CSHB 330(EDC): "An Act establishing a Joint Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Education; establishing state education standards; amending the authority of the Department of Education and Early Development to adopt education standards; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 330(EDC) 01 "An Act establishing a Joint Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Education; 02 establishing state education standards; amending the authority of the Department of 03 Education and Early Development to adopt education standards; and providing for an 04 effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 07 to read: 08 EDUCATION FUNDING AND STANDARDS; LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The 09 legislature finds that 10 (1) state education funding support for public education in grades kindergarten 11 through 12 is increasing at a significant rate and real dollar value; 12 (2) education standards are developed for a small percentage of students who 13 earn a four-year college degree that may be inappropriate for instructing and preparing a 14 student for vocational or other career goals;
01 (3) state revenue, including revenue paid for education, is almost entirely 02 dependent on revenue generated by oil production on state-owned land; 03 (4) production of oil on state-owned land is forecast to continue to decline at 04 an average rate of six percent a year; 05 (5) the implementation of education standards has significant downstream 06 effects on school districts, teachers, and students; 07 (6) implementation of new education standards influences capital and 08 operational costs for public education funding; 09 (7) local school districts achieve varying levels of success, as indicated by 10 drop-out and graduation rates; 11 (8) the high school graduation qualifying examination may discourage 12 students from reaching their highest potential in the third and fourth years of high school; 13 (9) the public school funding formula under AS 14.17 may mask the effect of 14 energy, health care, pupil transportation, and other inflationary factors that erode the amount 15 of instructional dollars available to classrooms; 16 (10) continued increases in public school funding under AS 14.17 restrict the 17 flexibility of both the legislature and local school districts to respond to changing funding 18 needs for public schools in the state. 19 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 20 read: 21 ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON SUSTAINABLE 22 EDUCATION; COMPOSITION; DUTIES. (a) A Joint Legislative Task Force on Sustainable 23 Education is established in the legislative branch of state government for the purpose of 24 examining the efficiency and effectiveness of public education delivery in the state, with a 25 focus on 26 (1) matters pertaining to education standards for students in grades 27 kindergarten through 12 in the state; 28 (2) all aspects of public education funding in the state; and 29 (3) the ability to prepare students in the state for various rewarding careers. 30 (b) The duties of the task force established under this section include 31 (1) creation of a process for vetting proposed education standards before the
01 standards are adopted by the state Board of Education and Early Development; 02 (2) proposal of separate education tracks for postsecondary vocational and 03 college readiness; 04 (3) evaluation of school district challenges that result from implementation of 05 federal education laws; 06 (4) evaluation of the efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and redundancies of various 07 education assessments, including the high school graduation qualifying examination, and the 08 submission of recommendations to the legislature, the governor, and the state Board of 09 Education and Early Development for improvement of assessments; 10 (5) performance of an analysis of public education funding that includes 11 (A) a determination of the adequacy of public school funding provided 12 under AS 14.17.410 for coverage of appropriate education expenses; 13 (B) a determination of the appropriate uses of the base student 14 allocation; 15 (C) alternative methods of addressing fluctuating energy, health, 16 insurance, personnel, and pupil transportation costs; 17 (D) a calculation of the total amounts of state, local, and federal 18 funding available to each district and for each category of special needs service area; 19 (E) a comparison of the allocation of administrative and instructional 20 personnel among districts; 21 (F) a determination as to whether the allocation of administrative and 22 instructional personnel affects the ability of each district to provide effective 23 instructional services; 24 (G) a calculation of the effect of pension and health care expenses on 25 total education costs; 26 (6) evaluation of the availability of courses that meet core academic 27 curriculum requirements under AS 14.43.820(a)(3) in each district; and 28 (7) submission of a report of its findings and proposed legislation to the 29 governor, the Department of Education and Early Development, and the legislature by 30 September 30, 2013, and of additional reports the task force considers advisable. 31 (c) The task force established under this section consists of
01 (1) three members of the senate, one of whom shall be the chair of the senate 02 committee having jurisdiction over education, appointed by the president of the senate; 03 (2) three members of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be the 04 chair of the house committee having jurisdiction over education, appointed by the speaker of 05 the house of representatives; and 06 (3) nine members appointed jointly by the president of the senate and the 07 speaker of the house of representatives, as follows: 08 (A) a representative of the Department of Education and Early 09 Development; 10 (B) a small business owner in the state; 11 (C) a local school board member in the state; 12 (D) a superintendent of a public school district in the state; 13 (E) a representative employed by the University of Alaska to oversee 14 the program that qualifies a person to be employed as an elementary or secondary 15 teacher; 16 (F) a public member; and 17 (G) three representatives of major career destinations of high school 18 graduates in the state, jointly nominated by the commissioner of labor and workforce 19 development and the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic 20 development. 21 (d) A majority of the members of the task force constitutes a quorum. A vacancy on 22 the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original selection or appointment. 23 (e) Members of the task force serve without compensation but are entitled to per diem 24 and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. The staff of 25 the legislative members of the task force shall serve as staff for the task force. 26 (f) The task force shall meet at the call of the chair. The president of the senate and 27 the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint the chair and vice-chair of the 28 task force. 29 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 30 read: 31 BOARD OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT; EDUCATION
01 STANDARDS. (a) Notwithstanding the authority in AS 14.07.020(b), the state Board of 02 Education and Early Development shall adopt content and performance education standards, 03 including grade level expectations, only after the standards have been vetted under a process 04 created by the Joint Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Education under sec. 1 of this Act. 05 (b) Until education standards are adopted by the state Board of Education and Early 06 Development as provided under (a) of this section, the education standards for the state public 07 schools serving students in grades kindergarten through 12 are as follows: 08 (1) the content standards for the subjects listed in this subsection, as set out in 09 the department's publication entitled Alaska Standards: Content and Performance Standards 10 for Alaska Students, as revised on March 2006, are adopted by reference; the subjects are 11 (A) English/language arts; 12 (B) mathematics; 13 (C) science; 14 (D) geography; 15 (E) government and citizenship; 16 (F) history; 17 (G) skills for a healthy life; 18 (H) arts; 19 (I) world languages; 20 (J) technology; and 21 (K) employability; 22 (2) the content standards for physical education, as set out in the department's 23 publication entitled Alaska Physical Education Standards, as revised on March 9, 2010, are 24 adopted by reference; 25 (3) the performance standards for reading, writing, mathematics, science, and 26 Alaska history for grades three through 10, as set out in the department's publication entitled 27 Alaska Standards: Content and Performance Standards for Alaska Students, as revised on 28 March 2006, are adopted by reference; 29 (4) the performance standards for reading, writing, and mathematics for grades 30 kindergarten through two, as set out in the department's publication entitled Alaska 31 Performance Standards (Grade Level Expectations) Kindergarten - Grade 2, as revised on
01 September 28, 2006, are adopted by reference. 02 * Sec. 4. This Act is repealed July 1, 2014. 03 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).