HB 278: "An Act increasing the base student allocation used in the formula for state funding of public education; repealing the secondary student competency examination and related requirements; relating to high school course credit earned through assessment; relating to a college and career readiness assessment for secondary students; relating to charter school application appeals and program budgets; relating to residential school applications; increasing the stipend for boarding school students; extending unemployment contributions for the Alaska technical and vocational education program; relating to earning high school credit for completion of vocational education courses offered by institutions receiving technical and vocational education program funding; relating to education tax credits; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 278 01 "An Act increasing the base student allocation used in the formula for state funding of 02 public education; repealing the secondary student competency examination and related 03 requirements; relating to high school course credit earned through assessment; relating 04 to a college and career readiness assessment for secondary students; relating to charter 05 school application appeals and program budgets; relating to residential school 06 applications; increasing the stipend for boarding school students; extending 07 unemployment contributions for the Alaska technical and vocational education 08 program; relating to earning high school credit for completion of vocational education 09 courses offered by institutions receiving technical and vocational education program 10 funding; relating to education tax credits; making conforming amendments; and 11 providing for an effective date." 12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
01 * Section 1. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 02 Sec. 14.03.073. Course credit earned through mastery of course content. 03 (a) A school district shall provide a high school student with the opportunity to earn 04 credit for a course offered in the school in mathematics, language arts, science, social 05 studies, and world languages, if the student proves mastery of the course content 06 through a district-approved assessment. Course credit earned under this subsection 07 shall meet district and statewide requirements for graduation and the course credit 08 requirements of the Alaska performance scholarship program under AS 14.43.810 - 09 14.43.849. 10 (b) The board shall adopt regulations implementing this section. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.075 is repealed and reenacted to read: 12 Sec. 14.03.075. College and career readiness assessment. (a) A student may 13 not be issued a secondary school diploma unless the student takes a college and career 14 readiness assessment or receives a waiver from the governing body. 15 (b) A student who fails to qualify for the issuance of a diploma under (a) of 16 this section by the end of the student's final semester of attendance, but who has met 17 all other graduation requirements of a governing body and the state, shall be awarded a 18 certificate of achievement. 19 (c) The department shall provide funding for the fee for a single 20 administration of a college and career readiness assessment for each secondary student 21 within two years of the student's expected graduation. 22 (d) In this section, "college and career readiness assessment" means the SAT, 23 ACT, or WorkKeys assessment. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.078 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 14.03.078. Report. The department shall provide to the legislature by 26 February 15 of each year an annual report regarding the progress of each school and 27 school district toward high academic performance by all students. The report required 28 under this section must include 29 (1) information described under AS 14.03.120(d); 30 (2) [THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN 31 EACH SCHOOL WHO PASS THE EXAMINATION REQUIRED UNDER
01 AS 14.03.075, AND THE NUMBER WHO PASS EACH SECTION OF THE 02 EXAMINATION; 03 (3)] progress of the department 04 (A) toward implementing the school accountability provisions 05 of AS 14.03.123; and 06 (B) in assisting high schools to become accredited; 07 (3) [(4)] a description of the resources provided to each school and 08 school district for coordinated school improvement activities and staff training in each 09 school and school district; 10 (4) [(5)] each school district's and each school's progress in aligning 11 curriculum with state education performance standards; 12 (5) [(6)] a description of the efforts by the department to assist a public 13 school or district that receives a low performance designation under AS 14.03.123 14 [OF DEFICIENT OR IN CRISIS]; 15 (6) [(7)] a description of intervention efforts by each school district 16 and school for students who are not meeting state performance standards; and 17 (7) [(8)] the number and percentage of turnover in certificated 18 personnel and superintendents [; 19 (9) THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS BY DISTRICT AND BY 20 SCHOOL WHO ARE TEACHING OUTSIDE THE TEACHER'S AREA OF 21 ENDORSEMENT BUT IN AREAS TESTED BY THE HIGH SCHOOL 22 COMPETENCY EXAMINATION]. 23 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 24 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 25 public school shall deliver to the department for posting on the department's Internet 26 website and 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 [, INCLUDING THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF 07 STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A DIPLOMA UNDER A WAIVER FROM THE 08 COMPETENCY EXAMINATION REQUIRED UNDER AS 14.03.075(a),] as 09 specified by the state board; 10 (6) the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, and 11 the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the 12 school district; 13 (7) if Native language education is provided, a summary and 14 evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420; 15 (8) [THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS IN 16 EACH SCHOOL WHO TAKE AND WHO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE AN 17 ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM IN READING, ENGLISH, OR 18 MATHEMATICS; AND THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS IN 19 EACH SCHOOL WHO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE ALTERNATIVE 20 ASSESSMENT PROGRAM BUT WHO DO NOT REACH THE STATE 21 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AT THE COMPETENCY EXAM LEVEL IN 22 READING, ENGLISH, OR MATHEMATICS; A SCHOOL MAY NOT REPORT 23 RESULTS UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH UNLESS THE SCHOOL COMPLIES 24 WITH THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY 25 REQUIREMENTS OF 34 C.F.R. 99; 26 (9)] the performance designation assigned the school under 27 AS 14.03.123 and the methodology used to assign the performance designation, 28 including the measures used and their relative weights; and 29 (9) [(10)] other information concerning school performance and the 30 performance of the school's students as required by the state board in regulation. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.123(f) is amended to read:
01 (f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this 02 section, the department shall 03 (1) implement 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (Elementary and Secondary 04 Education Act of 1965), as amended; 05 (2) implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including 06 the use of 07 (A) measures of student performance on standards-based 08 assessments in language arts [READING, WRITING,] and mathematics [, 09 AND INCLUDING COMPETENCY TESTS REQUIRED UNDER 10 AS 14.03.075]; 11 (B) measures of student improvement; and 12 (C) other measures identified that are indicators of student 13 success and achievement; and 14 (3) to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on 15 districts. 16 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.250 is repealed and reenacted to read: 17 Sec. 14.03.250. Application for charter school. (a) A local school board shall 18 prescribe an application procedure for the establishment of a charter school in that 19 school district. The application procedure must include provisions for an academic 20 policy committee consisting of parents of students attending the school, teachers, and 21 school employees and a proposed form for a contract between a charter school and the 22 local school board, setting out the contract elements required under AS 14.03.255(c). 23 (b) The decision of the local school board approving or denying the 24 application for a charter school must be in writing and must include all relevant 25 findings of fact and conclusions of law. 26 (c) If the local school board approves an application for a charter school, the 27 local school board shall forward the application to the state board for review and 28 approval. 29 (d) If the local school board denies an application for a charter school, the 30 applicant may appeal the denial to the commissioner. The appeal to the commissioner 31 shall be filed not later than 60 days after the local school board issues its written
01 decision of denial. The commissioner shall review the local school board's decision to 02 determine whether the findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence and 03 whether the decision is contrary to law. A decision of the commissioner upholding the 04 denial by the local school board is a final decision not subject to appeal to the state 05 board. 06 (e) If the commissioner approves a charter school application, the 07 commissioner shall forward the application to the state board for review and approval. 08 The application shall be forwarded not later than 30 days after the commissioner 09 issues a written decision. The state board shall exercise independent judgment in 10 evaluating the application. 11 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 12 Sec. 14.03.253. Charter school application appeal to commissioner. In an 13 appeal to the commissioner under AS 14.03.250, the commissioner shall review the 14 record before the local school board. The commissioner may request written 15 supplementation of the record from the applicant or the local school board. The 16 commissioner may 17 (1) remand the appeal to the local school board for further review; 18 (2) approve the charter school application and forward the application 19 to the state board with or without added conditions; or 20 (3) uphold the decision denying the application for the charter school. 21 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03.255(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) A charter school operates as a school in the local school district except that 23 the charter school (1) is exempt from the local school district's textbook, program, 24 curriculum, and scheduling requirements; (2) is exempt from AS 14.14.130(c); the 25 principal of the charter school shall be selected by the academic policy committee and 26 shall select, appoint, or otherwise supervise employees of the charter school; and (3) 27 operates under the charter school's annual program budget as set out in the contract 28 between the local school board and the charter school under (c) of this section. A local 29 school board may exempt a charter school from other local school district 30 requirements if the exemption is set out in the contract. A charter school is subject to 31 [SECONDARY SCHOOL COMPETENCY TESTING AS PROVIDED IN
01 AS 14.03.075 AND OTHER COMPETENCY] tests required by the department. 02 * Sec. 9. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 04 annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the 05 students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local 06 school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the 07 Department of Education and Early Development. The "amount generated by students 08 enrolled in the charter school" is to be determined in the same manner as it would be 09 for a student enrolled in another public school in that school district and includes 10 funds generated by special needs under AS 14.17.420(a)(1), secondary school 11 vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3), and pupil 12 transportation under AS 14.09.010. A school district shall direct state aid under 13 AS 14.11 for the construction or major maintenance of a charter school facility to 14 the charter school that generated the state aid, subject to the same terms and 15 conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for construction or major 16 maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school. 17 * Sec. 10. AS 14.07.165 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 14.07.165. Duties. The board shall adopt 19 (1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 20 goals that are consistent with local needs; 21 (2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under 22 AS 14.03.125; 23 (3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 24 (4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 25 state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 26 (5) regulations implementing the college and career readiness 27 assessment [SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT COMPETENCY 28 EXAMINATION] provisions of AS 14.03.075 and providing for the needs of a 29 student who is a child with a disability and setting standards for a waiver under 30 AS 14.03.075; the regulations may address the conditions, criteria, procedure, 31 and scheduling of the assessment [, INCLUDING THE CRITERIA AND
01 PROCEDURE UNDER WHICH A GOVERNING BODY USES A WAIVER TO 02 GRANT A DIPLOMA TO A STUDENT; CRITERIA REGARDING GRANTING A 03 WAIVER MUST INCLUDE PROVISIONS THAT A WAIVER MAY ONLY BE 04 GRANTED FOR STUDENTS WHO ENTER THE SYSTEM LATE OR HAVE 05 RARE OR UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES MERITING A WAIVER]. 06 * Sec. 11. AS 14.07.165 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 07 (b) In this section, "child with a disability" has the meaning given in 08 AS 14.30.350. 09 * Sec. 12. AS 14.16 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: 10 Sec. 14.16.100. Application for residential school. A school district shall 11 apply to the department for approval to establish and operate a statewide or district- 12 wide residential school. The department shall accept applications during an open 13 application period conducted annually. A period of open application in itself does not 14 indicate that the department will approve the establishment of a new residential 15 school. 16 * Sec. 13. AS 14.16.200(b) is amended to read: 17 (b) Costs that may be claimed by a district for reimbursement under (a) of this 18 section are 19 (1) one round trip on the least expensive means of transportation 20 between the student's community of residence and the school during the school year if 21 the district expends money for the trip; and 22 (2) a per-pupil monthly stipend to cover room and board expenses as 23 determined by the department on a regional basis and not to exceed the following 24 amounts: 25 (A) for the Southeast Region (Region I), $1,230 [$820]; 26 (B) for the Southcentral Region (Region II), $1,200 [$800]; 27 (C) for the Interior Region (Region III), $1,452 [$968]; 28 (D) for the Southwest Region (Region IV), $1,509 [$1,006]; 29 (E) for the Northern Remote Region (Region V), $1,776 30 [$1,184]. 31 * Sec. 14. AS 14.17.470 is amended to read:
01 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,765 02 [$5,680]. 03 * Sec. 15. AS 14.17.470, as amended by sec. 14 of this Act, is amended to read: 04 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,823 05 [$5,765]. 06 * Sec. 16. AS 14.17.470, as amended by secs. 14 and 15 of this Act, is amended to read: 07 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $5,881 08 [$5,823]. 09 * Sec. 17. AS 23.15.835(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) Notwithstanding AS 23.15.840(a), for the fiscal years ending June 30, 11 2009, through June 30, 2024 [2014], the money collected under this section or 12 otherwise appropriated to the Alaska Workforce Investment Board, formerly known as 13 the Alaska Human Resource Investment Council, shall be allocated directly in the 14 following percentages to the following institutions for programs consistent with 15 AS 23.15.820 - 23.15.850 and capital improvements: 16 University of Alaska 45 percent 17 University of Alaska Southeast 5 percent 18 Galena Project Education Vocational Training Center 4 percent 19 Kotzebue Technical Center 9 percent 20 Alaska Vocational Technical Center 17 percent 21 Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical Center 3 percent 22 Southwest Alaska Vocational and Education Center 3 percent 23 Yuut Elitnaurviat, Inc. People's Learning Center 9 percent 24 Delta Career Advancement Center 3 percent 25 New Frontier Vocational Technical Center 2 percent 26 * Sec. 18. AS 23.15.835(e) is amended to read: 27 (e) The institutions receiving funding under (d) of this section shall provide an 28 expenditure and performance report to the department by November 1 of each year 29 that includes the 30 (1) percentage of former participants in the program who have jobs 31 one year after leaving the program;
01 (2) median wage of former participants seven to 12 months after 02 leaving the program; 03 (3) percentage of former participants who were employed after leaving 04 the program who received training under the program that was related or somewhat 05 related to the former participants' jobs seven to 12 months after leaving the program; 06 (4) percentage of former participants who indicate some level of 07 satisfaction with the training received under the program; [AND] 08 (5) percentage of employers who indicate satisfaction with the services 09 provided through the program; 10 (6) description of each vocational education course funded through 11 the allocation set out in (d) of this section that permits high school students to 12 earn dual credit upon course completion, and the number of high school students 13 who earned dual credit in the past year; and 14 (7) copy of any articulation agreement established under (g) of this 15 section that either was in effect for the prior year or is in process for the next 16 year of funding, and the number of high school students who earned dual credit 17 under each articulation agreement. 18 * Sec. 19. AS 23.15.835 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 19 (g) The institutions receiving funding under (d) of this section shall establish 20 and maintain at least one articulation agreement under which dual credit may be 21 earned by high school students upon completion of a vocational education course. 22 (h) An institution's failure to comply with (e) or (g) of this section shall result 23 in a withholding penalty of 20 percent of the funding allocated under (d) of this 24 section in the following year. 25 * Sec. 20. AS 23.15.850 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 26 (3) "articulation agreement" means a dual-credit partnership between a 27 school district and an institution receiving financing under AS 23.15.835(d) that 28 describes vocational education courses, student eligibility, course location, academic 29 policies, student support services, transcripting of credit, funding, and other items 30 required by the partnering institutions; 31 (4) "dual credit" means simultaneous high school credit and credit
01 towards a career or vocational certification. 02 * Sec. 21. AS 43.20.014(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) A taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter for 04 cash contributions accepted for 05 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 06 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 07 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 08 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 09 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 10 facilities by a school district in the state; 11 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 12 operated vocational technical education and training school; 13 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 14 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 15 regional accreditation association; 16 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 17 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 18 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 19 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 20 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 21 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 22 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 23 (8) the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 24 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 25 course, and textbook fees; and 26 (9) the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 27 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 28 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 29 * Sec. 22. AS 43.20.014(a), as that subsection read following amendment by sec.14, ch. 92, 30 SLA 2010, until amended by sec. 21, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 31 (a) A taxpayer is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter for
01 cash contributions accepted 02 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 03 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 04 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 05 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 06 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 07 programs by a school district in the state; 08 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 09 school; [AND] 10 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 11 AS 37.14.750; 12 (5) for the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 13 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 14 course, and textbook fees; and 15 (6) for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 16 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 17 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 18 * Sec. 23. AS 43.20.014(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 19 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 20 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 21 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 22 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 23 (Internal Revenue Code). 24 * Sec. 24. AS 43.65.018(a) is amended to read: 25 (a) A person engaged in the business of mining in the state is allowed a credit 26 against the tax due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted for 27 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 28 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 29 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 30 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 31 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and
01 facilities by a school district in the state; 02 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 03 operated vocational technical education and training school; 04 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 05 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 06 regional accreditation association; 07 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 08 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 09 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 10 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 11 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 12 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 13 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 14 (8) the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 15 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 16 course, and textbook fees; and 17 (9) the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 18 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 19 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 20 * Sec. 25. AS 43.65.018(a), as that subsection read following amendment by sec. 35, ch. 92, 21 SLA 2010, until amended by sec. 21, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 22 (a) A person engaged in the business of mining in the state is allowed a credit 23 against the tax due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted 24 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 25 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 26 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 27 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 28 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 29 programs by a school district in the state; 30 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 31 school; [AND]
01 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 02 AS 37.14.750; 03 (5) for the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 04 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 05 course, and textbook fees; and 06 (6) for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 07 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 08 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 09 * Sec. 26. AS 43.65.018(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 10 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 11 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 12 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 13 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 14 (Internal Revenue Code). 15 * Sec. 27. AS 43.75.018 is amended to read: 16 (a) A person engaged in a fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax 17 due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted for 18 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 19 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 20 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 21 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 22 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 23 facilities by a school district in the state; 24 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 25 operated vocational technical education and training school; 26 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 27 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 28 regional accreditation association; 29 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 30 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 31 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state;
01 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 02 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 03 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 04 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 05 (8) the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 06 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 07 course, and textbook fees; and 08 (9) the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 09 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 10 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 11 * Sec. 28. AS 43.75.018(a), as that subsection read following amendment by sec. 42, ch. 92, 12 SLA 2010, until amended by sec. 23, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 13 (a) A person engaged in a fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax 14 due under this chapter for cash contributions accepted 15 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 16 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 17 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 18 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 19 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 20 programs by a school district in the state; 21 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 22 school; [AND] 23 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 24 AS 37.14.750; 25 (5) for the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 26 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 27 course, and textbook fees; and 28 (6) for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 29 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 30 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 31 * Sec. 29. AS 43.75.018 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read:
01 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 02 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 03 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 04 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) 05 (Internal Revenue Code). 06 * Sec. 30. AS 43.77.045(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) In addition to the credit allowed under AS 43.77.040, a person engaged in 08 a floating fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter 09 for cash contributions accepted for 10 (1) direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 11 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 12 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 13 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 14 (2) secondary school level vocational education courses, programs, and 15 facilities by a school district in the state; 16 (3) vocational education courses, programs, and facilities by a state- 17 operated vocational technical education and training school; 18 (4) a facility or an annual intercollegiate sports tournament by a 19 nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or four-year college accredited by a 20 regional accreditation association; 21 (5) Alaska Native cultural or heritage programs and educational 22 support, including mentoring and tutoring, provided by a nonprofit agency for public 23 school staff and for students who are in grades kindergarten through 12 in the state; 24 (6) education, research, rehabilitation, and facilities by an institution 25 that is located in the state and that qualifies as a coastal ecosystem learning center 26 under the Coastal America Partnership established by the federal government; [AND] 27 (7) the Alaska higher education investment fund under AS 37.14.750; 28 (8) the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 29 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 30 course, and textbook fees; and 31 (9) the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential
01 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 02 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 03 * Sec. 31. AS 43.77.045(a), as that subsection read following amendment by sec. 49, ch. 92, 04 SLA 2010, until amended by sec. 25, ch. 74, SLA 2012, is amended to read: 05 (a) In addition to the credit allowed under AS 43.77.040, a person engaged in 06 a floating fisheries business is allowed a credit against the tax due under this chapter 07 for cash contributions accepted 08 (1) for direct instruction, research, and educational support purposes, 09 including library and museum acquisitions, and contributions to endowment, by an 10 Alaska university foundation or by a nonprofit, public or private, Alaska two-year or 11 four-year college accredited by a regional accreditation association; 12 (2) for secondary school level vocational education courses and 13 programs by a school district in the state; 14 (3) by a state-operated vocational technical education and training 15 school; [AND] 16 (4) for the Alaska higher education investment fund under 17 AS 37.14.750; 18 (5) for the funding of a scholarship awarded by a nonprofit 19 organization to a dual-credit student to defray the cost of tuition, registration, 20 course, and textbook fees; and 21 (6) for the construction, operation, or maintenance of a residential 22 housing facility by a residential school approved by the Department of Education 23 and Early Development under AS 14.16.200. 24 * Sec. 32. AS 43.77.045(f) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 25 (3) "dual-credit student" means a secondary level student in the state 26 who simultaneously earns college and high school credit for a course; 27 (4) "nonprofit organization" means a charitable or educational 28 organization in the state that is exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C 501(c)(3) 29 (Internal Revenue Code). 30 * Sec. 33. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 TRANSITION: STUDENT TESTING IN PROGRESS. Until June 30, 2017, a school 02 district shall continue to administer the competency examination under former AS 14.03.075, 03 and the regulations adopted under former AS 14.03.075, in effect on August 31, 2014, to a 04 student who seeks to qualify for a secondary school diploma under former AS 14.03.075, as it 05 read on August 31, 2014. 06 * Sec. 34. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 TRANSITION: CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS. Sections 6 and 7 of this Act 09 apply to charter school applications filed with a local school board on or after September 1, 10 2014. 11 * Sec. 35. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education and Early 14 Development, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the Department of 15 Revenue may proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement their respective changes 16 made by this Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), 17 but not before the effective date of the relevant provision of this Act implemented by the 18 regulation. 19 * Sec. 36. Sections 17 and 35 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 20 * Sec. 37. Section 14 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2014. 21 * Sec. 38. Sections 1, 15, and 18 - 20 of this Act take effect July 1, 2015. 22 * Sec. 39. Section 16 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2016. 23 * Sec. 40. Sections 22, 25, 28, and 31 of this Act take effect January 1, 2021. 24 * Sec. 41. Except as provided in secs. 36 - 40 of this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 25 2014.