Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
03/30/2012 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Southeast Island School District | |
| Presentation: Alaska Tech-prep Consortium | |
| HB352 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 352 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 30, 2012
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Alan Dick, Chair
Representative Lance Pruitt, Vice Chair
Representative Eric Feige
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Sharon Cissna
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Scott Kawasaki
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: SOUTHEAST ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT
- HEARD
PRESENTATION: ALASKA TECH-PREP CONSORTIUM
- HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 352
"An Act relating to public school curriculum and textbook
restrictions based on science, resource development, and
sustained yield principles."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 352
SHORT TITLE: RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) DICK
02/22/12 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/22/12 (H) EDC
03/30/12 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
LAUREN BURCH, Superintendent
Southeast Island School District
Thorne Bay, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint titled "Southeast
Island School District."
CATHY LECOMPTE, Member
Board of Directors
Alaska Tech Prep Consortium
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint titled "Growing Our
Own: A Systemic Framework for Education and Workforce
Development in Alaska."
DIANE MAPLES, Statewide Tech Prep Coordinator
Alaska Tech Prep Consortium
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented a PowerPoint titled "Growing Our
Own: A Systemic Framework for Education and Workforce
Development in Alaska."
ALAN DICK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced HB 352, as the prime sponsor of
the bill.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:04:15 AM
CHAIR ALAN DICK called the House Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. Representatives Dick, Feige,
Seaton, and P. Wilson were present at the call to order.
Representatives Cissna and Pruitt arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^Presentation: Southeast Island School District
Presentation: Southeast Island School District
8:04:51 AM
CHAIR DICK announced that the first order of business would be a
presentation by the Southeast Island School District.
8:05:11 AM
LAUREN BURCH, Superintendent, Southeast Island School District,
directing attention to slide 2, "Greenhouses," and slide 3,
"Renewable Energy," reported that the district priorities had
been greenhouses and wood fired boilers, as both were a means to
lower costs and both offered jobs to the community. He noted
that the students cut the wood for the boilers, and did
custodial and maintenance work to earn money for their outside
programs. He shared that this engendered pride in their
schools. He explained that there were 8 schools with about 10
students each, and a bigger school with about 75 students. He
reported that although the district sustained a $100,000 loss on
its food program, the attendance had risen remarkably once there
was a food program. He explained that the greenhouse program
would help supplement the foods and cut the costs, while
allowing the excess to be sold to the local stores. He
commented that this also allowed students to try new foods,
stating "if they can grow it, they'll try it."
8:10:26 AM
CHAIR DICK asked for a geographic description of the district.
MR. BURCH, describing that the school district was largely on
Prince of Wales Island and included Port Alexander and Hyder,
stated that access was primarily by airplane, though there was a
road system to about half the schools.
8:11:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, commenting on the cost for travel
around the school district, said that she had paid $1,000 to fly
to the Port Alexander school for the graduation ceremony.
MR. BURCH directed attention to slide 6, "Enrollment and Poverty
Rates Fiscal Years 2004 to 2012," and stated that enrollment had
remained constant for the past two years with about 160
students, arresting a downward trend from 2004. He pointed to
the second chart on the slide, "Poverty Rates," and said that
the poverty rate had remained constant at 70 percent. He moved
on to slide 7, "Graduation Rate Comparison," which reflected the
dramatic success. He stated that parents and students were
treated "like a consumer, as a business," and were involved in
hiring, discussions on curriculum, and activities that did not
require travel costs. He listed ways the district had cut
costs, which included the contracting and combining of services.
He said that the successes of the school district made it
difficult to access grants, as grants were targeted toward
failing schools and districts. He declared that tenure had been
an issue, especially as many of the schools in the district only
had one teacher. He stated that even an average teacher who was
not working hard could close a school because parents would
remove their kids from the school. He noted that he moved the
poor performing teachers between sites to keep the test scores
from permanently dropping. He offered his belief that a change
in the tenure laws might result in either better performance by
the poor teachers, or termination. He shared that even a buyout
had been offered to the ineffective tenured teachers. He
expressed his confusion with the structure for school funding
and the inefficiency of the "safety net." As most of the
schools in the district had 10 students, if one student left,
the school would close, and the remaining students would be
enrolled at another school. This, however, would not result in
any financial benefit, as the next funding increase would be for
20 students at a school. He suggested a more equitable system
would be a percentage of funding that he could count on;
offering funding based on the number of students, instead of
closing a school falling below a minimum number of students. He
said that although there was a lot of student movement within
the district, students stayed in the same school with a good
teacher. He said that a 3 percent excess in operating margin
was a "major miracle." He noted the difficulty in planning for
a school when the enrollment was always uncertain. He said that
correspondence programs, boarding schools, and even other school
districts were a continual threat to lure students away from his
district schools. He reported that a large PFD distribution in
October also threatened the attendance in schools.
8:24:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked if a change in the student count
system, using the current year count for the following year
funding, would help the small schools.
8:24:27 AM
MR. BURCH stated his support for that proposal as it allowed
predictability; he pointed out, however, the difficulty of
opening a school which had been closed, as the funding would not
be available for a year.
8:25:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered her belief that similar
problems occurred across Alaska. She encouraged the
superintendent to speak with other legislative committees.
8:26:50 AM
CHAIR DICK commented that this presentation had brought forward
a level of candor and reality.
8:27:11 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA noted that other schools with similar
issues had long existed across Alaska.
8:28:09 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
^Presentation: Alaska Tech-Prep Consortium
Presentation: Alaska Tech-Prep Consortium
8:29:01 AM
CHAIR DICK announced that the next order of business would be a
presentation by the Alaska Tech-Prep Consortium.
8:29:42 AM
CATHY LECOMPTE, Member, Board of Directors, Alaska Tech Prep
Consortium, directed attention to slide 2, "Collaborative Action
within Network to Align, Link and Leverage Individual Efforts,"
which depicted the coordination to align efforts. She noted
that pockets of greatness in the state were being brought
together to create momentum for systemic change for students.
She gave a brief "History of Tech Prep in Alaska," slide 3, and
said that it had been created by the Department of Education and
Early Development, the Department of Labor & Workforce
Development, and the University of Alaska in 2004 as a
consortium model. She reported that the consortium included 44
school districts, the University of Alaska, regional training
centers, businesses, and state agencies. She moved on to slide
4, "Alaska Tech Consortium Results," declaring that 35,000
students had earned college credits in high school since 2007.
She explained that the Tech Prep mission was to bring a high
school teacher and a university professor together to form an
agreement for a student curriculum for college credits. She
stated that the cost of $25 per credit to earn college credit in
high school had saved students and parents more than $3.5
million toward comparable credits during college attendance.
8:32:45 AM
DIANE MAPLES, Statewide Tech Prep Coordinator, Alaska Tech Prep
Consortium, pointed out that this did not include the savings
for lab fees, books, and additional university costs.
MS. LECOMPTE explained that a student could earn credit in high
school Tech Prep programs, transfer these toward a technical
certification, and thereby save time and money. She offered
anecdotal data that many students had remained in high school
when they realized that these opportunities existed.
8:35:25 AM
MS. LECOMPTE directed attention to slide 5, "Evolution of Tech
Prep," and explained that the curriculum alignment, built on the
relationship between the secondary and post-secondary teachers,
was jeopardized by a transfer by either teacher. She reported
that the Consortium, upon evaluation of its programs, had
determined that the curriculum alignment was too dependent on
the teacher relationships, and needed a system of maintenance
beyond any changes. She said that the Consortium was now
working to bring organizations together to build this system.
She provided slide 6, "What About the Student Experience?" The
system initially focused from the elementary grades to middle
school on the student experience, as a pathway of exploration
for career options. In high school, an articulation agreement
focused more closely on career preparation and development.
8:38:18 AM
MS. LECOMPTE presented slide 7, "Program of Study in Alaska,"
noting that the student was the focal point and curriculum,
employer engagement, accountability and evaluation, professional
development, technical skills assessment, postsecondary and
career readiness, guidance counseling and advising, teaching and
learning strategies, cross-agency partnerships, legislation
policies and funding all revolved around that point. She
elaborated on some of these aspects and emphasized that access
to distance courses was important to meet student needs.
8:41:21 AM
MS. LECOMPTE indicating slide 8, "Many Conversations," reviewed
the progress of the prior eight months. She shared that a task
force had been formed to replace the Tech Prep policy board. At
the same time, the Alaska Association for Career and Technical
Education (AACTE) and the Institute of the North also held
similar conversations, so together they launched a collaborative
effort, the Alaska Career and Technical Education Plan (AK CTE).
She described the framework used to devise the program, slide 9,
"CTE Alaska Style," and clarified that CTE was a Career and
Technical Education program created by the Department of Labor &
Workforce Development, Department of Education and Early
Development, and the University of Alaska. She spoke about the
Alaska Career Information System (AKCIS), slide 10, and
encouraged its use for the personal learning and career plan
from kindergarten to twelfth grade. She described some of the
modules which allowed students to determine a future pathway and
the necessary education and income. She shared that the system
was available on line, so that students could access it no
matter where they were going to school.
8:46:26 AM
MS. LECOMPTE indicated slide 11, "CTE Alaska Style How the POS
framework realizes the CTE Plan," and spoke about the curriculum
alignment for success. She moved on to slide 12, "CTE Strategy
3," and discussed e-learning and access for students to programs
and coursework. She described a progressive math class that was
delivered on-line, while a teacher simultaneously supported the
program, through the Collaborative Teaching Model.
8:49:52 AM
MS. MAPLES reported that the state had been awarded a Broadband
Technologies Opportunity Program grant, which allowed better
internet access for courses, programs, and resources. When the
student was the center focus, she said, possibilities opened up
and access to course delivery could be cultivated through
creative means. She declared that the consortium provided
access to the best practices already existing in Alaska.
8:51:52 AM
MS. LECOMPTE reviewed slide 13, "CTE Strategy 4," and explained
that teacher professional development was integral for
connecting teacher and employer externships that allowed
teachers to understand the real time use of the curriculum. She
explained slide 14, "CTE Strategy 5," and said that students
could access learning through technology beyond the physical
plant of schools.
8:53:01 AM
MS. LECOMPTE indicated slide 15, "CTE Strategy 6," and explained
that braided funding was created when cross agency partnerships
supported a position, such as the consortium. She declared that
the framework was ready to implement the model, and that they
were now looking for partners, slide 16 "Implementing the
Model." She declared that the initial focus was to the health
industry, and its need for an allied workforce. She explained
how this partnership with the Alaska Health Workforce Coalition
was progressing, slide 17, "Action Plan Objectives." Currently,
an integrated Program of Study framework had been developed, and
was now ready to be implemented in three local high school
districts. She shared that district partnerships were still
being sought to facilitate and implement the strategy. She
presented slide 18, "AHWC Program of Study Task Force," and
stated that a funding partner was necessary for a position to
oversee the continued development of current technical education
in Alaska and its implementation. She noted a need for a
longitudinal database to measure success and validate the
program.
8:57:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked how many districts were involved
with the five classes currently offered.
MS. LECOMPTE replied that 44 districts had articulation
agreements. She explained that the five aligned health courses
were part of the framework to the system that would be provided
to the districts.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, describing how the courses were
working in Wrangell, said that some high school students would
graduate with 30 college credits.
MS. LECOMPTE, in response to Representative P. Wilson, said that
Alaska's Learning Network (AKLN) was an agency partner, and she
described how a holistic grid was used to determine a program of
study that could align with an Alaska Performance Scholarship.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked about the funding for the
consortium.
MS. LECOMPTE explained that, although the original federal
funding source was no longer available, six states were now
using this framework to broaden the focus from Tech Prep to a
more systemic view for academic and career and technical
courses. She opined that support may be forthcoming, but
emphasized that the current momentum needed to be maintained.
9:02:38 AM
CHAIR DICK asked how much funding was needed.
MS. LECOMPTE replied that the need was for $302,000.
9:02:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked if she had made a presentation to
the House Finance Committee, as that committee was currently
talking with other groups about education funding.
9:04:08 AM
MS. MAPLES said that, although the university had included a
request to the governor for funding to this program for three
years, it had been vetoed.
MS. LECOMPTE stated that the University of Alaska had been very
supportive to Tech Prep. She expressed her excitement for
enlarging the program into the systemic holistic framework. She
declared the necessity for agreement to the model framework.
9:05:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted that standards and individual
student tracking could now be implemented with this program. As
it appeared to engage the students, he declared the need for its
implementation, instead of waiting for more studies.
9:07:11 AM
CHAIR DICK said that, as 93 percent of ninth graders would not
finish a four year college degree program, this systemic
framework appeared to fulfill the need.
9:08:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered her agreement and stressed the
need to fund and continue this work.
HB 352-RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM
9:09:04 AM
CHAIR DICK announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 352, "An Act relating to public school curriculum
and textbook restrictions based on science, resource
development, and sustained yield principles."
[Chair Dick passed the gavel to Vice Chair Pruitt]
The committee took a brief at-ease.
9:10:54 AM
ALAN DICK, Alaska State Legislature, said that, although HB 352
was a simple and forthright bill, it was important and he had
substantial constituent concern for this issue. He presented HB
352, paraphrasing from the sponsor statement, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
"An Act relating to public school curriculum and
textbook restrictions based on science, resource
development, and sustained yield principles."
Alaska State Constitution
Section 2. General Authority
"The legislature shall provide for the utilization,
development, and conservation of all natural resources
belonging to the State, including land and waters, for
the maximum benefit of its people".
Like many other states, Alaska has educators who come
from various backgrounds who may be unfamiliar with
Alaska's constitutional directives regarding State
resources. The purpose of this bill is to clearly
state that the curriculum in local schools supports
the intent of the Constitution.
Educational materials must give parity to the
viewpoint of use and development as well as
conservation of all natural resources. Educational
materials should recognize that the economic well-
being of the State is totally dependent upon careful,
sustainable resource development.
9:12:31 AM
CHAIR DICK said that many of the teachers in the state were not
familiar with the constitutional directives regarding State
resources. He offered his belief that sustainable, responsible
resource development was necessary for adequate financial
management; therefore, it was important for an awareness to be
brought to the educational field of an adequate balance and
parity in the curriculum for responsible resource development.
9:15:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked if the proposed bill would also
include the university. She encouraged the sponsor to consider
that inclusion.
VICE CHAIR PRUITT, referring to the fiscal note, opined that it
did not include the university.
CHAIR DICK, in response to Representative P. Wilson, declared
that he would be open to "any friendly amendment you would like
to make in that regard."
9:16:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, reading from the proposed bill, page 1,
line 6, "shall base curriculum development and textbook
selection" on these principles, asked how a biology course would
be taught using a textbook that did not meet the stipulated
criteria for utilization of wild game.
CHAIR DICK responded that a portion of a textbook could be used,
and then other materials could be used to balance the
curriculum.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON offered his belief that the proposed bill
stated that textbook selection shall be based on those
principles listed in AS 14.30.380(A).
VICE CHAIR PRUITT suggested that the perspective of the
Department of Education and Early Development would be useful.
9:18:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON acknowledged that every school district
was required to select textbooks, but as this was a proposed
state law, it could restrict the selection. Declaring his
concern for unintended consequences to individual school
districts, he suggested hearing testimony from the districts.
9:19:39 AM
CHAIR DICK expressed that there was not any intent to "limit
anybody to anything." He suggested a friendly amendment to base
curriculum development and implementation on the constitutional
principles, and remove "textbook selection." This would allow
freedom for the selection of textbooks, as long as the
curriculum recognized "the balance that's reflected in the
constitution."
9:20:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered her belief that the proposed
bill was "a policy call that we need to be thinking about on
what we think should be taught" and that it was necessary to
teach that responsible resource development could keep
"everything as pristine as we can."
9:22:33 AM
CHAIR DICK suggested listening to public testimony.
9:22:53 AM
VICE CHAIR PRUITT directed attention to a similar program in
Utah to help the citizens better understand that state income
was derived from resource development.
9:24:22 AM
CHAIR DICK reiterated that the proposed legislation was not
intended to create a limiting factor.
9:24:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON suggested including all the teaching
institutions of the state in the proposed legislation.
9:25:27 AM
VICE CHAIR PRUITT offered his belief that private institutions
could not have the state dictate curriculum.
9:26:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON reminded the committee that the proposed
legislation would not apply to the private and religious
schools, with or without funding. He referred to page 1, lines
11-13 of the proposed bill, and read: "utilization and
development of all nonrenewable resources in addition to
encouragement of balancing resource development and conservation
...." He suggested discussion with the state representatives
involved in the dispute regarding the proposed Pebble Mine.
9:27:34 AM
CHAIR DICK, in response to Representative Seaton, explained that
the intent of the proposed legislation was to ensure that any
teaching reflected the Alaska State Constitution, not to mandate
what was being taught.
9:28:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON read the constitutional passage from the
sponsor statement: "The legislature shall provide for the
utilization, development, and conservation of natural
resources...." He determined that it had a different focus than
page 1, lines 11-13, of the proposed legislation: "utilization
and development of all nonrenewable resources in addition to
encouragement of balancing resource development and
conservation...." He questioned whether this was a parallel
construction to the constitution.
9:29:14 AM
VICE CHAIR PRUITT offered his belief that everyone should have
an understanding of what drives the state economy, and he
allowed that the Fiscal Policy Committee was wrestling with this
same question. He declared a necessity to state that both views
for resource development were presented.
9:30:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON reiterated that the construction of the
proposed bill needed to ensure that the intent was upheld.
9:31:04 AM
CHAIR DICK declared his desire for meaningful legislation with
no long term consequences.
VICE CHAIR PRUITT reported that other states had done this, as
well.
[HB 352 was held over]
9:31:53 AM
[Vice Chair Pruitt returned the gavel to Chair Dick]
9:32:06 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:32 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 352 Version A 032912.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2012 8:00:00 AM |
HB 352 |
| HB352-EED-TLS-3-23-12.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2012 8:00:00 AM |
HB 352 |
| HB 352 Sponsor Statement Version A 032912.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2012 8:00:00 AM |
HB 352 |