SB 285: "An Act relating to the power and duties of the Department of Education and Early Development for improving instructional practices in school districts; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 285 01 "An Act relating to the power and duties of the Department of Education and Early 02 Development for improving instructional practices in school districts; and providing for 03 an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that the Department of 08 Education and Early Development provide state oversight of public education, and that state 09 oversight respect and promote local control of public education where local control has 10 resulted in effective instructional practices. Consistent with the accountability system 11 established in AS 14.03.123, the secondary student competency examination in AS 14.03.075, 12 and the decision of the Alaska Superior Court in Moore v. State, No. 3AN-04-9756 CI 13 (Alaska Super. 2007), it is also the intent of the legislature that the Department of Education 14 and Early Development intervene in a school district when the department has evidence that
01 intervention by the department can result in improvement in instructional practices in the 02 school district. 03 * Sec. 2. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) The department shall 05 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 06 except the University of Alaska; 07 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 08 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 09 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 10 of the public schools; 11 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 12 governing bodies and personnel; 13 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 14 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 15 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 16 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 17 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 18 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 19 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 20 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 21 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 22 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 23 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 24 the members of each house; 25 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 26 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will assure healthful and safe 27 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 28 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 29 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 30 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 31 receive direct state or federal funding;
01 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 02 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 03 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 04 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 05 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 06 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 07 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 08 licensed; 09 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 10 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 11 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 12 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 13 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 14 include educational specifications, schematic designs, and final contract documents; 15 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 16 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 17 are no longer attending school; 18 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 19 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 20 school bus driver training course; 21 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 22 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 23 behavior; 24 (16) establish by regulation criteria under which the department 25 may intervene in the instructional practices of a school district when necessary to 26 improve instructional practices, as described under AS 14.07.030(14) or (15). 27 * Sec. 3. AS 14.07.030 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 14.07.030. Powers of the department. The department may 29 (1) establish, maintain, govern, operate, discontinue, and combine area, 30 regional, and special schools; 31 (2) enter into contractual agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
01 or with a school district to share boarding costs of secondary school students; 02 (3) provide for citizenship night schools when and where expedient; 03 (4) provide for the sale or other disposition of abandoned or obsolete 04 buildings and other state-owned school property; 05 (5) prescribe a classification for items of expense of school districts; 06 (6) acquire and transfer personal property, acquire real property, and 07 transfer real property to federal agencies, state agencies, or to political subdivisions; 08 (7) enter into contractual agreements with school districts to provide 09 more efficient or economical education services; reasonable fees may be charged by 10 the department to cover the costs of providing services under an agreement, including 11 costs for professional services, reproduction or printing, and mailing and distribution 12 of educational materials; 13 (8) provide for the issuance of elementary and secondary diplomas to 14 persons not in school who have completed the equivalent of an 8th or 12th grade 15 education, respectively, in accordance with standards established by the department; 16 (9) apply for, accept, and spend endowments, grants, and other private 17 money available to the state for educational purposes in accordance with AS 37.07 18 (Executive Budget Act); 19 (10) set student tuition and fees for educational and extracurricular 20 programs and services provided and schools operated by the department under the 21 provisions of (1) of this section and AS 14.07.020(a)(9), (11), and (12); 22 (11) charge fees to cover the costs of care and handling with respect to 23 the acquisition, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of donated foods; 24 (12) establish and collect fees for the rental of school facilities and for 25 other programs and services provided by the schools; 26 (13) develop a model curriculum and provide technical assistance for 27 early childhood education programs; 28 (14) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, intervene as 29 necessary in a school district to improve instructional practices under standards 30 established by the department in regulation, including directing the 31 (A) personnel decisions of a district; and
01 (B) use of appropriations under this title for distribution to 02 a district; 03 (15) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, withhold 04 public school funding under AS 14.17 appropriated for distribution to a school 05 district, after providing notice to the district and an opportunity for the district 06 to respond, when 07 (A) necessary to contract for services to improve 08 instructional practices in the district; or 09 (B) the district has failed to take an action required by the 10 department to improve instructional practices in the district; if funding is 11 withheld under this subparagraph, the department shall provide the 12 funding withheld to the district when the department has determined that 13 the required action is satisfactorily completed. 14 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).