Legislature(2019 - 2020)BUTROVICH 205
02/27/2020 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| SB136 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 136 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 136-STATE-TRIBAL EDUCATION COMPACT SCHOOLS
9:00:23 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO.
136, "An Act providing for the establishment of public schools
through state-tribal compacts."
He noted his intent to hear from the advocates and stakeholders
about the potential benefits and challenges of tribal compacting
and then hold SB 136 for further review. This is the second
hearing on the bill.
9:01:07 AM
JOEL ISAAK, Tribal Liaison, Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED), Soldotna, Alaska, introduced himself in
Dena'ina and acknowledged the land of the A'akw Kwaan. He is an
educator who attended K-12 and the university system in Alaska.
He read State Education Policy AS 14.03.015: "It is the policy
of this state that the purpose of education is to help ensure
that all students will succeed in their education and work,
shape worthwhile and satisfying lives for themselves, exemplify
the best values of society, and be effective in improving the
character and quality of the world about them."
9:02:45 AM
MR. ISAAK said the education system faces many obstacles and
challenges to make that policy come to fruition. He related his
memory of friends attending funerals for classmates in grade
school and high school who had committed suicide. He recalled
standing in a doorway when he was 12 to prevent someone from
taking his life. Because the leading cause of death for
teenagers is suicide, his childhood experiences are not unique.
He asked how the education system can work to make sure all
students shape worthwhile and satisfying lives.
MR. ISAAK said that in September 2016, the State Board of
Education and Early Development established five strategic
priorities aimed at improving public education: 1. Amplify
student learning. 2. Ensure excellent educators. 3. Modernize
the education system. 4. Inspire tribal and community ownership
of educational excellence 5. Promote safety and well-being.
To address the fourth priority, a 20-member tribal and community
ownership committee was established as part of the Alaska
Education Challenge. The recommendation was put forward to
create an option for self-governance, compacting for the
delivery of education between the State of Alaska and tribes or
tribally-empowered Alaskan Native organizations. The committee
defined compact to mean that tribes or tribally-empowered
Alaskan Native organizations exercise their rights in
partnership with the State of Alaska to assume the
responsibilities and associated funding to carry out programs,
functions, services, and activities the state would otherwise be
obligated to provide.
MR. ISAAK said the state board accepted the recommendation as
part of Alaska Education Challenge. Compacting can be simply
defined as a government-to-government agreement that provides a
framework to address the needs of a specific arena, such as
education. The compact outlines the terms of an agreement,
accountability measures, and the funding agreement. Compacts
have a long-standing, proven track method as a method for
providing local control with accountability. Compacts provide a
flexible platform to address the education needs in Alaska.
MR. ISAAK said all Alaskans and all students and their
communities stand to benefit from having access to additional
pathways to learning. State tribally-compacted schools, in
accordance with the Constitution of the State of Alaska, would
be public schools open to all students. Tribes would have the
freedom to choose to enter into compacts.
9:07:00 AM
CHAIR STEVENS expressed appreciation for the comment that a
tribally-compacted school would be open to all students. He
noted that the legislature received a legal opinion about
preferential hiring of Alaska Native teachers and preferential
enrollment of Alaska Native students. The complex opinion ends
by saying that it will wind up in court. He asked Mr. Isaak for
his perspective about the preferential hiring of teachers and
preferential enrollment. He said one of his main concerns is for
all children to be able to attend a tribal school.
MR. ISAAK replied those questions often come up when talking
about compacting. Two examples show the approach the department
is using when thinking about the complex matters for compacting.
Currently, the Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance (TERO) process
is legal. Using frameworks that already exist means it is not
necessary to create a new pathway. This is a proven, legal
method for hiring that tribes use.
CHAIR STEVENS asked for an explanation of TERO.
MR. ISAAK explained that TERO is federally recognized and tribes
are using it in the state for hiring practices. Head Start could
be a model for enrolling students because that program has
addressed how to do that so it would not be something new. That
enrollment preference could be a good fit for K-12.
9:09:58 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether TERO gives more points to someone
with cultural connections. She noted that Head Start cannot
accept all children, so it prioritizes. She opined that if that
method is used, some students could be left out.
MR. ISAAK answered that there is a point system for TERO. A TERO
committee makes sure the job posting and requirements meets the
tribe's needs and aligns with the tribal vision and values. In
terms of Head Start preferences, it has been demonstrated that
tribes are not trying to exclude students. In fact, tribes seek
additional funding for Head Start to open up more classroom
space for the children who do not qualify. These tribes abide by
federal Head Start statutes and provide their own funding to
make more space for students. This demonstrates their commitment
to all students on and off the road system. He said fourteen of
the 17 Head Start programs in the state are tribal.
SENATOR HUGHES expressed hope to remove prioritizing students
and require schools to take all students in a community. She
asked if he thought that was a workable model.
MR. ISAAK answered that the goal would be to serve all students,
just as with tribal health care. He would like tribes to speak
for themselves, but the intention is to be open to all students.
SENATOR HUGHES observed that the health clinics were brought up
at the first meeting on the bill. The tribal clinics receive
federally-qualified health center funds that require them to see
all patients. She reiterated her concern about prioritizing and
questioned whether a community with only one school, a tribally-
compacted school, might not accept all students.
CHAIR STEVENS noted that in his district, the community of Old
Harbor has about 50 kids and one school. If the school is turned
over to the tribal entity, he believes all the kids would be
willingly accepted, but there should not be a tribal school and
a separate public school.
9:15:04 AM
SENATOR COGHILL asked Mr. Isaak to repeat the three tenets he
described in the government-to-government relationship. It was
well said and something to ponder.
MR. ISAAK replied the three components of a successful compact
include the master agreement, which has the terms of the
agreement. Then there are the accountability measures and the
fiscal agreement. Part of the success of the compacting process
is that it allows for that discussion before an agreement is
signed.
SENATOR COGHILL estimated that Alaska has 227 tribal entities as
well as some [tribally-empowered] groups, each of which might be
a bit different. He asked if there is room for flex points that
legislators need to think about as the state enters into
compacts.
MR. ISAAK answered that there are 229 federally-recognized
tribes in the state. The term "or a tribally-empowered
organization" is included because a lot of the federal programs
allow for that. A tribe would pass a resolution as a governing
body stating that this tribally empowered organization is
representing the tribe. There are a wide range of organizations
like these. Tanana Chiefs Conference is an example of many
tribes that have said through resolution that Tanana Chiefs will
do things on their behalf. With the Indian Health Service
compacting model, a compactor may represent a group of tribes
and agree to provide services to an area that encompasses these
tribes. That is part of the process of how compacts are
negotiated. The negotiation process allows tribes to express a
willingness to participate in compacting, which is optional.
SENATOR COGHILL said that is a good framework.
9:19:06 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted that Mr. Isaak mentioned that compacted
schools would still be public schools under the Alaska
constitution, and asked how he sees the jurisdiction of DEED
vis-a-vis tribal compacted schools. he cited the used of
standardized tests as an example. He noted that the bill speaks
about employees of the state and said he is not sure what the
vision is about that. He mentioned the anticipated testimony
from the Ya Ne Dah Ah School in the Mat-Su Borough School
District and that his brother Nick was the tribal administrator
in Chickaloon when some of the grants were secured for the
school.
MR. ISAAK explained that the Constitution of the State of Alaska
and the legislature authorize the state board and commissioner
to administer education. With compacting, the tribal governments
would negotiate and sign with the commissioner. The funding and
state statutes and constitutional mandates would still apply to
these schools as public schools, but the compact allows for
flexibility and innovation to do education with an indigenous
lens. To receive state and federal funding, the same tests and
evaluation measures would be used. Compacting does not create a
separate system. Rather, it follows existing statutes while
allowing flexibility within the current structure for local
control.
SENATOR BEGICH summarized that tribal compacting does not
necessarily mean immersion. It is locally developed curriculum
that would evolve from the local community with the signoff from
the department. He asked if that was a fair appraisal.
9:23:19 AM
MR. ISAAK replied compacting allows the tribes to choose the
medium of education. That could be the language of instruction
and what constitutes a classroom. Statute already allows that,
but the tribes would make that decision, not the state or local
school boards telling the tribes to do it a certain way. It is
self-determined tribes making that choice.
SENATOR HUGHES summarized that tribally-compacted schools would
follow statutes but tribes might need more flexibility with
regulations, and asked if he had analyzed any regulations that
might need to be adjusted. She expressed concern that adding
tribally-compacted schools to the 52 existing school districts
would add more administration. According to national studies,
including the U.S. Census Bureau study, Alaska puts more dollars
into administration than classrooms than other states. She asked
if there were any discussions about requirements or incentives
for shared administrations.
MR. ISAAK replied the tribes and department have been
considering what regulations might need to be addressed. The
regulatory process would have the same structure and still flow
through the State Board of Education. There has been public
comment about regulations for curriculum, the teacher
certification process, reporting mechanisms, assessment
mechanisms. He said the approach of the Indian Health Service
illustrates that well. Federal compacting with the Indian Health
Service has been successful for decades. The Alaska Native
Tribal Health Consortium and the Alaska Native Tribal Health
Board handle the tribal administrative health processes for the
entire state. That model could be an example for how to cut
administrative costs.
9:28:04 AM
SENATOR BEGICH emphasized the importance of ensuring that
students have access to people who are trained to teach, just as
the Indian Health Service delivers health care with qualified
people. He asked if he envisioned that the tribally-compacted
schools would use certified teachers.
MR. ISAAK answered yes; that follows state statutes. He said the
perception that tribes want to lower the bar is inaccurate. In
fact, when two people are lifting, the bar can be raised higher.
He emphasized that tribes are eager to have a conversation about
the certification process. They are very interested in having
the same type of certification and assurance of excellence that
has been demonstrated in the Indian Health Service.
SENATOR BEGICH said he does not want the state to walk away from
its responsibility to meet the constitutional mandate. He is
encouraged to hear about the collaborative way this is being
described. He fears that a different commissioner might walk
away from the responsibilities the state has under the
constitution. He said he would not want to open that door.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Isaak what he started to say before the
committee started asking questions.
MR. ISAAK replied he hosted a workshop with about 45
participants at the First Alaskans Elders and Youth Conference
in 2017. Three-quarters of the participants were students. The
questions he asked and the responses give the tribal perspective
and what students want to see. The first question was what comes
to mind when elders and youth think about identity. The number
one answer was language, followed by culture, traditions, land,
and waters. He pointed out that a quarter of the state's
students are Alaska Native.
MR. ISAAK said the second question was what students want to
learn in grade school. The group participants were teenagers and
elders. Their number one response was art, followed by language,
survival skills, and math. The third question asked students was
the reason to learn and the point of education. The number one
answer was for opportunity and access, followed by relationships
and respect.
MR. ISAAK said he asked students and elders for negative
feedback on the current education system. The number one
response was that it is too Western. There were many ways
students articulated that, which included too much sitting,
homework at too young an age or education was not
individualized. Further, participants said education lacked
diverse content, lacked acceptance for change, and was too
"cookie cutter". These participants were concerned about murder
and safety in their communities.
MR. ISAAK said he asked elders and students what a perfect
school would look like. He read one elder's answer, "I would not
get rid of math. I would not get rid of reading and writing or
all standardized tests, but I would make them secondary to
cultural values. The community would teach children, every
child. And there would be good food. Traditional languages and
English would both be taught."
MR. ISAAK said their favorite thing about school was learning,
and learning new things, followed by friendship and relationship
building to expand minds.
MR. ISAAK offered his view that participants had a powerful
voice for what tribes and students envision during discussions
on tribal compacting and tribal ownership. Those are the things
elders and youth want to see. Some participants had horrific
experiences in public education.
9:34:56 AM
MR. ISAAK said the department has hosted, cohosted, or attended
over 17 meetings in the last two years. The eight major concepts
that have come up the most often that would lead to a feasible
result for tribal compacting are: 1. tribal sovereignty 2.
feasibility in funding. 3. teacher certification. 4. teacher
retention. 5. the need for a formally-led tribal body. 6.
producing better student outcomes 7. the duration of the
compact. and 8.
CHAIR STEVENS said he appreciated the comment about raising the
bar, which is crucial to everyone in the room.
SENATOR HUGHES asked for a written copy of his testimony.
MR. ISAAK agreed to provide it.
9:37:13 AM
LISA WADE, Head, Ya Ne Dah Ah School, Chickaloon, Alaska,
related that she is the Health, Education, and Social Services
Division Director for Chickaloon Village Traditional Council,
and she stewards Ya Ne Dah Ah School. She said the committee is
asking great questions and her school is a great example that
answers some of those questions. In 1989, many of their kids
were not doing well in the public school system. She was one of
those kids. It really was tied to her cultural identity. She did
not go to college until she was 35 because she did not think she
could, but she went on to have a successful educational career.
Her grandmother, Katherine Wade, recognized what was happening
to the Native children, their identity, and what these kids were
missing. Her grandmother was working with inmates who were also
missing those same pieces, which resulted in a cycle of
incarceration. Her grandmother recognized that it was necessary
to instill a sense of identity when children are young. In this
way, the children will know themselves, their identity, their
culture, and also receive an education. This could help them be
successful in the world. The tribe started very small and over
time have built up the school.
MS. WADE said the school has 23 students comprised of a mix of
Chickaloon tribal citizens, other Alaska Natives, Native
Americans, and non-native students. The school is open to anyone
who wants to be part of it and learn their cultural lifeways and
values and language. It is not exclusionary in any way. The
school has students with Individualized Education Programs,
including her daughter who has a serious developmental diagnosis
that requires her to have many individualized and specialized
services. The school has one certified teacher and two teachers
in training, which are critically important to the development
of tribal schools. There is a teacher shortage in Alaska, so the
school has chosen the model of develop from within. The school
supports the education of its staff in becoming teachers. She
just finished a class at the University of Alaska Southeast as
part of working toward a degree in special education.
MS. WADE said Chickaloon has participated in the Indian Health
Services (IHS) tribal compact for many years. The IHS compact is
a successful example of tribes developing locally trained tribal
citizens and community members to fill voids such as for
behavioral health aides. Tribally-compacted schools could follow
this model. The Chickaloon School has worked closely with the
Mat-Su Central School District to make sure the school is
providing an above-and-beyond education.
MS. WADE advised that the school developed its policies and
procedures based on reviews of the policies and procedures of
the Anchorage School District and Mat-Su School District and
added its own things. The school is adhering to a traditional
environment while offering a rich and robust curriculum. Through
partnerships with community, the school has been successful, but
without the community support, the things the school offers to
students would not be possible.
9:42:47 AM
MS. WADE cited the example of a former teacher who brought a
recently harvested caribou to the school to teach students
skills to provide food for families. It is part of that
development of identity and lifeways that kids are craving. The
school teaches values. Every month a value is taught, mostly
through their language. These are universal values, such as
honoring ancestors and focusing on humor in hard times.
MS. WADE reported that several people are working to learn and
preserve the Ahtna language. Since there are fewer than seven
fluent speakers and only one or two who can come help teach it,
it is critical that it prosper in a school environment. All
across the state there is a shortage of language teachers. This
is one avenue to help with that.
CHAIR STEVENS asked where the school is located.
MS. WADE replied the school is on the road system, eight miles
north of Palmer. It is physically located in the house where she
was raised by her grandmother. She added that the school
emphasizes understanding and being able to move in the
environment which is just as important as inside learning. Much
of what is taught in math and science can be done outside and in
their language. The school is producing college graduates. One
former student just finished her nursing degree and another
completed his Informatics and GIS (Geographic Information
Systems) degree and is working in that field. The school is
producing scientists. It is not just teaching soft arts and
culture, although she thinks those are foundational to creating
a whole human. The school is excelling in science, too, because
of the tribal partnership and location. The school is not just
in one place but is out in the community. It is learning from
the best of the best in the community.
9:47:04 AM
SENATOR BEGICH pointed out that Harvard recognized the school's
curriculum and program.
9:47:44 AM
MS. WADE responded that Harvard recognized Ya Ne Dah Ah as a
unique school. The school is also in the second round of review
for a national award from the Kellogg Foundation. It is a unique
model that receives a lot of attention. It has taken a great
many years to figure this out. The school is sharing what it is
doing with other communities because it is replicable. It has
taken a long time to break barriers and get the district to
understand why their kids need this. She gets calls all the time
from parents, and it has been a hard year because she has had to
reject parents who wanted to bring their children to the school.
A lot of kids, especially Alaska Native kids with social-
emotional issues in the foster care system, are not doing well
in the school system. It has been hard for her to say that the
school is at capacity. The school used to have one large
classroom and just expanded into another classroom, so the
school grew from 12 students last year to 23 this year. She is
cautious about growth. She does not want to grow beyond what the
school can manage. The school relies on the parent committee for
guidance.
SENATOR BEGICH asked her to send a copy of the school's policy
and procedures to the committee and any examples of curriculum.
MS. WADE replied the school uses formal curriculum. She works
with a teacher advisor with the Mat-Su School District. The
school uses math textbooks in an online program. That allows
students to do individualized work. When there is one teacher in
the classroom for numerous grade levels, the math program allows
the school to track who is struggling with certain topics. The
school has many volunteer tutors who work with students. It
takes an entire village to educate. The school uses
Time4Learning for high school language arts. She is teaching
civics and U.S. history with curriculum from the Mat-Su School
District. other viewpoints are also offered, such as the history
of tribal leadership in Alaska materials. The school uses a
mixed curriculum, but it is all vetted for the primary subject
matter. The school follows the state and school district credit
hour and graduation requirements, with grades from preschool to
high school.
CHAIR STEVENS said it is a pleasure to hear about her successful
school. He asked how this bill on tribal compacting would impact
her and is she interested in seeing it go forward.
9:53:22 AM
MS. WADE replied she feels hopeful about the bill. Sometimes her
tribe is viewed as one that rocked the boat, but the fundamental
core is collaboration. However, the tribe also wants
recognition. She said the school has experienced significant
barriers by the state and without those, the school could do
much more. The state cannot implement this program throughout
Alaska, but tribes are poised to be great partners. The tribes
might need help with things like teacher licensure, which
includes pathways. It could be modeled after the behavioral
health aides and dental health aides programs and the health
care system. The tribe has partners who could help the school
district. She heard a question about the burden this would cause
because it would create a new administration, but she did not
think it would be one.
MS. WADE continued to say:
We take on a lot of that leadership structure, and I
see that is a strong thing. It's not saying we want to
be the most important player in developing this. It's
saying we want to partner, and we just don't want
those barriers to be in the way for us to be able to
do this. And that's really over the past five years
where I think we've had tremendous success out here in
the valley with the school district. It took a lot of
relationship building. We used to not have any support
in terms of curriculum. We are a privately funded
school. We have no funding from the state to actually
administer our curriculum, outside of that homeschool
allotment that we get. And that helps. That provides
our teacher, our certified teacher, half of our
certified teacher, honestly. It would be helpful for
us to receive additional funding still to pay our
teacher. We can help absorb the cost for other things,
but we need to be able to have some recurring funding
that allows us to work on our development and keeping
our teachers and retaining them. And it is hard to do
when you are grant funded and you are not sure what it
is going to look like. Through the IHS compact, we
have recurring funding that comes through. We know
what to expect. We know how to budget. It's not to say
we are getting a huge amount of money. Through the IHS
compact, I get something like $80,000 total to run all
my health programs. That is not a huge amount of
money. But then it allows me to budget and fill in
gaps as needed and tribes are really adept and
successful at utilizing resources. And that's where I
think we are great partners, because we fill in voids
all over the place. Usually my programs, my health and
education programs, are pieced together from numerous
funding sources.
MS. WADE opined that if the state and tribes cannot get together
to support their children, the state's educational system will
probably always struggle. She emphasized that this is an
opportunity. Tribes have figured out to do that with the IHS and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other mechanisms because of the
recognition that tribes are good stewards of resources. It is
building relationship and trust. It took a long time here in the
Mat-Su to do that, but now the district realizes that if it
helps with some curriculum and the school takes on instruction,
the school is providing much more than education. The school is
culturally centered, it is a safety net for kids. Their kids are
not afraid because they feel safe and loved. The community
members come in and kids are wrapped in love. That is what the
school can offer. People need to remove what gets in the way of
that.
SENATOR HUGHES suggested the committee look into arranging a
visit to the school during the interim to see how the community
is involved and watch a classroom in action.
CHAIR STEVENS said he was thinking the same thing. He asked Ms.
Wade if she would let the committee visit the school.
MS. WADE replied of course, everyone is welcome.
CHAIR STEVENS said it was pleasure to hear about what she is
doing and how successful the school is. He noted that earlier he
referred to the legal opinion from Meera Caouette about the
constitutionality of tribal education compacts, particularly
regarding prioritizing the hiring of teachers and the
prioritizing the admission of students. He recommended everyone
take time to read it.
10:00:49 AM
At ease
10:00:53 AM
CHAIR STEVENS reconvened the meeting and offered to provide a
copy of the memo to everyone when it was available. It is a
complex subject and addresses the committee's concerns about the
Constitution of the State of Alaska and the U.S. Constitution as
they relate to tribal compacting.
10:01:40 AM
SIRI TUTTLE, Director, Alaska Native Language Center, University
of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, said the legislature
founded the language center in 1972. The mission is to cultivate
and promote Alaska's 20 Native languages. This is her second
year as the director. She has been at UAF since 2003 but has
worked with Alaska Native languages as a linguist since 1990.
She has worked primarily with Dena'ina or Athabascan languages
on the road systems. She has worked with communities whose
languages are most in danger, in places where it may be most
difficult to create local schools with functioning language
instruction. She has met many people who are fearless learners
of their languages who have been leading the way to
revitalization of language, even though these language
innovators did not grow up as speakers.
MS. TUTTLE said people who are learning their indigenous
language as a second language have to develop language
proficiency themselves to be able transmit the language to
another generation. Ya Ne Dah Ah School is an example of a place
where that whole cycle has taken place. The inclusion of
language in this local school model takes so much work on the
part of the innovators. These people must take on the labor of
self-instruction in the language, which can take years of
apprenticeship to elders, and must study the language's
documentation, before the learner can be a teacher. Next, the
language developers must create a model for language
instruction. Next comes the daily task of teaching. He said that
as Ya Ne Dah Ah was developing and even now, it takes continuous
monitoring and funding for the school to operate. She said it
takes a level of dedication and self-support in small
communities where there are few to no speakers who grew up
speaking their language. If tribal compacting is going to work
and include language, these people need support to be learners,
apprentices, and then teachers. There needs to be a pathway to
professionalization.
MS. TUTTLE said it would be helpful for people to see an
institution like Ya Ne Dah Ah already working. Perhaps people
could apprentice when programs are being built in local schools,
but not everyone can build the same model. Each place will have
its own innovators and own style. It is always a small group of
dedicated and very creative individuals who can make this
happen.
MS. TUTTLE said the university currently supports these language
learners in master's programs at UAF, including applied
linguistics. Some students just take classes in language. Others
work on linguistics in order to understand documentation. Some
people use the university informally as a resource. The
university could develop programs to provide support for these
people. Once the system is developed, it will need a solid base
of recurrent funding so the school continues to run.
10:09:18 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said to learn the language of someone's ancestors
is meaningful. As important as that is, it is also important for
students to speak English because it is necessary for many jobs.
MS. TUTTLE answered absolutely. People have had notions
concerning whether learning one language would retard developing
another one. This is the only nation in the world where
monolinguism is normal. Bilinguism or multilinguism is normal
for most of the planet. It does not hurt people at all. It makes
them smarter.
CHAIR STEVENS said he learned more about English by taking
French and Spanish.
MS. TUTTLE replied that is true. Teaching grammar in English is
out of fashion, but to learn a new language, one must address
its grammar. That makes people more aware of language structure.
CHAIR STEVENS observed that the committee had a great learning
opportunity with these three speakers
[SB 136 was held in committee].
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