HB 156: "An Act relating to compliance with federal education laws; relating to public school accountability; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 156 01 "An Act relating to compliance with federal education laws; relating to public school 02 accountability; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.03.123(c) is amended to read: 05 (c) The state board shall adopt regulations implementing this section, 06 providing for a statewide student assessment system, and providing for the process of 07 assigning a designation under (a) of this section, including 08 (1) the methodology used to assign the performance designation, 09 including the measures used and their relative weights; 10 (2) high performance and low performance designations that are based 11 on the accountability system under this section; 12 (3) a procedure for appealing a designation that may be used by the 13 principal of a public school or by the superintendent of a public school district; 14 (4) additional measures that may be progressively implemented by the
01 commissioner to assist schools or districts to improve performance in accordance with 02 this section; [AND WITH FEDERAL LAW; TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO 03 CONFORM TO FEDERAL LAW,] the additional measures may be unique to a 04 certain school or district if that school or district receives federal funding that is not 05 available to all schools or districts in the state; 06 (5) the methodology used to assign the state public school system a 07 performance designation that compares the state public school system to public 08 school systems in other states and countries. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.123(d) is amended to read: 10 (d) A public school or district that receives a low performance designation 11 under this section shall prepare and submit to the department a school or district 12 improvement plan, as applicable, in accordance with regulations adopted by the board. 13 The improvement plan must be prepared with the maximum feasible public 14 participation of the community including, as appropriate, interested individuals, 15 teachers, parents, parent organizations, students, tribal organizations, local government 16 representatives, and other community groups. The improvement plan must give 17 preference to measures that increase local control of education and parental 18 choice and that do not require a direct increase in state or federal funding for the 19 school or district. 20 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.123(e) is amended to read: 21 (e) The department shall establish a program of special recognition for those 22 public schools that receive a high performance designation, based on the 23 accountability system under (f) of this section, that demonstrates an 24 improvement over the school's performance designation for the previous year. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.123(f) is amended to read: 26 (f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this 27 section, the department shall 28 (1) [IMPLEMENT 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (ELEMENTARY AND 29 SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965), AS AMENDED; 30 (2)] implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including 31 the use of
01 (A) measures of student performance on standards-based 02 assessments in language arts and mathematics; 03 (B) measures of student improvement; and 04 (C) other measures identified that are indicators of student 05 success and achievement; and 06 (2) [(3)] to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden 07 on districts. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.123 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09 (h) The department shall, by regulation, develop procedures to 10 (1) allow the parent or guardian of a student or a student who is 11 emancipated or is 18 years of age or older to opt out of any student assessment used to 12 implement the accountability system under this section; and 13 (2) ensure that individually identifiable data pertaining to a student 14 collected under this section is stored securely and is only accessible to the student, the 15 student's parents or guardian, the student's teacher, and other individuals in the state 16 with a legitimate need for the information to perform the duties described under this 17 section. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) The department shall 20 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 21 except the University of Alaska; 22 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 23 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 24 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 25 of the public schools; 26 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 27 governing bodies and personnel; 28 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 29 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 30 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 31 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social
01 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 02 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 03 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 04 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 05 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 06 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 07 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 08 the members of each house; 09 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 10 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will assure healthful and safe 11 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 12 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 13 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 14 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 15 receive direct state or federal funding; 16 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 17 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 18 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 19 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 20 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 21 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 22 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 23 licensed; 24 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 25 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 26 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 27 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 28 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 29 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 30 and costs, and final contract documents; 31 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational
01 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 02 are no longer attending school; 03 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 04 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 05 school bus driver training course; 06 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 07 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 08 behavior; 09 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 10 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 11 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 12 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 13 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 14 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 15 AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 16 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 17 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 18 arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A) 19 [AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A)]; and 20 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 21 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 22 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 23 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(14) or redirecting 24 public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15). 25 [(18) REPEALED] 26 * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect January 1, 2016.