Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 120
03/30/2009 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB137 | |
| HB108 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 137 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 137 - COMPACT: EDUCATION OF MILITARY CHILDREN 1:15:02 PM CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 137, "An Act relating to an interstate compact on educational opportunity for military children; amending Rules 4 and 24, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date." 1:15:39 PM KAREN LIDSTER, Staff, Representative John Coghill, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Representative Coghill, relayed that HB 137 would eliminate some of the barriers faced by the children of military personnel as they transition from one school system to another; such children, between kindergarten and 12th grade, might move an average of six to nine times. Such moves can be stressful, and adoption of the compact contained in HB 139 could ease some of that stress, thereby being of benefit to over 12,000 school-age children of military personnel. Thus far, [13] states have adopted the compact and [20] states have pending legislation. MS. LIDSTER, referring to the sectional analysis included in members' packets, explained that Section 1 of HB 137 would add to Title 14 a new Chapter 34, pertaining to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. Article I [of Chapter 34's proposed AS 14.34.010, which contains 18 articles,] outlines the purpose of the compact as being to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families by facilitating enrollment, placement, and timely graduation; by providing enforcement of rules, uniform collection and sharing of information; and by promoting coordination, flexibility, and cooperation among member states. Article II defines the terms used throughout the compact. Article III outlines which children the compact shall apply to. Article IV addresses educational records and enrollment, outlining how sending and receiving states shall handle a student's official and unofficial records - with the compact's Interstate Commission determining what information shall be included in the latter - and the timeline for handling a student's records; providing for a 30-day grace period for immunizations; and addressing entrance age and grade level. MS. LIDSTER explained that Article V addresses course placement, education program placement, special education services, placement flexibility, and absences related to deployment. Article VI addresses eligibility for enrollment and for extracurricular participation. Article VII addresses graduation, providing procedures for waivers, exit exams, and transfers during a student's senior year. Article VIII addresses coordination among a compact member state's government, local education, and military agencies via the establishment of a state council or existing body for that purpose, and outlines the membership of such council or body. Article IX addresses the creation of an Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children and its responsibilities, powers, and duties, detailing its membership, voting rights, meetings, executive committee, bylaws and rules, data collection, and a process for reporting alleged violations. MS. LIDSTER explained that Article X lists the powers and duties of the Interstate Commission, including dispute resolution, promulgation of rules, issuing advisory opinions, enforcing compliance, and others related to establishing, running, and supporting the state councils at a national level. Article XI pertains to the organization and operation of the Interstate Commission, providing structure for it to organize, establish bylaws, set up committees, and establish procedures for meetings, and providing for startup rules for the initial administration of the compact. Article XII gives the Interstate Commission rulemaking authority and guidelines, and a provision for judicial review of proposed rules. Article XIII addresses oversight, enforcement, and dispute resolution, charging the three branches of government with the purpose and intent of the compact, stating that the Interstate Commission shall receive all service of process and has standing to intervene, addressing the consequences of default, authorizing dispute resolution and mediation, and providing enforcement powers, including the authority to initiate legal action. MS. LIDSTER explained that Article XIV addresses the financing of the Interstate Commission by providing a method by which it may pay reasonable expenses, collect annual assessments, and be audited. Article XV addresses membership, the effective date, and amendments to the compact; specifically, membership is open to all states, the compact become effective when 10 states enact it into law, and amendments may be proposed by the Interstate Commission and only become effective when enacted into law by all member states. Article XVI addresses withdrawal from, reinstatement to, and the dissolution of the compact. Article XVII pertains to severability and construction, with all provisions being severable, with the compact being liberally construed, and with nothing prohibiting the applicability of other interstate compacts. Article XVIII pertains to the binding effect of the compact and the actions of the Interstate Commission, stating that nothing in the compact prevents enforcement of any other law not inconsistent with the compact, that all laws inconsistent with the compact are superseded by the compact to the extent of the conflict, that all rules and bylaws promulgated by the Interstate Commission are binding, and that any provisions that exceed constitutional limits are ineffective to the extent of the conflict. MS. LIDSTER explained that Section 1's proposed AS 14.34.020 establishes the compact administrator and the duties of that office; proposed AS 14.34.030 establishes the state council as a subcommittee; proposed AS 14.34.040 authorizes the adoption of regulations; and proposed AS 14.34.090 provides for a short title. Section 2 provides for indirect court rule amendments to Rule 4 and Rule 24(b) of the Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure. [Section 3 and 4 address conditional effects, and Section 5 addresses the effective date.] REPRESENTATIVE LYNN concurred that having to transfer his children to a new school every couple of years while he served in the military was difficult. 1:29:51 PM LARRY LeDOUX, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development (EED), noting that he's been a principal at both a high school and an elementary school in a military community, characterized HB 137 as representing strong common sense, and concurred that having to change schools every few years can be stressful on military families and on the children themselves as they try to navigate the new school system and become part of the new community. The school districts serving military communities in Alaska are very supportive, and most districts already follow the proposed guidelines; the compact, therefore, he surmised, is necessary so that other states can treat the transferring children of military personnel with more respect. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX then provided an example wherein one student who'd been transferred five days before graduating from high school couldn't receive any credit from his past school because he left early, and characterized that example as illustrative of the need for the proposed compact. He noted that the issue of immunizations also creates a dilemma when records aren't transferred in a timely manner, because regulations say that proof of immunization is required; although most principals will find a way to get transferred children into school, they shouldn't have to go to those lengths. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX, in response to questions, said that the bill won't impact how school districts deal with "special needs" children because federal law - the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - already addresses that issue; that although some issues might arise during implementation, he doesn't believe complying with the proposed compact will be burdensome - again, most schools in Alaska already do comply; and that he believes the compact would apply to children who are being homeschooled under "an Alaska sponsored program." 1:37:25 PM EDDIE JEANS, Director, School Finance and Facilities Section, Department of Education and Early Development (EED), in response to comments, clarified that it would depend on whether a child who is being homeschooled is enrolled in the public school system - if so, then the compact would apply, regardless of whether the child is coming to Alaska or leaving Alaska. The compact would not apply, however, to children who are not part of the public school system. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the compact would conflict with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX said he doesn't believe it would. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether the compact would apply to "pre-kindergarten" children. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX said many states have a variety of early learning programs but nothing consistent from one state to another, so it would be very difficult to define a relationship between such programs. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG surmised, then, that having the compact apply to children who have not yet entered kindergarten would be impractical at this time. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX concurred, adding that such would be the case until there is more consistency between states with regard to their early learning programs. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether there is a plan to expand the compact so that it would apply to children other than just those of military personnel. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL suggested that the representative from the Council of State Governments (CSG) would be better able to address to that question. 1:40:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, referring to the language on page 8, lines 26-29, raised the issue of possibly amending that language to clarify that a student placed in the care of a non-custodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis could attend a school in that person's jurisdiction. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX, in response to a comment, offered his belief that the proposed compact reflects how all students who transfer to Alaska are treated. MR. JEANS mentioned that the Board of Education and Early Development supports HB 137, and that the EED has received [letters of] support from "Kodiak, Anchorage, and Sitka" as well as the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA). He offered his belief that there is a lot of support for [the compact]. COMMISSIONER LeDOUX, in response to questions, surmised that the compact is intended to apply to the children of military personnel who are transitioning between two communities, and that as a whole, the compact would provide school administrators across the country with guidelines by which to make sound decisions regarding the children of military personnel, though it might not cover every possibility. 1:49:47 PM CAROL COMEAU, Superintendent of Schools, Anchorage School District (ASD), Municipality of Anchorage (MOA), relayed that the Anchorage school board recently passed a resolution in support of the compact and believes that it would institutionalize most of the practices that [Alaska's schools] have tried to implement over the years, thereby making those practices part of state law. She offered her belief that the compact would go a long way towards reducing the stress placed on military families, particularly during times of deployment, characterizing the resulting transfers as being in a different category than normal transfers, which don't involve one's parents going to war. She offered her hope that the committee would move the bill from committee, indicating that [the school board] has heard examples of how important it is for the children of military personnel to be able to become part of the school structure and involved in school activities. In conclusion, she said, "We think this is the right thing to do." MS. COMEAU, in response to questions, said that [the law] clearly allows school districts to waive the exit exam requirement if a student has passed an exit exam in another state; that the [Anchorage School District] has been able to "work through" all the various state history requirements as long as students transferring in have completed the history requirements of the state they're transferring from; and that [the Anchorage school district] doesn't see anything negative about [the compact]. 1:54:54 PM [Chair Ramras turned the gavel over to Representative Coghill.] THOMAS HINTON, Senior State Liaison, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Military Community and Family Policy, United States Department of Defense (DOD), said he appreciates that Alaska is considering this legislation, particularly given that it addresses one of the issues that most affects the military community, and that it's been exciting to see the [positive] response [to the proposed compact] across the country. [Representative Coghill returned the gavel to Chair Ramras.] MR. HINTON noted that in addition to 11 other states, both Mississippi and Virginia recently adopted similar legislation. This compact, which can now be activated, was developed over a long period of time with the help of many, including the CSG, he relayed, and characterized it as the right approach, fulfilling the need for coordination among the states and school districts when the children of military personnel change schools. He too remarked that with the variety of early learning programs that different states have, it would be very difficult to define a relationship between such programs. 2:02:29 PM RICHARD L. MASTERS, Special Counsel, National Center for Interstate Compacts (NCIC), The Council of State Governments (CSG), relayed that whenever interstate problems arise, the CSG is in favor of interstate cooperation whenever possible as opposed to federal intervention, and that the CSG is pleased that 13 states have now adopted the compact. He mentioned that close to 90 percent of the nation's military installations and personnel are located in approximately 20 states, and so although the goal is to have all 50 states join the compact, most of the [recruitment] efforts have been directed first towards those states with the largest military populations and most military installations, including Alaska - which ranks about number five. [Chair Ramras turned the gavel over to Representative Coghill.] MR. MASTERS explained that the goal was to develop a dynamic, deliberately-broad mechanism to address the four areas of most concern to students of military personnel: enrollment, placement and attendance, eligibility, and graduation. The provisions of the compact are intended to provide broad guidance towards a reasonable accommodation, to "level the playing field" so that students of military personnel are not penalized simply for being part of a family that's chosen to serve the country via the military. Although the compact may not address every situation, it does contain the flexibility for limited rulemaking by individual states so that they may address specific issues themselves. For example, the issue raised earlier about the language on page 8, lines 26-29, could perhaps be addressed should doing so prove necessary. MR. MASTERS, referring to earlier questions and comments, concurred that the proposed compact won't conflict with the NCLB Act, and that the compact won't address homeschooled students who are not part of the public school system but will address those who are, and relayed that the CSG is interested in pursuing a similar mechanism that would apply to children other than those of military personnel, but is not interested in altering the compact proposed by HB 137 to that effect because it would result in two different agreements. [Representative Coghill returned the gavel to Chair Ramras.] MR. MASTERS, in response to a question, said the name of the book he coauthored is "The Evolving Use and Changing Role of Interstate Compacts: a Practitioner's Guide". In response to further questions, he explained that the U.S. Supreme Court - in West Virginia Ex Rel. Dyer V. Simms, 341 U.S. 22 (1951) - has already ruled that delegating rulemaking authority to an interstate compact agency is not unconstitutional but is instead an axiom of modern government; pointed out that Article XVIII says in part that any provisions of the compact that exceed constitutional limits are ineffective to the extent of the conflict; and acknowledged that any changes to the articles of the proposed compact would require legislative approval, and that a legislature could stipulate in its enacting legislation that any rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission be subject to legislature approval. CHAIR RAMRAS, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 137. 2:22:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN moved to report HB 137 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HB 137 was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01 HB137 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 01 HB108 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 02 Hb137 Sectional.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 03 HB137 Bill version R.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 04 HB137 EDU Fiscal Note.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 05 HB137 Case Studies.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 06 HB137 Letter of SupportOpposition.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 137 |
| 03 HB108 Explaination of Changes version R to P.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 04 HB108 Sectional 3.27.09.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 05 HB108 REV FN Zero.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 06 HB108 Bill CSHb108(L&C) version R.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 07 HB108 Bill Version A.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| 08 HB108 Letters of SupportOpposition.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |
| CSHB108(LC)-DOR-AHFC-3-30-09.pdf |
HJUD 3/30/2009 1:00:00 PM |
HB 108 |