SCS CSHB 44(FIN): "An Act relating to course mastery requirements; relating to the duties of the Department of Education and Early Development; relating to questionnaires administered in a public school; relating to the duties of school districts and regional educational attendance areas; relating to teacher certification requirements; relating to training for school employees and mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect; relating to physical examinations for students; relating to sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention efforts in public schools; relating to dating violence and abuse awareness and prevention efforts in public schools; relating to national criminal history record check requirements for employees of child care facilities and residential child care facilities; relating to mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect; repealing the requirement for secondary students to take college and career readiness assessments; establishing the Alaska Safe Children's Act Task Force; relating to suicide prevention training; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 44(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to course mastery requirements; relating to the duties of the 02 Department of Education and Early Development; relating to questionnaires 03 administered in a public school; relating to the duties of school districts and regional 04 educational attendance areas; relating to teacher certification requirements; relating to 05 training for school employees and mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect; 06 relating to physical examinations for students; relating to sexual abuse and sexual 07 assault awareness and prevention efforts in public schools; relating to dating violence 08 and abuse awareness and prevention efforts in public schools; relating to national 09 criminal history record check requirements for employees of child care facilities and 10 residential child care facilities; relating to mandatory reporters of child abuse or 11 neglect; repealing the requirement for secondary students to take college and career 12 readiness assessments; establishing the Alaska Safe Children's Act Task Force; relating
01 to suicide prevention training; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 04 to read: 05 SHORT TITLE. Section 14 of this Act may be known as the Alaska Safe Children's 06 Act. 07 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.073(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) A school district shall provide the opportunity for students enrolled in 09 grades nine through 12 [A SECONDARY SCHOOL] in the district to challenge one 10 or more courses [A COURSE] provided by the district by demonstrating mastery in 11 mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, and world languages at the level of 12 the course challenged. A school district shall give full credit for a course to a student 13 who successfully challenges that course as provided under this section. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.073(b) is amended to read: 15 (b) A school district shall establish, within a reasonable time, an assessment 16 tool and a standard for demonstrating mastery in [SECONDARY SCHOOL] courses 17 provided for students in grades nine through 12 by the district under this section. 18 This section does not require a school district to establish an assessment tool for 19 every course in mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, and world 20 languages that is offered to students in grades nine through 12 by the district. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.110(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) A school district, principal or other person in charge of a public school, or 23 teacher in a public school may not administer or permit to be administered in a school 24 a questionnaire or survey, whether anonymous or not [, THAT INQUIRES INTO 25 PERSONAL OR PRIVATE FAMILY AFFAIRS OF THE STUDENT NOT A 26 MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD OR SUBJECT TO PUBLIC OBSERVATION] 27 unless written permission is obtained from the student's parent or legal guardian. 28 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.110(d) is amended to read: 29 (d) The school shall give a student's parent or guardian an opportunity to 30 review the questionnaire or survey described under (b) or (c) of this section and shall
01 give the parent or guardian written notice regarding 02 (1) how the questionnaire or survey will be administered to the 03 student; 04 (2) how the results of the survey or questionnaire will be used; and 05 (3) who will have access to the questionnaire, [OR] survey, or results. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 14.08.111 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 14.08.111. Duties. A regional school board shall 08 (1) provide, during the school term of each year, an educational 09 program for each school age child who is enrolled in or a resident of the district; 10 (2) develop a philosophy of education, principles, and goals for its 11 schools; 12 (3) approve the employment of the professional administrators, 13 teachers, and noncertificated personnel necessary to operate its schools; 14 (4) establish the salaries to be paid its employees; 15 (5) designate the employees authorized to direct disbursements from 16 the school funds of the board; 17 (6) submit the reports prescribed for all school districts; 18 (7) provide for an annual audit in accordance with AS 14.14.050; 19 (8) provide custodial services and routine maintenance of school 20 buildings and facilities; 21 (9) establish procedures for the review and selection of all textbooks 22 and instructional materials, including textbooks and curriculum materials for statewide 23 correspondence programs, before they are introduced into the school curriculum; the 24 review includes a review for violations of AS 14.18.060; nothing in this paragraph 25 precludes a correspondence study student, or the parent or guardian of a 26 correspondence study student, from privately obtaining or using textbooks or 27 curriculum material not provided by the school district; 28 (10) provide prospective employees with information relating to the 29 availability and cost of housing in rural areas to which they might be assigned, and, 30 when possible, assist them in locating housing; however, nothing in this paragraph 31 requires a regional school board to provide teacher housing, whether owned, leased, or
01 rented or otherwise provided by the regional educational attendance area, nor does it 02 require the board to engage in a subsidy program of any kind with respect to teacher 03 housing; [AND] 04 (11) train persons required to report under AS 47.17.020, in the 05 recognition and reporting of child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse of a minor; and 06 (12) establish procedures for providing the training under 07 AS 14.18.060, AS 14.20.149, 14.20.680, AS 14.30.355, 14.30.356, 14.30.362, 08 AS 14.33.100, 14.33.127, AS 18.66.310, and AS 47.17.022; the procedures 09 established under this paragraph must include a training schedule that ensures 10 that not less than 50 percent of the total certificated staff employed at a school 11 receives all of the training not less than every two years and that all of the 12 certificated staff employed at each school receives all of the training not less than 13 every four years. 14 * Sec. 7. AS 14.14.090 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 14.14.090. Duties of school boards. In addition to other duties, a school 16 board shall 17 (1) determine and disburse the total amount to be made available for 18 compensation of all school employees and administrative officers; 19 (2) provide for, during the school term of each year, an educational 20 program for each school age child who is enrolled in or a resident of the district; 21 (3) withhold the salary for the last month of service of a teacher or 22 administrator until the teacher or administrator has submitted all summaries, statistics, 23 and reports that the school board may require by bylaws; 24 (4) transmit, when required by the assembly or council but not more 25 often than once a month, a summary report and statement of money expended; 26 (5) keep the minutes of meetings and a record of all proceedings of the 27 school board in a pertinent form; 28 (6) keep the records and files of the school board open to inspection by 29 the public at the principal administrative office of the district during reasonable 30 business hours; 31 (7) establish procedures for the review and selection of all textbooks
01 and instructional materials, including textbooks and curriculum materials for statewide 02 correspondence programs, before they are introduced into the school curriculum; the 03 review includes a review for violations of AS 14.18.060; nothing in this paragraph 04 precludes a correspondence study student, or the parent or guardian of a 05 correspondence study student, from privately obtaining or using textbooks or 06 curriculum material not provided by the school district; 07 (8) provide prospective employees with information relating to the 08 availability and cost of housing in rural areas to which they might be assigned, and, 09 when possible, assist them in locating housing; however, nothing in this paragraph 10 requires a school district to provide teacher housing, whether district owned, leased, 11 rented, or through other means, nor does it require a school board to engage in a 12 subsidy program of any kind regarding teacher housing; 13 (9) train persons required to report under AS 47.17.020, in the 14 recognition and reporting of child abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse of a minor; 15 (10) provide for the development and implementation of a preventative 16 maintenance program for school facilities; in this paragraph, "preventative 17 maintenance" means scheduled maintenance actions that prevent the premature failure 18 or extend the useful life of a facility, or a facility's systems and components, and that 19 are cost-effective on a life-cycle basis; 20 (11) establish procedures for providing the training under 21 AS 14.18.060, AS 14.20.149, 14.20.680, AS 14.30.355, 14.30.356, 14.30.362, 22 AS 14.33.100, 14.33.127, AS 18.66.310, and AS 47.17.022; the procedures 23 established under this paragraph must include a training schedule that ensures 24 that not less than 50 percent of the total certificated staff employed at a school 25 receives all of the training not less than every two years and that all of the 26 certificated staff employed at each school receives all of the training not less than 27 every four years. 28 * Sec. 8. AS 14.16.020 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 14.16.020. Operation of state boarding schools. In the management of 30 state boarding schools, the board shall 31 (1) adopt a philosophy of education for state boarding schools;
01 (2) approve the employment of personnel necessary to operate state 02 boarding schools; 03 (3) establish the salaries and benefits to be paid teachers, excluding 04 administrators; 05 (4) designate the employees authorized to direct disbursements from 06 the money appropriated for the operation of state boarding schools and for the 07 construction of facilities; 08 (5) provide custodial services and routine maintenance of physical 09 facilities; 10 (6) establish procedures for the development and implementation of 11 curriculum and the selection and use of textbooks and instructional materials; 12 (7) prescribe health evaluation and placement screening programs for 13 newly admitted students; 14 (8) establish procedures for staff evaluation; and 15 (9) establish procedures for providing the training under 16 AS 14.18.060, AS 14.20.149, 14.20.680, AS 14.30.355, 14.30.356, 14.30.362, 17 AS 14.33.100, 14.33.127, AS 18.66.310, and AS 47.17.022; the procedures 18 established under this paragraph must include a training schedule that ensures 19 that not less than 50 percent of the total certificated staff employed at a school 20 receives all of the training not less than every two years and that all of the 21 certificated staff employed at each school receives all of the training not less than 22 every four years [PROVIDE STAFF TRAINING]. 23 * Sec. 9. AS 14.18.060(b) is amended to read: 24 (b) The board shall establish by regulation standards for nondiscriminatory 25 textbooks and educational materials. Each school board shall provide training for all 26 its certificated personnel on a schedule adopted by the governing body of a school 27 district in the identification and recognition of sex-biased materials. 28 * Sec. 10. AS 14.20.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29 (k) A person is not eligible for a teacher certificate unless the person has 30 completed training regarding alcohol and drug related disabilities required under 31 AS 14.20.680, training regarding sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and
01 prevention required under AS 14.30.355, training regarding dating violence and abuse 02 awareness and prevention required under AS 14.30.356, and training related to suicide 03 prevention required under AS 14.30.362. 04 * Sec. 11. AS 14.20.149(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) A [ONCE EACH SCHOOL YEAR, A] school district shall offer in- 06 service training to the certificated employees who are subject to the evaluation system 07 on a schedule adopted by the governing body of a school district. The training 08 must address the procedures of the evaluation system, the standards that the district 09 uses in evaluating the performance of teachers and administrators, and other 10 information that the district considers helpful. 11 * Sec. 12. AS 14.20.680(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 12 (b) A school district or regional educational attendance area shall provide the 13 training required under (a) of this section on a schedule adopted by the governing 14 body of a school district or regional educational attendance area. 15 * Sec. 13. AS 14.30.070(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) The Department of Health and Social Services may require the district to 17 conduct [ADDITIONAL] physical examinations that it considers necessary, and may 18 reimburse the district for the [ADDITIONAL] examinations on the basis and to the 19 extent the commissioner of health and social services prescribes by regulation. 20 * Sec. 14. AS 14.30 is amended by adding new sections to read: 21 Article 6A. Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention. 22 Sec. 14.30.355. Sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention. 23 (a) The governing body of each school district shall adopt and implement a policy, 24 establish a training program for employees and students, and provide parent notices 25 relating to sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention for students 26 enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12. 27 (b) The policy, training, and notices adopted under this section must include 28 (1) age-appropriate information; 29 (2) warning signs of sexual abuse of a child; 30 (3) referral and resource information; 31 (4) available student counseling and educational support;
01 (5) methods for increasing teacher, student, and parent awareness of 02 issues regarding sexual abuse of children; 03 (6) actions that a child may take to prevent and report sexual abuse or 04 sexual assault; and 05 (7) a procedure allowing a student to be excused from participating in 06 training or from receiving notices under this section at the written request of a parent 07 or guardian of the student, or of the student if the student is emancipated or 18 years of 08 age or older. 09 (c) The training required for teachers under this section may be provided as a 10 part of the continuing education required under AS 18.66.310. 11 (d) In this section, 12 (1) "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350; 13 (2) "sexual abuse" or "sexual assault" has the meaning given to "sexual 14 abuse" in AS 47.10.990. 15 Sec. 14.30.356. Dating violence and abuse policy, training, awareness, 16 prevention, and notices. (a) The governing body of each school district shall adopt 17 and implement a policy, establish a training program for employees and students, and 18 provide parent notices relating to dating violence and abuse in grades seven through 19 12. A training program adopted under this section must emphasize prevention and 20 awareness. 21 (b) The policy, training, notices, and instruction adopted under this section 22 must include 23 (1) age-appropriate information; 24 (2) the warning signs of dating violence and abusive behavior; 25 (3) characteristics of healthy relationships; 26 (4) measures to prevent and stop dating violence and abuse; 27 (5) community resources available to victims of dating violence and 28 abuse; and 29 (6) a procedure allowing a student to be excused from participating in 30 training or from receiving notices under this section at the written request of a parent 31 or guardian of the student, or of the student if the student is emancipated or 18 years of
01 age or older. 02 (c) The training required for teachers under this section may be provided as a 03 part of the continuing education required under AS 18.66.310. 04 (d) In this section, 05 (1) "dating violence and abuse" means a pattern of behavior in which 06 one person threatens to use, or actually uses, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or 07 psychological abuse to control the person's dating partner; 08 (2) "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350. 09 * Sec. 15. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 14.30.362. Suicide awareness and prevention training. (a) A school 11 district and the department shall provide youth suicide awareness and prevention 12 training approved by the commissioner to each teacher, administrator, counselor, and 13 specialist who is employed by the district or department to provide services to students 14 in grades seven through 12 in a public school in the state at no cost to the teacher, 15 administrator, counselor, or specialist. 16 (b) The commissioner shall approve youth suicide awareness and prevention 17 training provided under this section if the training meets standards for professional 18 continuing education credit in the state and is periodically reviewed by a qualified 19 person or committee for consistency with generally accepted principles of youth 20 suicide awareness and prevention. The training may be offered through 21 videoconferencing or an individual program of study of designated materials. 22 (c) A person may not bring a civil action for damages against the state or a 23 school district, or an officer, agent, or employee of the state or a school district, for a 24 death, personal injury, or property damage that results from an act or omission in 25 performing or failing to perform activities or duties authorized under this section. This 26 subsection does not apply to a civil action for damages as a result of intentional 27 misconduct with complete disregard for the safety and property of others. 28 (d) The training under this section shall be provided according to the schedule 29 adopted by the governing body of a school district. 30 (e) The training provided or the failure to provide training under this section 31 may not be construed to impose a specific duty of care on any person.
01 * Sec. 16. AS 14.30.370 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 14.30.370. Evaluation. Health education programs conducted under 03 AS 14.30.360 shall be evaluated by the department in the same manner as other 04 curriculum programs are evaluated, except that the evaluation shall also include 05 changes in the health status of the pupils as determined by physical and dental 06 examinations conducted under AS 14.30.070 [AND 14.30.120]. 07 * Sec. 17. AS 14.33.100(d) is amended to read: 08 (d) Each district shall [ANNUALLY] provide to each district employee 09 training in crisis response, including evacuation and lock down drills. New district 10 employees who have not previously received the training required under this 11 subsection shall receive the required training within two years after the first day 12 of employment and, thereafter, according to the schedule adopted by the 13 governing body of a school district. 14 * Sec. 18. AS 18.66.310(d) is amended to read: 15 (d) The continuing education required under (a) - (c) of this section must be 16 offered at least once every two years, and must include information on the 17 following subjects: 18 (1) the nature, extent, and causes of domestic violence; 19 (2) procedures designed to promote the safety of the victim and other 20 household members; 21 (3) resources available to victims and perpetrators of domestic 22 violence; and 23 (4) the lethality of domestic violence. 24 * Sec. 19. AS 47.05.310 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 25 (j) An individual who possesses a valid teacher certificate issued under 26 AS 14.20.015 - 14.20.025 and applies to work at a facility licensed or certified by the 27 Department of Education and Early Development or who applies to work in a child 28 care facility or residential child care facility in a position as a certificated teacher with 29 supervised access may request that the individual's criminal justice information and 30 national criminal history record check on file with the Department of Education and 31 Early Development be used to satisfy the requirements of (d) and (e) of this section.
01 (k) In this section, 02 (1) "child care facility" has the meaning given in AS 47.25.095; 03 (2) "residential child care facility" has the meaning given in 04 AS 47.32.900; 05 (3) "supervised access" means that a supervisor maintains a prudent 06 level of awareness of the whereabouts of the individual for whom supervised access is 07 required to ensure the protection of recipients of services. 08 * Sec. 20. AS 47.17.020(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) The following persons who, in the performance of their occupational 10 duties, [OR WITH RESPECT TO (8) OF THIS SUBSECTION, IN THE 11 PERFORMANCE OF] their appointed duties under (8) of this subsection, or their 12 volunteer duties under (9) of this subsection, have reasonable cause to suspect that a 13 child has suffered harm as a result of child abuse or neglect shall immediately report 14 the harm to the nearest office of the department: 15 (1) practitioners of the healing arts; 16 (2) school teachers and school administrative staff members, including 17 athletic coaches, of public and private schools; 18 (3) peace officers and officers of the Department of Corrections; 19 (4) administrative officers of institutions; 20 (5) child care providers; 21 (6) paid employees of domestic violence and sexual assault programs, 22 and crisis intervention and prevention programs as defined in AS 18.66.990; 23 (7) paid employees of an organization that provides counseling or 24 treatment to individuals seeking to control their use of drugs or alcohol; 25 (8) members of a child fatality review team established under 26 AS 12.65.015(e) or 12.65.120 or the multidisciplinary child protection team created 27 under AS 47.14.300; 28 (9) volunteers who interact with children in a public or private 29 school for four or more hours a week. 30 * Sec. 21. AS 47.17.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (j) This section does not require an athletic coach who is an unpaid volunteer
01 to report child abuse or neglect under (a)(2) of this section unless the coach 02 (1) volunteers for more than 03 (A) four hours a week for four consecutive weeks; or 04 (B) 20 hours a week in a one-month period; 05 (2) has received the training required under AS 47.17.022; and 06 (3) has signed a form acknowledging that the coach is required to 07 report child abuse or neglect under this section. 08 * Sec. 22. AS 47.17.022(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) Each department of the state and school district that employs persons 10 required to report abuse or neglect of children shall provide 11 (1) initial training required by this section to each new employee 12 within 45 days after the first day [DURING THE EMPLOYEE'S FIRST SIX 13 MONTHS] of employment, and to any existing employee who has not received 14 equivalent training; and 15 (2) [AT LEAST ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS,] appropriate in- 16 service training required by this section as determined by the department or school 17 district. 18 * Sec. 23. AS 47.17.022 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (e) Each school district that provides training under this section shall provide 20 notice to public and private schools located in the school district of the availability of 21 the training and invite volunteers who are required to report abuse or neglect of 22 children under AS 47.17.020 to participate in the training at no cost to the volunteer. 23 * Sec. 24. AS 47.17.290(1) is amended to read: 24 (1) "athletic coach" means 25 (A) [INCLUDES] a paid leader or assistant of a sports team; or 26 (B) a volunteer leader or assistant of a sports team who 27 volunteers as a leader or assistant of a sports team for four or more hours 28 a week; 29 * Sec. 25. AS 14.03.075(a), 14.03.075(b), 14.03.075(c), 14.03.075(e)(1); 30 AS 14.07.165(a)(5), 14.07.165(b); AS 14.30.070(a), and 14.30.120 are repealed. 31 * Sec. 26. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
01 read: 02 ALASKA SAFE CHILDREN'S ACT TASK FORCE. (a) The Alaska Safe Children's 03 Act Task Force is created in the Department of Education and Early Development for the 04 purpose of providing recommendations to the Department of Education and Early 05 Development regarding model curricula for use by school districts. The task force shall 06 provide recommendations for age-appropriate model curricula and teacher training materials 07 related to 08 (1) suicide prevention training required under ch. 34, SLA 2012, and 09 AS 14.30.362, enacted by sec. 15 of this Act; 10 (2) sexual assault and sexual abuse awareness training and prevention required 11 under AS 14.30.355, enacted by sec. 14 of this Act; 12 (3) dating violence and abuse awareness training and prevention required 13 under AS 14.30.356, enacted by sec. 14 of this Act; 14 (4) alcohol and drug related disabilities training required for teachers and staff 15 under AS 14.20.680, as amended by sec. 12 of this Act; and 16 (5) alcohol and drug abuse education described under AS 14.30.360. 17 (b) The task force consists of 10 members as follows: 18 (1) two senators appointed by the president of the senate; 19 (2) two representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of 20 representatives; 21 (3) the commissioner of education and early development or the 22 commissioner's designee; 23 (4) the chair of the state Board of Education and Early Development or the 24 chair's designee; 25 (5) the executive director of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual 26 Assault established under AS 18.66.010 or the executive director's designee; 27 (6) the executive director of the Alaska children's trust established under 28 AS 37.14.200 or the executive director's designee; 29 (7) the executive director of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council 30 established under AS 44.29.300 or the executive director's designee; and 31 (8) a representative from the Rasmuson Foundation.
01 (c) The legislative members of the task force described in (b)(1) and (2) of this 02 section are ex officio members. The voting members of the task force shall select the chair of 03 the task force. 04 (d) The task force shall, not later than June 30, 2016, provide the Department of 05 Education and Early Development with the recommendations for model curricula and teacher 06 training materials described in (a) of this section. 07 (e) The task force shall meet as frequently as necessary to carry out its 08 responsibilities. 09 (f) The staff of the Department of Education and Early Development shall provide 10 administrative and other support to the task force. 11 (g) The task force expires June 30, 2016. 12 * Sec. 27. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 13 read: 14 APPLICABILITY. AS 14.20.020(k), enacted by sec. 10 of this Act, applies to teacher 15 certificates issued on or after the effective date of sec. 10 of this Act. A teacher certificate 16 issued before the effective date of sec. 10 of this Act may not be renewed on or after the 17 effective date of sec. 10 of this Act unless the teacher has completed the training required 18 under AS 14.20.020(k), enacted by sec. 10 of this Act. 19 * Sec. 28. Sections 1, 4, 10, 14, and 20 - 24 of this Act take effect June 30, 2017. 20 * Sec. 29. Section 25 of this Act takes effect June 30, 2016. 21 * Sec. 30. Section 15 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2016.