HCS SB 103(HES): "An Act relating to a curriculum for Native language education; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 103(HES) 01 "An Act relating to a curriculum for Native language education; and providing 02 for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new 05 section to read: 06 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Native Language Education Act. 07 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 08 to read: 09 FINDINGS. The legislature finds that 10 (1) Alaska's indigenous Native cultures and languages are unique, essential 11 elements of Alaska's heritage; 12 (2) Alaska's indigenous Native languages are an integral part of Alaska Native 13 people's culture and well-being; 14 (3) knowledge of one's indigenous language is important for the development
01 of social skills and self-esteem; it further contributes to the development of the individual and 02 the ability to communicate; 03 (4) translations from a Native language into English result in the loss of 04 context and deprivation of the full range of social and cultural understanding necessary to 05 function in the individual's environment; 06 (5) when Native children are proficient in their primary indigenous language, 07 they are more likely to do well in school; they also develop a higher degree of proficiency in 08 English; 09 (6) historically, Alaska Native children first learned their Native language in 10 their homes and communities, but, with the passing of Native elders and with a current 11 generation of parents who are not fluent in their Native language, younger generations are less 12 knowledgeable about their language and culture; 13 (7) the loss of indigenous Native languages dates back to the late 1800's when 14 mainstream American missionaries enforced federal policies that forbade the use of Native 15 languages, punished children for speaking their own language, and urged parents to speak only 16 English to their children; 17 (8) the continuation of "no Native language" policies in federal, territorial, and 18 state school systems between 1910 and 1970 resulted in the loss of many Native languages; 19 (9) the fact that only two of the 20 Alaska Native languages are fluently 20 spoken by children today is an indicator of the impending extinction of Native languages; 21 (10) unless action is taken, by the year 2055 only five of the 20 Alaska Native 22 languages will be spoken by anyone, and soon thereafter the Native languages of Alaska may 23 vanish. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 25 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 26 public school shall provide, in a public meeting of parents, students, and community 27 members, a report on the school's performance and the performance of the school's 28 students. The report shall be prepared on a form prescribed by the department and 29 must include 30 (1) information on accreditation; 31 (2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests;
01 (3) results of state standards-based assessments in reading, writing, and 02 mathematics; 03 (4) a description, including quantitative and qualitative measures, of 04 student, parent, community, and business involvement in student learning; 05 (5) a description of the school's attendance, retention, dropout, and 06 graduation rates as specified by the state board; [AND] 07 (6) the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, and 08 the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the 09 school district ; and 10 (7) if Native language education is provided, a summary and 11 evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420 . 12 * Sec. 4. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to article 6 to read: 13 Sec. 14.30.420. Native language education. (a) A school board shall 14 establish a local Native language curriculum advisory board for each school in the 15 district in which a majority of the students are Alaska Natives and any school district 16 with Alaska Native students may establish a local Native language curriculum advisory 17 board for each school with Alaska Native students in their district. If the local Native 18 language curriculum advisory board recommends the establishment of a Native 19 language education curriculum for a school, the school board may initiate and conduct 20 a Native language education curriculum within grades K through 12 at that school. 21 The program, if established, must include Native languages traditionally spoken in the 22 community in which the school is located. Each school board conducting a program 23 of Native language education shall implement the program as a part of regular 24 classroom studies and shall use 25 (1) instructors who are certified under AS 14.20.020 or 14.20.025; and 26 (2) to the maximum extent possible 27 (A) instructors and instructional materials available through the 28 University of Alaska; and 29 (B) audio-visual, computer, and satellite technology. 30 (b) In this section, 31 (1) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990;
01 (2) "Native" means a person of one-fourth degree or more Alaskan 02 Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut blood. 03 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect July 1, 2000.