Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/08/2017 09:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB52 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 52 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 52-PRE-ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS/PLANS
9:07:43 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 52, "An Act relating to providing a pre-
elementary program within a school district; and providing for
the certification of early childhood education plans."
9:08:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCOTT KAWASAKI, Alaska State Legislature,
introduced HB 52, paraphrasing from the sponsor statement, which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Alaska remains one of the only states that does not
provide pre-kindergarten education to its children on
a statewide basis. HB 52 seeks to add Alaska to the
ranks of the majority of states that have recognized
the need to properly invest in our children's future.
Children who benefit from early education earn higher
incomes as adults, enter the job market in much larger
numbers, are more likely to obtain a college
education, remain off of public assistance and stay
out of prison. A report published by the National
Center for Education Statistics found that 53 percent
of prison inmates are either illiterate or have a very
low literacy level. Children who enroll in early
education programs have a much higher literacy rate
than those who do not.
Alaska has a responsibility to provide the best
education possible for its children. Currently,
outside of a few school district classrooms, the state
only provides early education through the Head Start
program, which is only available to low-income
children and which is chronically underfunded. Due to
lack of funding, the Alaska Head Start Association
estimates that more than 50 percent of children who
qualify cannot receive Head Start education. Providing
additional opportunities is a crucial stepping stone
to improving the future of young Alaskans.
Extensive research shows that a child's intellectual
development is especially important before age 6. A
study by the National Institute for Early Education in
2004 found that children who attended state-funded
pre-Kindergarten programs showed improvements in
vocabulary 31 percent greater than other children, and
44 percent greater in math. Young children who receive
high quality early education do better academically,
show behavioral improvements in school, and are more
likely to stay in school, graduate, and go on to
complete post-secondary education.
There is also a significant economic impact of
providing early education. Multiple studies have shown
that funds invested in early education pay substantial
dividends in the long run. Every dollar invested in
high-quality pre-K programs save taxpayers up to $7
long-term. Pre-K saves money by reducing the need for
remedial and special education, welfare programs, and
criminal justice services. An ongoing study of 40
year-old adults in Michigan who participated in the
1962 Perry Preschool project found that adults with
pre-K were more likely to be employed and earned 33
percent higher average incomes than their peers who
did not have state-funded early education.
Additionally, a study prepared for the SEED program at
the University of Alaska Southeast state that 87
percent of Alaska residents think it is important for
state government to provide financial support for
early education and childcare. It's time to start
thinking long-term and ensuring a prosperous future
for all of Alaska's children.
9:12:28 AM
OLIVIA GARRETT, Staff, Representative Kawasaki, Alaska State
Legislature, provided a sectional analysis of HB 52,
paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]
Section 1.
Establishes that elementary schools shall also consist
of a pre-elementary program for children 3-5 years of
age which operates as a Head Start Program or located
in a public school. Pre-elementary students, however,
do not count towards a school's average daily
membership.
Section 2.
Establishes that a child may enter a public school
pre-elementary program if they are three years old on
or before September 1st.
Section 3.
Defines "pre-elementary school" as a pre-kindergarten
program provided by a school district for children
ages 3-5 years whose primary function is educational.
Section 4.
Directs the board to adopt regulations regarding
funding as well as statewide and local goals. Directs
the board to develop approval regulations for charter,
state boarding, or public schools before they can
provide domiciliary services. Directs the board to
develop regulations for the certification and
implementation of a statewide plan to implement early
childhood education.
Section 5.
The number of schools in a district is subject to a
community having an average daily membership between
10 and 100. A community with an average daily
membership between 101 and 425 is considered as either
one elementary school (with a pre-k program) or one
secondary school. Communities with an average daily
membership over 425 are administered as separate
schools.
Section 6.
A school district cannot include students in their
average daily membership who are part of the pre-
elementary program or who receive funding other than
funding from this legislation
9:14:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether the funding attached to
the proposed bill could effectively be used to enlarge Head
Start programs.
9:14:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI explained that the concept is for any
early education effort in a school district to have a
possibility to qualify for the program, which could include Head
Start. To a follow-up questions he said the governance would be
provided by the State Board of Education but the district school
boards would tailor programs specific to locales.
9:15:43 AM]
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO questioned whether every school district
would be required to offer a voluntary pre-K program.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI responded that the bill provides
permissive language authorizing districts to act on their own
behalf and interests.
9:16:47 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP pointed out the fiscal note is $51 million,
representing a huge number given the state's current financial
situation.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI opined that education is the foundation
of the state, it's addressed in the constitution and educational
investment is a priority. However, the early development aspect
of education has, heretofore, not been prioritized. He
acknowledged that it's an expensive ticket, but the value gained
by implementing early learning is well documented.
9:18:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP acknowledged that the House Finance
Committee will review the fiscal viability, and the policy call
is to provide avenues for early education. He asked whether
Alaska has performed any rigorous studies that track randomly
assigned students, attending pre-school early learning programs
and children who do not, which aren't from a singular community.
The studies that have been available, are from singular
communities and based on a narrow sample group, he noted. Two
broad studies, one based in the U.S. and one in Europe, have
indicated that children do better when entering school at age
six; citing the importance of a healthy early home life. The
majority of the benefits touting universal preschools point to
statistically small scoped programs, and follow-up studies
indicate that whatever lead the study group may have had quickly
fades, when they enter school. Unless something is rigorously
documented to benefit youth, he maintained, caution should be
taken in adopting a policy change of this magnitude and cost.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI pointed out that many studies have been
conducted, and called attention to several contained in the
committee packet. Further, in 2009, a pilot program was
introduced in Alaska, and still continues. Like any good pilot
this program is ready to go prime time. The data analysis have
been conducted to assess a variety of standards, and show good
result. He directed attention to a chart, which he offered to
make available to the committee and read the percentages that it
contained, indicating outcome of the state's pilot program.
9:23:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether the sponsor is aware of
the current assessment efforts of the State Commission of
Education regarding Alaska's educational approach.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI acknowledged that the new administration
will review and address the state approach. However, early
education has been, and will possibly remain, at the top of the
priority list; the outcome of the review is not yet available.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON regarding the allocation of funds, she
asked, "Does this leave an opportunity for other than Head Start
and other than school districts?"
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI responded that the program could be
expanded to Head Starts, Early Head Starts, and possibly private
parochial schools. The intent is to open-up opportunities for
3-5 year olds through voluntarily programs. The parents will
make the decision for placing their child in a program. The HB
52 language will augment, not detract from any existing
programs, he opined.
9:26:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ referred to the sponsor's statement,
"Every dollar invested in high quality pre-K programs saves tax
payers up to seven dollars in the long term," and asked for
elaboration.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI responded that reports indicate the
socio-economic savings as a generally accepted principle and
documentation is available. He offered to provide further
information.
9:27:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH noted that many working families struggle
with the high cost of child care, neither can they afford to
stay home with their children. He asked if any of the figures
in the packet account for savings to individual working
families.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI answered that available statistics are
based on assumptions that either a parent will participate in
the program or be home with the child.
9:29:32 AM
ABBBE HENSLEY, Director, Best Beginnings, stated support for HB
52, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Last week was my second week of Grand Jury duty. I
can't share details with you, but, if you've been
reading the Alaska Dispatch News during the past few
months, you can imagine the felony cases we've had to
review. The ADN provides information about murders,
attempted murders, robberies, thefts, and so on and
so many of those charged have been so young just in
their teens or early 20s some with young children
whose parents may spend the rest of their lives in
prison. And the murder victims who leave young
children behind. It's heartbreaking to think about
all those little kids. We know there's no one big
fabulous idea or program that can prevent things like
this.
But we do know about one kind of effort that can make
a big impact. That is high-quality early care and
learning programs. Early and sustained participation
in quality PreK and early learning settings leads to:
More children graduating high school
Higher earning rates
Reduced public spending on remedial education and
services, and
Lower incarceration rates.
We support state investment in educational programs
for young children whether they are called preschool,
pre-elementary, PreK, early kindergarten, Head Start,
Parents as Teachers, Imagination Library, quality
child care all of which can be included under the
umbrella term "early care and learning programs." And
it almost goes without saying, here in Alaska
especially, that these programs should all be
voluntary.
The bill under discussion today, HB 52, focuses on
"providing a pre-elementary program within a school
district and for the certification of early childhood
education plans."
Thank you, Rep Kawasaki, for making sure this issue
gets a hearing. I would like to focus on two sections
of the bill in particular.
Section 4. (a) (5)
"The board shall adopt regulations for the
certification and implementation of a statewide plan
to establish an effective means for providing early
childhood education using the model curriculum
developed by the department."
I would add that it is also critical that the
Department of Education & Early Development have the
capacity to provide technical assistance to districts
to help ensure their programs are research-based, show
outcomes, and reflect community needs. The technical
assistance provided by DEED to current Pre-elementary
Grantees demonstrates the value of this kind of
ongoing support and should be part of any new state-
funded PreK effort.
Section 6 (c) (1) and (2)
(1) This point is confusing to me because it says that
children in programs that comply with the statewide
plan mentioned earlier may not be counted in the
average daily membership of a school. I thought those
were the children we are trying to include rather than
exclude.
(2) While I expect it is unintentional, this point
would continue to promote providing services in silos,
an inefficient and uneconomical way of doing business,
something neither the state nor private sector can
afford these days. We need to be able to blend funds
to make the best use of them, with the best outcomes.
Many states offer PreK in what are called mixed or
diverse delivery settings. For example, North
Carolina and New Mexico offer more than half their
PreK classrooms through child care centers. This
works because parents need full-day care for their
children, not full "school day" care but full "working
day" care.
Of course, there are some families and communities who
would want a traditional, half day preschool program
for their children.
PreK can be school-based, but does not have to be to
meet the needs of children and families. Supporting
quality PreK in community-based child care programs is
a sound example of public-private partnership. How
will we know which programs are of high quality and
eligible for this kind of partnership? Alaska's
recently launched voluntary quality recognition and
improvement system for early care and learning
programs, called Learn & Grow, will help.
Our own Pre-Elementary Grant program encourages
collaboration with community-based early childhood
programs and children reap the benefits through
partnerships with Head Start, a private preschool, and
others. It doesn't appear that this would be possible
for programs provided under this bill.
I think we can all agree that we want our children to
grow and develop into happy, healthy, productive
citizens who contribute to the vitality of our state.
Research tells us the best time to build that
foundation is when children are very young. Providing
opportunities for families to have choices among
various programs and supports for their children's
growth, development, and learning is critical.
Thank you to Rep Kawasaki for inviting me to testify
today. I encourage you, Rep Kawasaki and others who
are interested in moving this bill forward, to meet
with the Alaska Early Childhood Coordinating Council
(AECCC) to flesh out the ideas in the bill to ensure
the best possible outcomes for children. The AECCC
includes both public and private sector members with
expertise and experience that I believe will be
helpful. As one of my early childhood colleagues said
to me when we were discussing the bill, our partners
are ready to do this.
9:36:26 AM
TREVOR STORRS, Executive Director, Alaska Children's Trust,
stated support for HB 52, paraphrasing from a prepared
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Thank you for this opportunity to testify today on HB
52. I'm Trevor Storrs, Executive Director of the
Alaska Children's Trust, which is the statewide lead
organization focused on the prevention of child abuse
and neglect.
Over the past decade, we have come to understand one
of the most effective ways of preventing child abuse
and neglect is by addressing the social determinants
that foster an environment that promotes trauma and
does not build the skill set (i.e. resilience)
necessary to manage it.
Children are our most valuable resource. As our state
struggles to find a solution to the nearly three-
billion-dollar deficit, HB 52 provides a long term
solution.
Various economic solutions are being examined from new
revenue sources, changing current revenue sources,
privatization, and even further cuts. All of these
may address the budget challenge we are faced with
today but it does not address the issue for tomorrow.
With all of these solutions, it does not change the
level of demand for the services that cost our state
the most. Eligibility for services can be changed but
it does not change the demand. A great example of
truly addressing the demand is the work our state has
completed in the area of criminal justice reform and
Medicaid expansion.
The demand on our justice system was increasing
annually reaching costs we could not sustain. With
reform, the state re-examined how we held our citizens
accountable to better reflect our community norms and
values resulting in major cost savings across all
departments, not just the justice system while still
keeping our communities safe.
HB 52 is another step our state can take to address
the issue of demand. Nearly 8% of Alaska's population
is under the age of 5 and each year, 12,000 new babies
are born in Alaska.
Zero to five is the most critical time in a children's
life. It is a time that can greatly influence on who
that child becomes as an adult. It is a time when the
vast majority of brain development occurs.
Science shows that when a child experiences toxic
stress like poverty, child abuse or neglect, witnesses
domestic violence, historical trauma, it impairs the
development of their brains and bodies so profoundly
that the effect persists throughout their life and is
passed on to the next generation. This experience is
known as Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs.
ACEs cause most of the physical, social and behavioral
ills our communities struggle with every day. These
include diabetes, obesity, not graduating, substance
abuse, homelessness, and entering the justice system.
While exposure to some adversity during childhood is
normal and necessary for healthy development,
sustained or repeated exposure to sever adversity
without supportive relationships is toxic for
children.
HB 52 is offering one solution to reduce these
adversities and provide the need space for children
and families to develop the skill set the resilience
they need to bounce back from these adversities.
By investing in our children at the start of their
lives versus addressing their struggles later in life,
we begin to address the issue plaguing our fiscal
struggle high demand.
James Heckman, a noble laureate economist, has shown
that for every dollar we invest in early childhood we
save taxpayers up to $7 long-term. Heckman says, "In
an era of tight government budgets?the real question
is how to use the available funds wisely. The best
evidence supports the policy prescription. Invest in
the very young".
How do we do this?
Early childhood development programs help remove the
economic stress placed on families. No parent wakes
up one day and says they will want to expose their
child to adversities like child abuse and neglect.
Yet, nearly 3,000 Alaskan children experience child
abuse and neglect each year. Nearly 50% of those are
under the age of 6.
Early childhood development programs provide one of
the key protective factors for both the child and
parents support. When a child has 2-3 loving adults
in their life other than their primary care providers,
the impacts of adversity are greatly decreased. For
parents, they gain access to social supports that help
them through those stressful times.
Early childhood development programs are certified and
implement evidence based programing. These programs
show they provide children the skill set they need to
be prepared for school and workforce.
Children who have attended early childhood programing
have a higher rate of graduating, higher rate of
employment, healthier, and less strain on the state
system.
Children in these programs experience less adversity
and when they do, they and the family gain the
resilience they need to overcome it.
Alaska Children's Trust supports investment in early
childhood development. HB 52 is one investment. But
I would be remiss to not take this opportunity to also
support the existing funding for other key programs
for early childhood development. It is important that
we also safeguard these current investments and build
on to them with HB 52. We need to continue to support
home visiting programs like Parents as Teachers, work
of Best Beginnings, child care subsidies, and current
head start programs. Although we have these
programs, the investment is small or their impact is
limited.
I want to echo Abbe Hensley's suggestion of connecting
with the Alaska Early Childhood Coordinating Council
(AECC) to get their perspective of how best to invest
in early childhood programing.
9:44:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH recalled that, annually, about 3,000
Alaskan children are abused and neglected, and he asked what
percent are under the age of six.
MR. STORRS responded it would be about 50 percent.
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH queried by how much that number might be
reduced if pre-K programs were implemented.
MR. STORRS said offering an answer would require a crystal ball;
however, for families that can't afford childcare, having a pre-
K program reduces stress. Many of the participants may come
from working poor households, and he predicted that a decrease
in abuse and neglect would be evident.
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that HB 52 would be held.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB52A.PDF |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52_Sponsor.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52_EED_FP_Fiscal_Note.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52_EED_PEF_Fiscal_Note.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB 52 Supporting Documents.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB 52 Support Harvard.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB 52 Support Heckman_OnePager_120516.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52 Opposition CATO.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52 Support ICW.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |
| HB52_Support_ICW_EarlyChildhoodReport_2010.pdf |
HEDC 2/8/2017 9:00:00 AM |
HB 52 |