02/24/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB28 | |
| HB12 | |
| HB57 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 28 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 12 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 57 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 24, 2025
8:02 a.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Rebecca Himschoot, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Jubilee Underwood
Representative Rebecca Schwanke
Representative Bill Elam
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Maxine Dibert
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 28
"An Act establishing a student loan repayment pilot program; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 12
"An Act relating to free breakfast and lunch in public schools."
- HEARD & HELD
HOUSE BILL NO. 57
"An Act relating to wireless telecommunications devices in
public schools; and providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 28
SHORT TITLE: TEACHER/STATE EMPLOYEE STUDENT LOAN PRGRM
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) STORY
01/22/25 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25
01/22/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (H) EDC, FIN
02/12/25 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
02/12/25 (H) <Bill Hearing Canceled>
02/17/25 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
02/17/25 (H) Heard & Held
02/17/25 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
02/24/25 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
BILL: HB 12
SHORT TITLE: FREE BREAKFAST & LUNCH IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) DIBERT
01/22/25 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/10/25
01/22/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (H) EDC, FIN
02/24/25 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
BILL: HB 57
SHORT TITLE: COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) FIELDS
01/22/25 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/22/25 (H) L&C, EDC
01/29/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
01/29/25 (H) Heard & Held
01/29/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
01/31/25 (H) L&C AT 9:15 AM GRUENBERG 120
01/31/25 (H) Heard & Held
01/31/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/05/25 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
02/05/25 (H) Moved CSHB 57(L&C) Out of Committee
02/05/25 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
02/10/25 (H) L&C RPT CS(L&C) 5DP 1NR
02/10/25 (H) DP: CARRICK, SADDLER, COULOMBE, HALL,
FIELDS
02/10/25 (H) NR: NELSON
02/24/25 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
KERRY THOMAS, Acting Executive Director
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on HB 28.
SARAH SNOWBERGER, Staff
Representative Maxine Dibert
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Maxine Dibert,
Prime sponsor, presented HB 12 to the committee.
MATTIE HULL, Staff
Representative Maxine Dibert
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Maxine Dibert,
Prime sponsor, presented HB 12 to the committee.
CLARISSA HAYES
Food Research and Action Center
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on HB 12.
TREVOR STORRS, President and CEO
Alaska Children's Trust
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on HB 12.
REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented CSHB 57(L&C) to
the committee.
KELLY LESSENS, Member
Anchorage School Board
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C).
DAVID BOOTH, Principal
Palmer High School
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C).
JB ATKINSON, School Therapist
Windler Middle School
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C).
DEENA BISHOP, Commissioner
Department of Education
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C).
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:49 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY called the House Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. Representatives Story, Himschoot,
Schwanke, Elam, Eischeid, and Underwood were present at the call
to order.
HB 28-TEACHER/STATE EMPLOYEE STUDENT LOAN PRGRM
8:04:21 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the first order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 28, "An Act establishing a student loan
repayment pilot program; and providing for an effective date."
8:06:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked if similar types of loan repayment
programs have occurred in the past.
CO-CHAIR STORY answered that the Alaska State Legislature has
used funds like this for Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana,
and Idaho (WWAMI) regional medical programs and directed the
rest of her answer to Ms. Thomas of the Alaska Commission on
Postsecondary Education.
8:07:31 AM
KERRY THOMAS, Acting Executive Director, Gave invited testimony
on HB 28. She said that the Alaska State Legislature has used
the higher education investment fund to supplement Public
Employee's Retirement System (PERS) indebtedness in the past.
8:09:58 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked if the State of Alaska has historically
offered a loan forgiveness program and further questioned what
the parameters of such a loan forgiveness program were.
MS. THOMAS answered that the state of Alaska did have a
postsecondary loan forgiveness program that was axed in the
1980's. She said that the original loan forgiveness program was
not sustainable due to the amount of people who took the loan,
left Alaska, and never repaid the loan.
8:12:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked why HB 28 has an out-of-state
residency requirement and emphasized that Alaska residents often
do not claim residency out-of-state while they are studying
outside of Alaska.
CO-CHAIR STORY answered that the purpose HB 28's out-of-state
residency requirement is to keep original residents in Alaska or
bring those people back home.
8:15:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked if someone wanting to receive the
proposed benefits of HB 28 could rely on their continual flow if
they are meant to be appropriated by the Alaska State
Legislature and asked how the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary
Education (ACPE) would judge the efficacy of a pilot program of
HB 28.
MS. THOMAS answered that the ACPE had not yet established policy
guidelines for a pilot program of the proposed policies of HB 28
and said that the ACPE would develop a method of judging the
efficacy of the proposed policies of HB 28.
8:19:32 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that HB 28 would be held over.
8:19:47 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:19 a.m. to 8:23 a.m.
HB 12-FREE BREAKFAST & LUNCH IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
8:23:40 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 12, "An Act relating to free breakfast and
lunch in public schools."
8:24:10 AM
SARAH SNOWBERGER, Staff, Representative Maxine Dibert, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Maxine Dibert,
Prime sponsor, presented HB 12 to the committee. She forwarded
Representative Dibert's message that she was listening in on the
current committee hearing and "working hard to recover every
single day" so she could return to work on the House Education
Standing Committee.
8:24:56 AM
MATTIE HULL, Staff, Representative Maxine Dibert, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Maxine Dibert, Prime
sponsor, presented HB 12 to the committee. He began by reading
the sponsor statement [included in the committee packet] which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 12 directs the Department of Education
(DEED) to provide funding to school districts allowing
them to provide breakfast and lunch to any student
requesting one at no cost to the student. The
proposed legislation requires that DEED maximize the
state's receipt of federal funds available for
providing breakfast and lunch to students, thus
helping minimize state expenditure.
During much of the pandemic, the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) provided funding to all public
schools allowing them to offer free meals to all
students regardless of income. Universal school meals
were found to be associated with positive outcomes for
all economic backgrounds for a relatively low cost
considering the associated improvement to student
academic outcomes and health.
Currently 46% of students who eat school meals in
Alaska, receive them for free. Since September 2024,
ten states have passed legislation providing for
universal school meals and 23 more have introduced
such legislation. Many states are instituting
universal meal programs because it has been clearly
demonstrated in numerous studies that investing in
school meals improves academic performance, student
attendance, and physical and mental health. These
programs have also been shown to greatly reduce
student, parent, and staff stress.
Universal free school meals are associated with:
• Improved diet quality, food security, and reduced
hunger.
• Improvement in English language art scores and math
scores.
• Reduced stigma and an increase in student
participation.
The Food Bank of Alaska, along with several other
food, health, and education organizations
enthusiastically endorse this legislation. Several
Alaska School Districts have informed us that they are
full-throated supporters of HB 12.
By implementing universal breakfast and lunch we can
help Alaska's families, and we can truly make a
difference for Alaska's students. HB 12 will help our
state make strides ensuring students are at school and
prepared to learn. This initiative will move the
academic needle.
I respectfully urge your support for the passage of HB
12 thereby improving student performance and combating
food insecurity. Please reach out to my office with
any questions or concerns.
8:27:08 AM
MR. HULL read the sectional analysis for HB 12[included in the
committee packet] which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1 AS 14.17.495 amended by adding a new section
to article 1: Free breakfast and lunch in public
schools. Subject to appropriation, and in addition to
the state aid received under this chapter, the
department shall provide to a district sufficient
funding to allow the district to provide breakfast and
lunch to any student in the district who requests the
meal, at no cost to the student. The department shall
maximize the state's receipt of federal financial
assistance that may be available for providing
breakfast and lunch to students.
8:28:39 AM
CLARISSA HAYES, Food Research and Action Center, gave invited
testimony on HB 12. She said that the Food Research and Action
Center has been working with state legislatures across the
country to address the problem of childhood hunger and
emphasized that "offering meals to students free of charge,
regardless of their household income is the future of nutrition
departments" within schools. She pointed to eight other states
in the country that have passed legislation concerning universal
free school lunches and highlighted a series of positive
outcomes that result from universal free school lunches. She
explained that hungry children do not have the energy they need
to learn and thrive at school and said that providing free
school meals to all students would be an investment in all
students.
8:31:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM asked how many students are anticipated to
be helped by HB 12's proposed free lunches.
MR. HULL said "46 percent is just under half a million, about
460,000, however again, I don't have the exact number right here
in front of me, but based off of that, I would assume that it
would be another half million children that would be
participating through this program.
CO-CHAIR STORY commented that "Alaska does not have half a
million children".
MR. HULL said that he "must be mixing up his numbers".
8:34:57 AM
MS.SNOWBERGER answered that the fiscal note associated with HB
12 was received very recently and directed any questions
regarding it to Heather Heineken of the Department of Education
and Early Development.
8:35:51 AM
TREVOR STORRS, President, and CEO, of Alaska Children's Trust,
gave invited testimony on HB 12. He said that providing free
school lunches would improve family relationships and
environments in children's health, family economic wellbeing,
and stronger communities. He said that students learn better
and have the energy to participate in physical activities when
they are well fed. He explained that free school meals would
drastically alleviate financial pressures placed on families
that are living in financial hardship.
8:40:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM asked if the cost of universal lunches would
be greater in rural school districts. He asked how much the
state currently pays for student school lunches.
8:40:52 AM
MS. HEINEKEN answered that the financial statistics that were
used to calculate the cost of HB 12 were from 2022-2023. She
answered that the state currently does not pay anything for
student meals.
8:42:41 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT confirmed that the National Student Lunch
Program (NSLP)'s funding is the same for all meals served at a
school. She asked if the fiscal note associated with HB 12
includes the cost of including school districts who do not
already participate in the NSLP and asked how many school
districts in Alaska do not currently participate in the NSLP.
MS. HEINEKEN, in response to multiple questions from Co-Chair-
Himschoot, said that the current fiscal note does not reflect
the cost of school districts who do not already participate in
the NSLP. She said about nine school districts currently do not
participate in the NSLP.
8:48:21 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked what the eligibility and income
requirements are for students and families that currently
receive free school lunches under the NSLP and asked how much
school meals currently cost.
MS. HENEKEN answered that she does not have that information
currently and answered that she would follow up later.
8:50:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM opined that it might be useful to understand
the cost difference for a school meal in rural, remote, and
urban school districts.
8:51:30 AM
MS. SNOWBERGER replied that her office would work to gather data
on the difference in meal prices between urban, remote, and
rural school districts.
8:52:10 AM
REPRESENTATIBE EISCHEID asked the bill sponsor's office to
provide more clear numbers regarding the statistics surrounding
free school lunches in Alaska.
8:53:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked if there are ways that school
districts could mitigate food waste if HB 12 were to become law.
MR. HULL replied that he was unaware of specific numbers
regarding food waste.
8:54:36 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked who would pay for a meal if a student
were to eat a meal and not fill out the associated paperwork.
MS. HEINEKEN answered that those meals would be paid for by the
local school district.
8:57:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked if there are other federal grants
like the NSLP that school districts could utilize to provide
free school lunches to its students. She asked how a school
with no kitchen or kitchen staff might be able to provide meals
to students.
MS. SNOWBERGER answered that HB 12 is in no way meant to
interfere with local and traditional practices and said that she
does not currently have a full list of federal grants that are
available to school districts in Alaska.
9:02:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE said that she was afraid of creating a
program that was "too broad, to put the onus on the state to
provide food that is not necessarily needed, and a free program
that is available for every single student seems to do that".
9:04:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM asked if the state would still be obligated
to send a meal to school districts that opted out of the free
school lunch program proposed by HB 28.
MR. HULL answered that HB 28 would only apply to public school
students, not correspondence students.
CO-CHAIR STORY corrected Mr. Hull that correspondence students
are public school students.
9:07:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID requested the bill sponsor's office to
create a meta-analysis study on the academic benefits of
students who are fed.
9:08:41 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that HB 12 would be held over.
HB 57-COMMUNICATION DEVICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
9:08:44 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 57, "An Act relating to wireless
telecommunications devices in public schools; and providing for
an effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 57(L&C).]
9:09:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZACK FIELDS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented CSHB 57(L&C) to the committee. He explained
that himself, Senator Wielechowski, and Governor Dunleavy all
have drafted bills in the current legislative session that aim
to curb the use of cell phones in public schools. He said that
the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee amended the
proposed legislation to have its language be consistent with the
DEED and emphasized the overwhelming evidence that cell phone
access and use is harmful to schoolchildren in Alaska.
9:11:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM shared his understanding that the
restrictions on electronic device use proposed under CSHB
57(L&C) would be limited to personal device use.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS confirmed Representative Elam's
understanding was correct.
9:12:37 AM
KELLY LESSENS, Member, Anchorage School Board, gave invited
testimony on CSHB 57(L&C). She detailed a proposed policy on
cell phone use that the Anchorage School Board was considering
and emphasized the negatives effects of cell phone use by young
people and their impacts on children's learning. She suggested
replacing the word "possessing" to "accessing" on page 2, line
1, and replacing "regular school hours, including lunch and
passing periods" with "during instructional time" on page 2,
line 2. She pointed to a series of studies and research that
supported her proposed amendment language and said the proposed
changes would make for a more clearly worded bill.
9:20:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD shared an anecdote about her own
child's positive experiences in attending a school district that
doesn't allow the use of cell phone during its instructional
hours.
9:22:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM shared an anecdote about the benefits of
children being away from their cell phones.
9:23:48 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked if there is currently anything
preventing school districts in Alaska from banning cell phones
on their own accord.
MS. LESSONS answered that there is nothing stopping school
boards from banning cell phones and said that current policy
within the Anchorage School District (ASD) is to allow phones as
they are needed.
9:26:33 AM
DAVID BOOTH, Principal, Palmer High School, gave invited
testimony on CSHB 57(L&C). He said that his school implemented
a total cell phone ban during the school hours and emphasized
that the policy has "completely transformed our building". He
highlighted research that found that students are distracted by
their cell phones and said that there has been a 28 percent
reduction in failing grades in his school since the
implementation of the total cell phone ban. He said that
alcohol and drug related offenses are down and emphasized his
observation that students are happier when they are not engaged
with phones and social media.
9:32:59 AM
JB ATKINSON, School Therapist, Windler Middle School, gave
invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C). He highlighted a youth-risk
behavior survey from 2023 that found a clear correlation between
youths who were on their phone and those who weren't. He
emphasized that the mere presence of a phone was enough to cause
a negative outcome and explained that there was a "clear
difference" between a child that has a phone in a classroom and
one that doesn't. He explained that children often are in
agreeance that the lack of a phone leads to a more focused and
productive learning environment and pointed out that children
must not be allowed to access their phones during passing
periods due to their capacity to distract a child for at least
15 minutes beyond their time using the phone.
9:38:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID requested the college freshmen study
that Mr. Atkinson cited during his remarks.
9:38:50 AM
DEENA BISHOP, Commissioner, Department of Education, gave
invited testimony on CSHB 57(L&C). She began her remarks by
clarifying the general prohibition on cell phone use that
currently exists within statewide public education policy in
Alaska. She highlighted the numerous ways that cell phones pose
as a distraction to schoolchildren in Alaska and emphasized that
"social medial algorithms prioritize content that drives
engagement, likes, shares, and comments". She pointed to the
outsized impact of negative comments, cyberbullying, and body
image that social media has on children and adults alike. She
said that adolescents are spending an average of 7 hours and 22
minutes on their phones daily, much of which is on social media
platforms and added that the "invasive use of phones is eroding"
basic work and focus skills that these students will need to
survive and thrive later in life. She explained that limiting
cell phone use during the day could help schools establish
healthier habits and reinforce the importance of abstaining from
cell phone use in the name of mental and physical health. She
said that unrestricted cell phone use during school hours
"greatly" increases the risk of cyberbullying and online abuse
and explained how pervasive and different online harassment from
what is more traditionally understood to be harassment. She
said that limiting cell phone use during school hours is "not
merely a policy decision, but a necessary intervention to
protect our student's mental health, attention, and wellbeing".
9:49:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ELAM commented his appreciation for MS. Bishop's
remarks about cell phone use and its effect on schoolchildren.
9:49:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked if students would be able to take
their cell phones off campus with them during lunch.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS answered that the concept of the proposed
legislation's enforcement policy would be "off and away" and
said that each district would have their own way of doing that.
He shared the books "the Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt
and "Stolen Focus" by Johann Hari.
9:52:35 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT asked if there are other examples of how
school districts around the world and country are dealing with
the issue of cell phone use in schools.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS opined that "other western nations just
have much more responsible policy to govern social media for
youth in general, so do other states" and said that HB 57 is the
"bare minimum" policy directive for cell phone use in schools
and said that companies are monetizing the attention of children
in a way that is profoundly detrimental to the mental health of
children. He explained that social media companies are "fully
aware" that the way they drive attention and engagement directly
leads to higher rates of suicide, especially among young girls
and emphasized that these social media companies are consciously
making the decision to drive engagement to make more money.
9:54:44 AM
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT shared her understanding that a child who
uses their cell phone to control their hearing aids would be
considered a medical exception under HB 57.
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS confirmed Co-Chair Himschoot's
understanding was correct.
9:55:21 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY announced that HB 57 would be held over.
9:55:56 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:56 a.m.