Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/10/2013 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB91 | |
| SB89 | |
| SB100 | |
| HB154 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 89 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 100 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 154 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 100-CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM; ALLOTMENTS
8:29:15 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the next order of business would be
SB 100.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY, sponsor of SB 100, pointed out that SB 100 was
another bill in a series of bills (including SB 89 and SJR 9)
that he had put forward, and their approaches had a relationship
that he wanted to explain before talking about SB 100. He said
that SB 100 is a companion bill for SJR 9. When SJR 9 was
introduced, a lot of assumptions were made that it was "the
voucher bill," but the fact is that SB 89 is a voucher bill.
This is when children can attend a private or religious,
elementary or secondary, school and have costs funded by private
business.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY explained that SJR 9 will allow the current
practice of everything from the Governor's scholarships to
private public partnerships that the department and many school
districts have; and SB 100 provides that opportunity for the
home school/correspondence study programs that the state has
been using for the past 10-15 years. At one point Galena created
a statewide home school program that allowed families who did
not want to be part of a "neighborhood school" to still be part
of public education. So, the folks in Galena, and subsequently a
dozen or more correspondence homeschool programs, have students
in them that do not attend the neighborhood schools, but are in
the public education system.
He said that some people make a delineation between public
schools and public education. Public schools are the buildings
and everything that happens in them; public education is an
expanded concept that includes homes schools, correspondence
schools, charter schools and, potentially, cyber schools, and
other methods to educate kids to a public purpose and public
outcome.
He said that SB 100 would be the companion concept to SJR 9; it
is only two pages and addresses a child in a home correspondence
school with an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) developed by a
public teacher with the parent. The only difference is that the
parent with the teacher can determine the "how" and an expansion
of it. "In other words, it's public money and the public demands
an outcome, a public purpose." Any student enrolled in this
program still has to take the public assessments and be taught
to public standards. The idea in SB 100 (in conjunction with SJR
9) is the "how."
He said for example, a parent could decide his child would take
a Latin course at Monroe Catholic and the teacher could agree to
that in the ILP. That cannot be done currently under
constitutional language. SB 100, along with SJR 9, allows a
parent and a teacher to develop an ILP that includes a
public/private partnership concept with a public outcome. The
tax credit concept [in SB 89] is totally divorced from the
public education concept; those are for folks that want to go to
a private school, that gets private money through tax credits,
and can have a religious or some other private outcome. All of
SB 100 is part of public education. Students who are proficient
or better in the public outcomes don't get changed, but students
who are not proficient would have their ILP modified to help
them become proficient. This is an expansion of the public
education system using a public/private partnership concept,
under an ILP developed between a parent and a teacher.
8:34:56 AM
SENATOR GARDNER commented that if there is a tax benefit for
donors, there is an impact on the state treasury; therefore, the
state has a financial investment, also. She requested
clarification about the language regarding the state's not being
able to impose additional requirements.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY replied that he was the administrator of a
correspondence home school program. Many parents became
interested in becoming a part of a public education system, but
did not have enough of a say in their child's curriculum.
8:38:24 AM
SENATOR GARDNER asked for an explanation of the purpose of
having a credentialed teacher as a part of the team if the
teacher is prohibited from using their best judgment.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY called it a "third way" for education in
Alaska. He explained that the educational needs of a proficient
student are being met. If the public/private partnership is
adopted there will be another way to provide education for
students and expand choices.
8:41:12 AM
SENATOR GARDNER voiced concern about credentialed teachers
having to sign off on coursework that does not meet their
standards.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY clarified that they have to sign off on the
ILP.
SENATOR GARDNER said she was referring to a new teacher coming
in and saying that ILP was not adequate.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said that was a good question, but if they are
proficient by demonstrated assessments, his argument would be
why anyone would want to focus on that and not support what was
already working.
SENATOR GARDNER suggested that excellence should be the goal.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY replied that he would consider the suggestion.
8:42:36 AM
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED), testified that the fiscal note and other
issues still needed to be clarified.
CHAIR STEVENS held SB 100 in committee.