Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
04/27/2022 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB72 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 72 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 27, 2022
8:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Grier Hopkins
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Ronald Gillham
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 72(FIN)
"An Act relating to civics education, civics assessments, and
secondary school graduation requirements; and providing for an
effective date."
- MOVED HCS CSSB 72(EDC) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 72
SHORT TITLE: SEC. SCHOOL CIVICS EDUCATION
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEVENS
02/05/21 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/05/21 (S) EDC, CRA
03/10/21 (S) EDC AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
03/10/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/10/21 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/19/21 (S) EDC AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
03/19/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/19/21 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/22/21 (S) EDC AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
03/22/21 (S) Scheduled but Not Heard
03/24/21 (S) EDC RPT CS 5DP NEW TITLE
03/24/21 (S) DP: HOLLAND, HUGHES, STEVENS, MICCICHE,
BEGICH
03/24/21 (S) EDC AT 9:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
03/24/21 (S) Moved CSSB 72(EDC) Out of Committee
03/24/21 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/30/21 (S) CRA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/30/21 (S) Heard & Held
03/30/21 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
04/08/21 (S) CRA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/08/21 (S) Heard & Held
04/08/21 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
04/20/21 (S) CRA AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/20/21 (S) Moved CSSB 72(CRA) Out of Committee
04/20/21 (S) MINUTE(CRA)
04/21/21 (S) CRA RPT CS 2DP 2NR NEW TITLE
04/21/21 (S) DP: HUGHES, GRAY-JACKSON
04/21/21 (S) NR: MYERS, WILSON
04/21/21 (S) FIN REFERRAL ADDED AFTER CRA
02/01/22 (S) FIN AT 1:00 PM SENATE FINANCE 532
02/01/22 (S) -- Invited Testimony --
02/08/22 (S) FIN AT 1:00 PM SENATE FINANCE 532
02/08/22 (S) Moved CSSB 72(FIN) Out of Committee
02/08/22 (S) MINUTE(FIN)
02/09/22 (S) FIN RPT CS 4DP 1NR NEW TITLE
02/09/22 (S) DP: STEDMAN, BISHOP, HOFFMAN,
WIELECHOWSKI
02/09/22 (S) NR: OLSON
02/16/22 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
02/16/22 (S) VERSION: CSSB 72(FIN)
02/17/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/17/22 (H) EDC, FIN
03/11/22 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
03/11/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/11/22 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
04/27/22 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
TIM LAMKIN, Staff
Senator Gary Stevens
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Offered feedback on proposed amendments to
CSSB 72(FIN), on behalf of Senator Stevens, prime sponsor.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:05:53 AM
CO-CHAIR ANDI STORY called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Representatives
Hopkins, Prax, Gillham, Cronk, Drummond, and Story were present
at the call to order.
SB 72-SEC. SCHOOL CIVICS EDUCATION
8:06:41 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the only order of business would
be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 72(FIN), "An Act relating to civics
education, civics assessments, and secondary school graduation
requirements; and providing for an effective date."
8:07:03 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY noted that public testimony had been left open
from a previous hearing, and, after ascertaining there was no
one who wished to testify, she closed public testimony on CSSB
72(FIN).
8:07:33 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND moved to adopt Amendment 1 to CSSB 72(FIN),
labeled 32-LS0478\D.2, Marx, 4/20/22, which read as follows:
Page 1, line 1:
Delete ", civics assessments,"
Page 1, line 5:
Delete "and assessment"
Page 1, line 7:
Delete "and assessment that are"
Insert "that is"
Page 1, line 9:
Delete "and assessment"
Page 1, line 12, through page 2, line 13:
Delete all material and insert:
"(b) A district shall annually provide to the
department a report that includes a description of the
civics courses offered in the district and other
civics education curriculum information as required by
the department in regulation."
Page 2, lines 27 - 29:
Delete all material and insert:
"(4) a description of the civics education curriculum
in the state public school system and civics courses
offered in each district."
8:07:48 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY objected for the purpose of discussion. She
provided that the amendment would remove the testing requirement
from the legislation. She stated that currently the proposed
legislation would require students to pass a civics exam before
receiving their high school diploma. Referring to pages 100 and
101 in the 2017 report from the Alaska Legislative Task Force on
Civics Education [included in the committee packet], she pointed
out that the task force did not support a high-stakes test. She
recalled that the federal requirements of No Child Left Behind
resulted in a complicated process requiring moderators and
proctors, and the outcomes [that were expected never
materialized]. She expressed hesitancy to support the
[requirement of a civics exam].
CO-CHAIR STORY recounted that she had participated virtually in
several high school government classes. Information on the
proposed legislation and a copy of the sponsor statement had
been sent to these classes; afterwards, seniors were questioned
on the civics testing requirement. She stated that some
students responded that they had no problem with a testing
requirement; however, a majority of the students supported
civics education that focused on class projects. She expressed
the understanding that class projects create discussions on the
importance of voting, which would encourage more students to
participate in elections. She voiced the understanding that
group projects in government classes "make it real" for
students. She cited the example of a project where students had
invited assembly members into their class. The students had
become involved with the issues by picking an assembly member
and following his/her campaign. She provided that the goal
[with projects in classrooms] would be to put civics into
action. She relayed that Lem Wheeles from the Professional
Teachers Practices Commission recommended a [civics] test as a
learning tool but not a requirement for graduation. She stated
that the legislation would require the Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED) to develop specific [civics]
curriculum. She stated that the students could be tested on the
[curriculum] without it being a high-stakes assessment.
8:12:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX stated that the Fairbanks North Star Borough
School District (FNSBSD) voiced concern about a test being a
requirement [to graduate]. He stated that his concern is not
about the naturalization test, but the requirement for students
to be familiar with Native systems of government. He expressed
the opinion that this is an unknown factor within the
legislation, and a test on Alaska Native history, as a
graduation requirement, would be concerning. He explained that
there is a fluctuation in the population of FNSBSD, especially
because of the construction trades and the two military bases.
He expressed the opinion that because the student population is
"pretty fluid" this type of test would not be a good idea. He
offered his support for a test as part of an assessment but
added that a test requirement for graduation would be excessive.
He suggested amending the proposed amendment by deleting the
word "annually" from line 16.
8:15:18 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 8:15 a.m.
8:15:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1 to
Amendment 1, [which would remove the language "annually" from
line 16 of the amendment, which read, "(b) a district shall
annually provide to the department a report that includes a".]
8:15:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX stated that currently Amendment 1 would
require the districts to provide an annual report to DEED. He
voiced the opinion that the curriculum would not differ much on
a yearly basis, so there would be no need for an annual report.
He argued that FNSBSD is currently on a five-year review cycle
and an annual report would be excessive.
8:17:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS responded in agreement with
Representative Prax, but he suggested that there could be
another way that would not change the structure of the bill. He
deferred to the staff of the bill sponsor.
8:17:37 AM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, directed attention to Section 2 of CSSB 72(FIN).
He stated that this section would be included in AS 14.07.168.
He said that this statute stipulates that the Board of Education
and Early Development, in conjunction with districts around the
state, provide an annual report to the legislature on a "slew of
things." He stated that this idea pertains to state standards;
there is a concern that once reviewed and updated [programs]
would be "put on the shelf" and not reviewed again for some
time. He specified that this has been the [case with civics
education], and an annual report would ensure [the curriculum]
would be reviewed every year. He continued that once [the
program] is established, theoretically, it would be just a
matter of updating. He warned that, once curriculum is
developed, without an annual review, [the program] could
possibly be forgotten.
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS argued that Conceptual Amendment 1 to
Amendment 1 would be a change to the districts' requirements but
would not impact Section 2 of the bill. He stated that Section
2 of the proposed legislation would still require the board to
provide a report to the legislature. He explained that if
districts do not change their curriculum, the report to the
legislature would not change. As an example, he said that the
language in the conceptual amendment could read that "a district
shall notify the department when curriculum is finalized and
changed." He stated that this change would not impact the
annual report to the legislature and would be less work for the
districts. He questioned whether Representative Prax would
consider withdrawing the motion to adopt the conceptual
amendment and offer alternative language. He stated that an
annual report would still be made to the legislature, but
districts would only report to the department when their
curriculum changed.
8:20:19 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:20 a.m. to 8:22 a.m.
8:22:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX [moved to withdraw his motion to adopt]
Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 1. [No objection was
stated, and Conceptual Amendment 1 to Amendment 1 was treated as
withdrawn.]
8:22:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 2 to
Amendment 1. He stated that the conceptual amendment would
remove the language "annually" from line 16 of the amendment
[which currently reads "(b) a district shall annually provide to
the department a report that includes a"] and insert the
language "when updated" on line 18 after "curriculum
information". There being no objection, Conceptual Amendment 2
to Amendment 1 was adopted.
8:23:35 AM
MR. LAMKIN conveyed the bill sponsor's appreciation. He
reminded the committee that he had written the report for the
bill sponsor and appreciated that the document was still
"alive."
8:24:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS noted that Amendment 1 had not yet been
adopted. He stated that he had read the final report from the
civics task force and offered the opinion that civics education
is important. He stated that a high school civics teacher in
Fairbanks, Amy Galloway, had been the [2020 Teacher of the Year]
in Alaska, and she had provided compelling testimony to the
legislature on civics education. He stated that the proposed
legislation, as amended, would alleviate some of her concerns.
He offered support for Amendment 1, as amended, especially for
classroom projects [on civics]. He stated that during the
civics task force meetings many teachers, including Lem Wheeles,
had testified that they no longer used the citizenship test as a
learning tool but as a fun exercise.
8:26:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK stated that he would not object to the
amendment, but he expressed the opinion that there does need to
be accountability.
8:26:53 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY stated that if [the legislation imposed] a high-
stakes test, districts would need to add extra classes and
possibly staff. She expressed concern that this would create an
unfunded mandated. She questioned whether DEED would combine
civics classes with American government classes.
8:27:57 AM
MR. LAMKIN, in response to Representative Prax, stated that
Senator Stevens aligns with the idea that "if it's tested then
it's taught." He communicated that the bill sponsor's concern
is students' exposure to social studies and civics, whether or
not a test is required to graduate. He stated that removing the
test requirement would be agreeable to the bill sponsor.
8:29:06 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY expressed the opinion that teachers are
continually assessing students in a variety of ways to make sure
standards to pass classes are met. She asserted that this is an
example of accountability. She voiced the opinion that focusing
on one task would force educators to "teach to the test," and
that would leave project-based learning, which puts civics into
action, at risk.
8:29:43 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY withdrew her objection to the motion to adopt
Amendment 1, [as amended], to CSSB 72(FIN).
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX objected for the purpose of discussion. He
questioned whether the committee would be receiving a report
from DEED. He offered that the assessment part of the
legislation could be revisited at some point in the future. In
agreement with Representative Cronk, he stated that more
attention may need to be put on accountability. He removed his
objection.
8:30:58 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND objected for the purpose of discussion. She
stated that fiscal note 2 shows that DEED's revision and
adoption of social studies standards is currently underway. She
related that this work specially includes civics standards for
secondary school civics curriculum, and this curriculum would be
made available to districts at no cost. She expressed
satisfaction that the department has already taken care of
developing the curriculum. She stated that there may be a small
cost in terms of legal fees and stipends for educators and
stakeholders to develop the civics assessment and curriculum,
but that may change by eliminating the assessment.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND removed her objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 1, as amended, was adopted to CSSB 72(FIN).
8:32:49 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 8:32 a.m.
8:33:09 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND moved to report CSSB 72(FIN), as amended, out
of committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, HCS CSSB
72(EDC) was reported out of the House Education Standing
Committee.
8:33:46 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:33 a.m. to 8:37 a.m.
8:37:11 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:37 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 72 testimony 4-27-22.pdf |
HEDC 4/27/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 72 |
| SB 72 Am 2 to Am 1 Pass.pdf |
HEDC 4/27/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 72 |
| SB 72 Am 1 to Am 1 Withdrawn.pdf |
HEDC 4/27/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 72 |
| SB 72 Amendment 1.pdf |
HEDC 4/27/2022 8:00:00 AM |
SB 72 |