seniority, salary level, tenure, leave, and retirement, accompany the 27 teacher who is transferred. 28 * Sec. 27. AS 14.20.148 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 14.20.148. Intradistrict teacher reassignments. When a teacher is 30 involuntarily transferred or reassigned to a position for which the teacher is qualified, 31 within the district, the teacher's moving expenses shall be paid unless the one-way
01 driving distance is 20 miles or less from the teacher's present place of residence, or 02 unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher and chief school administrator of the 03 district if the district employs a chief school administrator . 04 * Sec. 28. AS 14.20.177(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) A school district may implement a layoff plan under this section if it is 06 necessary for the district to reduce the number of tenured teachers because 07 (1) school attendance in the district has decreased; or 08 (2) the basic need of the school district determined under 09 AS 14.17.410(b)(1) [AS 14.17.021(c) AND ADJUSTED UNDER AS 14.17.225(b)] 10 decreases by three percent or more from the previous year. 11 * Sec. 29. AS 14.30.305 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 14.30.305. State support of programs for children hospitalized or 13 confined to their homes. A child who is hospitalized or confined to home and who 14 receives at least 10 hours of special education and related services per week may be 15 counted as a pupil in average daily membership when computing state support under 16 the public school funding [FOUNDATION] program. 17 * Sec. 30. AS 14.30.347 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 14.30.347. Transportation of exceptional children. When transportation 19 is required to be provided as related services, an exceptional child [CHILDREN] shall 20 be carried with other children if the district provides transportation to other 21 children in the district [,] except when the nature of the [THEIR] physical or mental 22 disability [DISABILITIES] is such that it is in the best interest of the exceptional 23 child [CHILDREN], as determined by the school district, that the child [THEY] be 24 transported separately. State reimbursement for transportation of exceptional children 25 shall be as provided for transportation of all other pupils except that eligibility for 26 reimbursement is not subject to restriction based on the minimum distance between the 27 school and the residence of the exceptional child. 28 * Sec. 31. AS 14.30.650 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 14.30.650. Funding. Each fiscal year the department shall allocate to the 30 agency not less than $15.75 times the number of students in the state in average 31 daily membership in the preceding fiscal year as determined under AS 14.17.600.
01 Money to carry out the provisions of this section may be appropriated annually 02 by the legislature. If amounts are insufficient to meet the allocation authorized 03 under this section for a fiscal year, the allocation shall be reduced pro rata [$85 04 FOR EACH SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENT IN THE STATE IN AVERAGE 05 DAILY MEMBERSHIP OR THE EQUIVALENT OF TWO PERCENT OF THE 06 FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR THAT FISCAL 07 YEAR, WHICHEVER IS GREATER]. The amount allocated to the agency shall be 08 reduced each fiscal year by the amount contributed by the department to the Teachers' 09 Retirement System (AS 14.25) or the Public Employees' Retirement System 10 (AS 39.35) on behalf of employees of the agency. 11 * Sec. 32. AS 14.36.030(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) A district operating a community school program under an approved plan 13 of operation may receive an annual grant from the state of one-half of one percent of 14 its public school funding [FOUNDATION SUPPORT] or $10,000, whichever is 15 greater. 16 * Sec. 33. AS 29.45.020(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) If a municipality levies and collects property taxes, the governing body 18 shall provide the following notice: 19 "NOTICE TO TAXPAYER 20 For the current fiscal year the (city)(borough) has been allocated the following amount 21 of state aid for school and municipal purposes under the applicable financial assistance 22 Acts: 23 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING [FOUNDATION] 24 PROGRAM [ASSISTANCE] (AS 14.17) $ 25 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT OF SCHOOL 26 CONSTRUCTION DEBT (AS 14.11.100) $ 27 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE EQUALIZATION 28 (AS 29.60.010 - 29.60.080) $ 29 PRIORITY REVENUE SHARING FOR 30 MUNICIPAL SERVICES (AS 29.60.100 - 29.60.180) $ 31 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE COMMUNITIES
01 (AS 29.60.350 - 29.60.375) $ 02 TOTAL AID $ 03 The millage equivalent of this state aid, based on the dollar value of a mill in the 04 municipality during the current assessment year and for the preceding assessment year, 05 is: 06 MILLAGE EQUIVALENT 07 PREVIOUS YEAR THIS YEAR 08 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING 09 [FOUNDATION] PROGRAM 10 ASSISTANCE . . . . MILLS . . . . MILLS 11 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT 12 OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 13 DEBT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 14 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE 15 EQUALIZATION . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 16 PRIORITY REVENUE FOR SHARING 17 MUNICIPAL SERVICES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 18 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE 19 COMMUNITIES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 20 TOTAL MILLAGE 21 EQUIVALENT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS" 22 Notice shall be provided by 23 (1) [BY] furnishing a copy of the notice with tax statements mailed for 24 the fiscal year for which aid is received; or 25 (2) [BY] publishing in a newspaper of general circulation in the 26 municipality a copy of the notice once each week for a period of three successive 27 weeks, with publication to occur not later than 45 days after the final adoption of the 28 municipality's budget. 29 * Sec. 34. AS 29.60.030(d) is amended to read: 30 (d) The full and true assessed property value shall be determined by the 31 department in the manner provided for the computation of state aid to education under
01 AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.140]. When the determination of locally generated revenue 02 includes revenue of a utility received under AS 29.60.010(c)(1)(E), the full and true 03 assessed property value must include the computed assessed value of the utility, 04 determined by dividing the amount of the payment in place of taxes made by the 05 utility by the millage rate that would apply to the utility if the utility were subject to 06 levy and collection of taxes under AS 29.45. 07 * Sec. 35. AS 36.10.090(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) A local government or school district covered by the provisions of this 09 chapter that is found to be in violation of these provisions may be required to forfeit 10 all or part of the state aid made available for the project in which the violation occurs 11 and in addition may be denied up to 12 months of state revenue sharing or public 12 school funding [FOUNDATION MONEY]. A state department or agency head found 13 to be in violation of this chapter may be required to forfeit the position of department 14 or agency head. 15 * Sec. 36. AS 36.10.125(c) is amended to read: 16 (c) In an action brought under (b) of this section , the court may, in its 17 discretion, order denial of state revenue sharing or public school funding 18 [FOUNDATION MONEY], forfeiture of office or position, or injunctive or other 19 relief. If the court finds for the plaintiff in an action brought under (b) of this section, 20 it may award the plaintiff an amount equal to the actual costs and attorney fees 21 incurred by the plaintiff. 22 * Sec. 37. AS 36.30.850(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 23 (38) contracts of the Department of Education under AS 14.03.123(g). 24 * Sec. 38. AS 44.47.305(c) is amended to read: 25 (c) A grant under (a) of this section may not exceed $50 per month for each 26 child the child care facility cares for, or for each full-time equivalent, as determined 27 by the department. The grant shall be adjusted on a geographic basis by the same 28 factor [PERCENTAGES] as funding for a school district is [INSTRUCTIONAL 29 UNIT ALLOTMENTS ARE] adjusted under AS 14.17.460 [AS 14.17.051]. 30 * Sec. 39. AS 14.16.050(a)(1)(G); AS 14.17.010, 14.17.021, 14.17.022, 14.17.024, 31 14.17.025, 14.17.026, 14.17.031, 14.17.041, 14.17.043, 14.17.045, 14.17.047, 14.17.051,
01 14.17.056, 14.17.080, 14.17.082, 14.17.140, 14.17.160, 14.17.170, 14.17.190, 14.17.200, 02 14.17.210, 14.17.220, 14.17.225, 14.17.250; and AS 14.30.315(a) are repealed. 03 * Sec. 40. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. (a) To the extent the regulations are not 04 inconsistent with the language and purposes of this Act, regulations relating to state aid for 05 public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the effective date of this 06 section remain in effect as valid regulations implementing this Act; all other regulations 07 relating to state aid for public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the 08 effective date of this section are annulled. The Department of Education may administer and 09 enforce those previously adopted regulations relating to state foundation aid for public schools. 10 (b) The Department of Education shall, by regulation, define the term "school" for 11 purposes of AS 14.17. 12 * Sec. 41. TRANSITION: PROPOSED DISTRICT COST FACTORS. The Department 13 of Education shall submit the initial proposed district cost factors, required under 14 AS 14.17.460(b), enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, to the Alaska State Legislature by January 15, 15 2001. 16 * Sec. 42. TRANSITION: CENTRALIZED CORRESPONDENCE FUNDING. 17 Notwithstanding AS 14.17.430, as enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, funding for a correspondence 18 study program includes an allocation from the public school account in an amount calculated 19 by multiplying the ADM of the correspondence program by a percentage as follows: 20 For the fiscal year beginning Percentage 21 July 1, 1998 70 percent 22 July 1, 1999 75 percent 23 * Sec. 43. 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. 44. TRANSITION: SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING. If, for fiscal year 1999, 30 the special education service agency would receive less funding under AS 14.30.650, as 31 amended by sec. 31 of this Act, than the agency would have received for fiscal year 1999
01 under AS 14.30.650 as that provision read before the effective date of this Act, the agency is 02 eligible to receive additional state funding for fiscal year 1999 equal to the difference between 03 the state funding the agency is eligible to receive under AS 14.30.650, as amended by sec. 31 04 of this Act, and the state funding the agency is eligible to receive on the day before the 05 effective date of this Act. 06 * Sec. 45. TRANSITION: BASIC NEED. Notwithstanding AS 14.17.410(b)(2), enacted 07 in sec. 2 of this Act, for fiscal year 1999, the Department of Education shall determine basic 08 need for purposes of calculating the required contribution of a city or borough school district 09 under AS 14.17.410(b)(2) by using projected data. 10 * Sec. 46. TRANSITION: PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING. (a) If, in fiscal year 1999, a 11 city or borough school district or a regional educational attendance area would receive more 12 public school funding under AS 14.17.410, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, than the district or 13 area would have received as state aid in fiscal year 1999, the district or area may not receive 14 state funding that exceeds the amount the district or area would be eligible to receive in state 15 aid in fiscal year 1999 and 60 percent of the difference between the state aid the district or 16 area would have received in fiscal year 1999 and the state funding the district or area was 17 eligible to receive under AS 14.17.410, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, in fiscal year 1999. 18 (b) For purposes of this section, "state aid" means state aid distributed under the 19 provisions of AS 14.17, as those provisions read on January 1, 1998, and additional district 20 support appropriated by the legislature. 21 * Sec. 47. REQUIRED REPORT. The Department of Education shall compare the use of 22 per school funding required under this Act to the use of funding communities required in 23 AS 14.17 before the effective date of this Act and submit a report to the Alaska State 24 Legislature by January 15, 2001. 25 * Sec. 48. This Act takes effect July 1, 1998.