Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
05/08/2019 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB109 | |
| HB136 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 136 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 109 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
May 8, 2019
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Grier Hopkins
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative DeLena Johnson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 109
"An Act relating to residency requirements for public school
enrollment for certain children of active duty military
members."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 136
"An Act relating to public school funding for social and
emotional learning; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 109
SHORT TITLE: MILITARY CHILDREN SCHOOL RESIDENCY WAIVER
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) LEDOUX
03/25/19 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/25/19 (H) MLV, EDC
04/09/19 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/09/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/11/19 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/11/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/16/19 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/16/19 (H) Heard & Held
04/16/19 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
04/18/19 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/18/19 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
04/23/19 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
04/23/19 (H) Moved CSHB 109(MLV) Out of Committee
04/23/19 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
04/24/19 (H) MLV RPT CS(MLV) NT 6DP
04/24/19 (H) DP: KOPP, THOMPSON, JACKSON, TARR,
TUCK, LEDOUX
05/08/19 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
BILL: HB 136
SHORT TITLE: PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) HOPKINS
04/16/19 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/16/19 (H) EDC, FIN
05/08/19 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As the prime sponsor, introduced HB 109.
DENEEN TUCK, Staff
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative LeDoux, prime
sponsor of HB 109, provided information regarding the proposed
committee substitute for the bill.
TAMMIE PERREAULT, Regional Liaison
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
Washington, DC
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to HB 109.
HEIDI TESHNER, Director
Division of Administrative Services
Department of Education & Early Development (DEED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to HB 109.
DEENA BISHOP, PhD, Superintendent
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 109.
MICHAEL GRAHAM, Chief Academic Officer
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony related to HB 109.
JAMES ANDERSON, Chief Financial Officer
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 109.
TANIA CLUCAS, Staff
Representative Grier Hopkins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Hopkins, prime
sponsor of HB 136, provided detailed information related to the
bill.
JAN DAVIS, SEL and Positive Behavior Coordinator
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony related to HB 136.
JENNIFER KNUTSON, PhD, Senior Director
Department of Teaching and Learning
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony related to HB 136
and spoke in support of the bill.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:04:26 AM
CO-CHAIR ANDI STORY called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. Representatives
Hopkins, Zulkosky, Drummond, and Story were present at the call
to order.
HB 109-MILITARY CHILDREN SCHOOL RESIDENCY WAIVER
8:06:24 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 109, "An Act relating to residency
requirements for public school enrollment for certain children
of active duty military members." [Before the committee was
CSHB 109(MLV).]
CO-CHAIR STORY drew attention to the paper copy of [the proposed
committee substitute (CS) for HB 109, labeled 31-LS0728\S,
Caouette, 4/24/19,] provided on the dais before each member.
CO-CHAIR STORY requested the sponsor to explain the background
and reason for the [proposed CS].
8:07:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX, Alaska State Legislature, as
prime sponsor of HB 109, requested her aide, Ms. Deneen Tuck, to
explain the background and reason for the [proposed CS].
8:07:25 AM
DENEEN TUCK, Staff, Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative LeDoux, prime
sponsor of HB 109, explained that after CSHB 109(MLV) was
reported from the House Special Committee on Military &
Veterans' Affairs, it was suggested by Representative Tarr that
the word "guardian" be added where ever "parent" is mentioned in
the bill. The word "parent" occurs in Section 1, page 1, lines
6 and 10, and page 2, line 3.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX stated that HB 109 comes from a request by
the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). She explained that DOD is
trying to get all states to pass bills which allow parents or
guardians of school-age children to enroll their children in
school before they arrive in Alaska and become Alaska residents.
For example, if a parent or guardian received transfer papers in
May but would not arrive in Alaska until September, the bill
would allow the children to be enrolled during the school's
regular enrollment period. This is important for high school
students where courses for graduation fill up relatively quickly
or where a student has courses or electives that are needed for
admittance to the college of their choice, and if the student
waited until arriving in Alaska those courses may already be
filled. It's also important for when a parent or guardian wants
to enroll a child into a charter school, which is done through
lotteries and that process may start prior to [the child's]
arrival in Alaska.
8:10:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS requested clarification about which bill
version the committee is working from.
CO-CHAIR STORY replied the committee is considering Version S,
[the proposed committee substitute for HB 109, labeled 31-
LS0728\S, Caouette, 4/24/19].
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked whether other states have already
passed this bill.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX offered her understanding that some states
have passed it, but she doesn't know the number.
8:11:09 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
8:11:35 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HB 109, labeled 31-LS0728\S, Caouette,
4/24/19, as the working document.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND objected for purposes of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX suggested that Ms. Tammie Perreault of DOD
might be able to answer Representative Hopkins' question about
how many other states have adopted this bill.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND removed her objection to adopting the proposed
CS as the working document. There being no further objection,
Version S was before the committee.
8:12:32 AM
TAMMIE PERREAULT, Regional Liaison, U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD), addressed the question from Representative Hopkins about
how many states have adopted this or a similar law. She said
that, currently, at least six states have passed this. Arizona,
California, Washington, and Nebraska have already passed bills.
It has been introduced and is in the process of being passed in
about six other states, including Florida, Georgia, and South
Carolina. The DOD foresees a wave of states passing a bill this
legislative session. The DOD further foresees that over 20
states will have passed a bill by the end of the next
legislative session. This is a very new initiative with DOD, so
Alaska is early in the process, but it is something that has
been vetted through the next three states and is an important
part of improving military child implementation of education in
the state of Alaska.
8:14:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY posed a scenario in which a student
enrolls after the headcount has been done for the base student
allocation. She inquired whether resources would be there to
meet the needs of that student.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX deferred to the Alaska Department of
Education & Early Development (DEED) for an answer. She stated
she isn't sure how this bill would change that because the
students are going to be coming in one way or another.
CO-CHAIR STORY offered her understanding that even if students
not from the military move from another district or state after
the count date they are not counted and therefore she doesn't
believe this bill would correct that.
8:16:07 AM
HEIDI TESHNER, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Education & Early Development (DEED), replied to
Representative Zulkosky's question. She explained that if a
student is enrolled in the school district for the count period,
that student will be counted. If a student enrolls after the
count period or anytime during the count period, that student
would not be funded through the formula as it currently stands.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY surmised that is true for any student
enrolling late, not just students with parents or guardians in
military service.
MS. TESHNER responded correct.
8:17:07 AM
DEENA BISHOP, PhD, Superintendent, Anchorage School District
(ASD), testified that the Municipality of Anchorage and the
Anchorage School District are honored to serve the families and
children of the military. Presently, [ASD] serves about 8,000
[military] students, or 15 percent of [ASD's] total student
population. The functions and people of Joint Base Elmendorf-
Richardson (JBER) play a major role in the community and state.
DR. BISHOP said this bill would allow and ensure that a school
district considers students as residents of the district and
offers the ability to admit them into school when their parents
or guardians are serving as active duty members. The bill is
the least [the state] can do for its highly valued men and women
of the U.S. military.
DR. BISHOP related that ASD's goal is to transition the young
people of military families effectively, efficiently, and as
easily as possible. The district desires to make its military
families' station in Alaska the best it can be, and this
includes schooling. This bill would offer peace of mind to
military families with school-aged children as they move to
Alaska. It would also allow school districts to plan for their
arrival by planning for courses and classes that will be ready
and waiting for them. She offered the Anchorage School
District's full support and appreciation for HB 109.
8:18:58 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND inquired whether the Anchorage School District
has to-date experienced any enrollment issues with children of
military families due to the lack of the language in this bill.
DR. BISHOP answered that ASD has not, but she sees the bill as
not necessarily the impetus on the school district doing its
work. The bill speaks to what is being provided, the customer
satisfaction, which is that military families have peace of mind
in knowing that their school district will work with them.
8:20:17 AM
MICHAEL GRAHAM, Chief Academic Officer, Anchorage School
District (ASD), seconded Dr. Bishop's statements and said ASD
has not had problems with the military. The district has two
military liaison officers who help families navigate in this
regard and the bill would provide peace of mind. The schools
and principles of the ASD are aware and will do whatever is
necessary to make things work, whether the students are coming
in or transferring out.
MR. GRAHAM addressed the question about funding when a student
is not yet there during the counts. He noted that military and
other students leave the district after the count time and the
district doesn't lose that money, so things likely balance out
closely.
8:21:44 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY referred to a letter in the committee packet from
Patrick Mayer, President, Alaska Superintendents Association,
which notes that the bill seems to be written for incoming
students. Mr. Mayer suggests that clarifying language may be
needed to address the issue of students who are leaving and no
longer in Alaska. Co-Chair Story asked what the current
practice is for a student who is outgoing and whether the
student could stay in the district.
DR. BISHOP replied that ASD disagrees with that letter and does
not believe the bill needs to speak to outgoing students. The
district treats outgoing students as individuals, she said. If
a student leaves during the middle of the year, ASD has always
worked with the families and the commissioner of DEED to get
permission for the student to continue his/her education for
graduation or for a family hardship, such as when a parent or
guardian is deployed and leaves the state. She said that as the
ASD superintendent she would not support any kind of language
that would limit or make it more difficult for ASD to serve.
She pointed out that ASD has never had an abuse of this issue,
it is simply about meeting graduation requirements or hardships.
CO-CHAIR STORY offered her understanding of this issue for when
someone is in a current year and must move but wants to stay
enrolled in the district. She inquired about subsequent years.
DR. BISHOP responded that ASD does not have that issue and has
not had that request. The ASD is not a national correspondence,
it serves state students.
8:25:37 AM
JAMES ANDERSON, Chief Financial Officer, Anchorage School
District, related that he spent 27 years on active duty with the
U.S. Army prior to retiring four years ago in Anchorage. Each
of his daughters attended nine different schools as they
progressed from kindergarten through graduation. Both times
when his family moved to Anchorage his children were registered,
knew what was going to happen, knew they would get the classes
they needed, and felt comfortable before even hitting the ASD
schoolgrounds. This is not necessarily the norm; his children
attended schools that were not as welcoming and were not as
helpful, which created chaos for his kids in trying to figure
out what they would be doing. He said he applauds the bill
sponsor's efforts and the national efforts to recognize the
challenge that military children face. He added that his
daughters still call Anchorage home and much of that is how they
were welcomed and embraced when coming into the school district.
8:27:45 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY opened public testimony on HB 109. She closed
public testimony after ascertaining no one wished to testify.
CO-CHAIR STORY observed the fiscal note for HB 109 is zero.
8:28:19 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY held over HB 109.
HB 136-PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING
8:28:50 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 136, "An Act relating to public school funding
for social and emotional learning; and providing for an
effective date."
8:29:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS, as the prime sponsor of HB 136,
introduced the bill. He said he is honored to sponsor HB 136 as
part of the ongoing efforts of the legislature and this
committee to take a detailed look at ways to improve how the
state prepares young Alaskans for life success through education
and job readiness. He explained HB 136 would help Alaska school
districts to protect funds for social and emotional learning
(SEL) by requiring a percentage of the funds distributed by a
formula fund to be allocated to social and emotional learning
activities. The necessity of these activities has been
recognized by the legislature and would be protected from
elimination during these times of budget crisis by the language
in HB 136. The bill is not intended to dedicate specific state
funds; instead, it would be one-half of one percent of the
equivalent of how much money goes from the state to each school
district. As the bill is currently written, a grant or a
private donation could account for this money.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS noted the committee has heard from many
presenters over the session about the importance of social and
emotional learning (SEL), otherwise known as soft skills or
people skills. For example, before the committee last week Mark
Foster noted that, "Social skills tend to be a better predictor
of success in life." Representative Hopkins related that these
types of skills include motivation, self-restraint, self-
reflection, and empathy. Alaska spends more than $1.5 billion
annually on education and workforce development, yet research
shows that the most important indicator for future success is
thorough and effective social and emotional education, not just
concentrating on reading, writing, and math. An investment of
one-half of one percent is a very small amount with an
incalculable return.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS pointed out that nearly every school
district in Alaska currently does work on social and emotional
learning in some way. In its current form, HB 136 has no
additional cost to the state. The intent and goal of the bill
is to ensure that the districts continue to concentrate at a
minimum level of their budgets on this important type of
curriculum and program, as well as to continue to drive the
conversation. He noted the intent is to hold HB 136 in
committee and work over the interim with stakeholder groups to
further refine the specifics of the bill. He related that there
was some concern about starting to dedicate parts of the funding
formula and interrupting the work that the districts are doing.
8:33:00 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked whether HB 136 would create any new
programs.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS replied the bill would not create any new
programs or specify specifically how the districts need to work
on social and emotional learning. The districts would still
have flexibility to know what is best for their students and not
be mandated by the legislature as to what lessons or programs.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND inquired whether HB 136 would place any
restrictions on a district's ability to fund these programs.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS responded it would not.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked why social and emotional learning is
necessary in Alaska's schools.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS answered that starting in kindergarten
the state tests standards for playing well in the sandbox and
working well with others, in an understanding of what it takes
to be a stronger functioning member of society as opposed to
just learning multiplication tables or the periodic table of
elements. This look at social skills goes all the way through
high school because they determine future success. There is a
wide array of research that backs this up.
8:34:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY recounted that the committee has talked
this year and last about the impact of adverse childhood
experiences and the importance of ensuring that children come
into the classroom with readiness to learn, which sometimes
takes focus in other areas beyond reading, writing, and
curriculum. She pointed out that in rural districts the larger
districts would probably be better able to absorb this type of
dedication/expectation of funds, but that it might be difficult
for the smaller districts. She asked whether there has been
vetting and conversations with the smaller rural school
districts that may have a more difficult time implementing
something like this. She suggested that, if not, this work
could happen over the interim.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS replied "absolutely" and explained that
the original impetus behind the bill was that school districts
of all sizes are having to do a lot of health and social service
work with students who come to school with adverse childhood
experiences, and seeing how that impacted the classrooms.
Districts are working hard on preparing the students to learn.
A spreadsheet in the committee packet shows how much money it
would be for each school district under the bill's current
structure - the Anchorage School District is obviously the
highest amount, while Pelican is the smallest at [$2,687], which
is not a heavy lift. Representative Hopkins said he has talked
to school districts of all sizes. For example, the Tok and
Dillingham school district superintendents were excited about
the bill and liked that it would remove some of the political
dialogue and the political pressure when they are forming their
budgets.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS continued his reply. He allowed he has
heard concern from the Alaska Association of School Boards and
former members of school boards about theoretically getting "the
nose of the camel under the tent" such that future legislatures
might want to also dedicate a portion of funding toward
something else, and then something else, and then something
else. Because he doesn't want to open that door and because he
wants to allow flexibility for the districts, he is going to
back off mandating a certain amount of money and work with the
school boards, superintendents, and school district business
officers to find out how to continue to drive that dialogue
instead of mandating funding levels.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY said she appreciates this answer. She
noted that it would require $30,000 for one of the school
districts in her region, which is a heavy lift for a school
district that serves three small villages.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS offered his understanding that funding is
tight and said he doesn't want to put on pressure.
8:39:28 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY observed that the bill on page 1, line 7, only
says "state aid" and nothing about grant money. She suggested
that this language be added.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS responded he will look at this to ensure
the language is specific on how that funding needs to be shown.
CO-CHAIR STORY complimented the sponsor for the information
provided in the packet. She offered her belief that all members
of the committee believe in social and emotional learning and
wish they could be adding this money to districts and putting in
a fiscal note of this amount. Superintendents, parents,
teachers, and school board members have talked to committee
members about how critical this learning is in school climate
and the workplace in life. She mused about investing this money
up front and how much cost would be saved in the future for
other tough situations the state might find itself in.
8:40:59 AM
TANIA CLUCAS, Staff, Representative Grier Hopkins, Alaska State
Legislature, reviewed the documents provided in the committee
packet for HB 136. She brought attention to the sponsor
statement, the fiscal note of zero, and the spreadsheet that
breaks out the one-half of one percent for each school district.
She pointed out that school counselors are considered part of
social and emotional learning and therefore in one of the small
districts a school counselor would cover what the cost would be.
She drew attention to the examples of what already exist in
Alaska for curriculum materials and guidelines for the different
school districts. The document with the header "Pre-K" is from
the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, and that it lists
the different standards from pre-kindergarten through grade 12
that are in the Alaska educational guidelines from DEED. The
packet also includes a recent report to the Fairbanks School
Board and materials on what has been happening in the Fairbanks
School District with social and emotional learning. She added
that the Juneau School District has provided examples of what it
uses for kindergarten through grade 12, which she will be
getting to the committee. Another item is an article about
social and emotional learning in the classroom and its effects
on the students in their long-term success that was referenced
by Mr. Mark Foster.
8:44:16 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY opened invited testimony on HB 136.
8:44:32 AM
JAN DAVIS, SEL and Positive Behavior Coordinator, Anchorage
School District (ASD), testified that in 2006 the Anchorage
School District became the first district in the nation to adopt
social and emotional standards. She explained that the ASD's 15
standards for kindergarten through grade 12 are organized into
four quadrants. The first is self-awareness, where students are
asked to be knowledgeable of their emotions, personal traits,
external supports, and personal responsibility. The second is
self-management, where students are asked to be capable to
manage their emotions, to demonstrate honesty and integrity, to
use effective decision-making skills, and to be able to set and
achieve goals. The third is social awareness, where students
are asked to care about other's perceptions, to care to be able
to contribute positively to their community, to respect others'
differences, and to read social cues. The fourth is social
management, where students are asked to be able to interact
effectively with others, to develop constructive relationships,
and can prevent, manage, and resolve interpersonal conflicts
constructively.
MS. DAVIS noted that ASD found an area it missed in the initial
rollout of its standards - the adult aspect. She explained that
if students are being asked to live within these four quadrants,
there must be adults who have a mindset that they truly see the
student in front of them, believe in the student's capacity to
learn and to change their behavior, care about the students and
that their SEL and academic needs are being met, and are
responsible to support the students in any way possible to
ensure the students are having success academically.
8:47:00 AM
MS. DAVIS stated ASD believes that to have a cohesive SEL
program there are three areas that must be had - climate, direct
instruction, and integrating SEL into other curricular
activities. Addressing the integration of SEL, she explained
that this means integrating SEL skills throughout the day in all
curricular areas through modeling and instructional practices
that promote SEL skills practiced in maximized learning. "The
way we teach is as important as what we teach," she said.
Allowing students time to enhance their SEL skills while
addressing academic content allows for students and for teachers
to know that SEL is not just half an hour once a week but needs
to be practiced throughout the whole week of school. Hopefully
students will apply that ability in other areas of their life.
MS. DAVIS asked the question, "How do we know what we're doing
is working?" She explained that this year ASD developed an SEL
walkthrough rubric, a tool that provides an external view at the
site to see what is happening during a short visit. The three
areas of the rubric are: schoolwide culture and environment;
classroom instruction; and classroom climate, environment, and
management. The idea of the rubric is to give additional data
points to the leadership teams at the schools so they can use
them to make sound decisions on what their next steps are and to
be used as a department to assess the professional development
that is needed.
8:48:55 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY requested Ms. Davis to send the SEL walkthrough
rubric to the committee. She inquired whether Ms. Davis was
previously in Juneau to give a training on aggressors, victims,
and bystanders at one of the middle schools.
MS. DAVIS confirmed she gave the training.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND requested Ms. Davis to provide the committee
with a written copy of her testimony. She asked what year it
was that ASD became first in the U.S. to adopt SEL standards.
MS. DAVIS replied 2006.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND inquired whether there was a trigger to that
early adoption or whether it was simply because Anchorage had
already been providing SEL training and thought the way to do it
would be to solidify it as standards.
MS. DAVIS responded that ASD was already doing lots of social
and emotional learning within the district before it knew the
term "SEL." The district worked with Search Institute and the
institute's four-day Developmental Assets, a foundation that was
then used by the district to look at what is needed in a school
so that it isn't just hit and miss. The district looks at
climate, direct instruction, and infusion of SEL skills to hit
all the needs of all students and adults.
8:50:44 AM
JENNIFER KNUTSON, PhD, Senior Director, Department of Teaching
and Learning, Anchorage School District (ASD), testified that
the Anchorage School District has been implementing SEL for over
20 years. For the last eight years ASD has been participating
nationally through a collaborating districts initiative. She
said SEL involves teaching skills that students - and adults -
need to be successful at school as well as at home, in the
community, and in the workplace.
DR. KNUTSON noted Ms. Davis talked about how the ASD embeds SEL
throughout the day and said she will discuss the other two
prongs of how the ASD looks at SEL. She explained that those
two prongs are through climate in the schools and through direct
teaching of those SEL skills. She said social and emotional
learning was first implemented in ASD schools by creating a safe
and respectful learning environment where students feel
connected to the schools, the adults who are working with them,
and their peers. Examples of the work done in the district to
build a positive climate include teachers greeting students as
they enter the class and creating social contracts for how to
treat each other and work with each other. Also, ASD has been
working on reset zones, which are places where students can go
when they demonstrate challenging behaviors and where they can
work on replacement behaviors and have restorative conversations
so that they can interact in a productive way with peers and
adults and get back to their learning. A safe and respectful
climate is an essential piece for teaching and learning because
without that it is going to be hard to get to the academics.
For example, in one school that implemented these climate
practices the suspensions went down from 286 last year to 85
this year.
8:53:15 AM
DR. KNUTSON said the third piece around SEL that is emphasized
by ASD is using evidence-based programs. Specific skills such
as problem solving, listening to others, and being self-aware of
emotions and how other people are feeling, must be intentionally
taught just like reading and math skills are taught, especially
at elementary and middle school levels. Students who might be
experiencing more challenging behaviors or experiencing trauma
receive additional support and individualized instruction on SEL
skills to help them cope during the day. When the three prongs
of embedding SEL throughout the day, climate, and direct
teaching are done together, changes are seen in academic
achievement, office discipline referrals go down, families feel
more connected, and students feel more connected. It is a
necessary part of the educational system.
DR. KNUTSON specified that the Anchorage School District funds
all its SEL work through multiple funding sources, including
grants, federal title funds, and general funds, because SEL is
important. Even without this bill, she said, all school
districts should be including this as a foundation to the
education that they are providing to students. She stated that
ASD fully supports HB 136.
8:55:06 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked how the Anchorage School District could
adapt if class sizes suddenly rose should the governor's
proposed budget cuts occur.
DR. KNUTSON replied that increasing the number of students in
the classroom has two issues. The first is a space and
management issue within the classroom and fitting that many
bodies in a classroom. The second issue is to individually meet
the needs of all the students in a classroom. The district
would have to look at how it educates kids and how it provides
services to them. This is where the district's SEL work comes
into play, because it will require talking about interacting
with each other and how the district might move classrooms,
share students, and do different ways of educating kids. More
kids in a classroom presents a real challenge and delivery
models would have to be looked at.
8:56:43 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY requested Dr. Knutson to provide the committee
with a list of the evidence-based programs. She suggested that
perhaps the Alaska Association of School Boards could let the
committee know if there is such a list to ensure that evidence-
based programs are being practiced for social and emotional
learning within the state.
8:57:10 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY opened public testimony on HB 136. She closed
public testimony after ascertaining no one wished to testify.
8:57:34 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY held over HB 136.
8:58:16 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
8:58:42 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:59 a.m.