Enrolled SB 285: 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.
00Enrolled SB 285 01 Relating to the power and duties of the Department of Education and Early Development for 02 improving instructional practices in school districts; and providing for an effective date. 03 _______________ 04 * Section 1. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The department shall 06 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 07 except the University of Alaska; 08 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 09 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 10 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 11 of the public schools; 12 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 13 governing bodies and personnel;
01 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 02 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 03 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 04 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 05 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 06 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 07 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 08 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 09 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 10 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 11 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 12 the members of each house; 13 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 14 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will assure healthful and safe 15 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 16 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 17 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 18 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 19 receive direct state or federal funding; 20 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 21 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 22 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 23 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 24 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 25 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 26 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 27 licensed; 28 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 29 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 30 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 31 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school
01 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 02 include educational specifications, schematic designs, and final contract documents; 03 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 04 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 05 are no longer attending school; 06 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 07 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 08 school bus driver training course; 09 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 10 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 11 behavior; 12 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student 13 performance, under which the department may intervene in a school district to 14 improve instructional practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the 15 regulations must include 16 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the 17 deficiencies and the instructional practice changes proposed by the 18 department; 19 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described 20 in AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates 21 three consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two 22 percent increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments 23 in math, reading, and writing as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A); and 24 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 25 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 26 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 27 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(14) or 28 redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15). 29 * Sec. 2. AS 14.07.030 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 14.07.030. Powers of the department. The department may 31 (1) establish, maintain, govern, operate, discontinue, and combine area,
01 regional, and special schools; 02 (2) enter into contractual agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs 03 or with a school district to share boarding costs of secondary school students; 04 (3) provide for citizenship night schools when and where expedient; 05 (4) provide for the sale or other disposition of abandoned or obsolete 06 buildings and other state-owned school property; 07 (5) prescribe a classification for items of expense of school districts; 08 (6) acquire and transfer personal property, acquire real property, and 09 transfer real property to federal agencies, state agencies, or to political subdivisions; 10 (7) enter into contractual agreements with school districts to provide 11 more efficient or economical education services; reasonable fees may be charged by 12 the department to cover the costs of providing services under an agreement, including 13 costs for professional services, reproduction or printing, and mailing and distribution 14 of educational materials; 15 (8) provide for the issuance of elementary and secondary diplomas to 16 persons not in school who have completed the equivalent of an 8th or 12th grade 17 education, respectively, in accordance with standards established by the department; 18 (9) apply for, accept, and spend endowments, grants, and other private 19 money available to the state for educational purposes in accordance with AS 37.07 20 (Executive Budget Act); 21 (10) set student tuition and fees for educational and extracurricular 22 programs and services provided and schools operated by the department under the 23 provisions of (1) of this section and AS 14.07.020(a)(9), (11), and (12); 24 (11) charge fees to cover the costs of care and handling with respect to 25 the acquisition, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of donated foods; 26 (12) establish and collect fees for the rental of school facilities and for 27 other programs and services provided by the schools; 28 (13) develop a model curriculum and provide technical assistance for 29 early childhood education programs; 30 (14) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, intervene in 31 a school district to improve instructional practices under standards established
01 by the department in regulation, including directing the 02 (A) employees identified by the department to exercise 03 supervisory authority for instructional practices in the district or in a 04 specified school; 05 (B) use of appropriations under this title for distribution to 06 a district; 07 (15) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, redirect 08 public school funding under AS 14.17 appropriated for distribution to a school 09 district, after providing notice to the district and an opportunity for the district 10 to respond, when 11 (A) necessary to contract for services to improve 12 instructional practices in the district; or 13 (B) the district has failed to take an action required by the 14 department to improve instructional practices in the district; if funding is 15 redirected under this subparagraph, the department shall provide the 16 redirected funding to the district when the department has determined 17 that the required action is satisfactorily completed. 18 * Sec. 3. AS 14.07 is amended by adding a new section to read: 19 Sec. 14.07.032. Definition for AS 14.07.020 - 14.07.032. In AS 14.07.020 - 20 14.07.032, "instructional practices" means the strategies and methods used in teaching 21 or delivering information, skills, material, and student learning management tools to a 22 student to help the student achieve intended educational outcomes. 23 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).