Legislature(2009 - 2010)BELTZ 211
03/02/2009 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Moore Vs. State | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 2, 2009
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Kim Elton, Chair
Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Overview: Moore vs. State
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
(Continuation of 2/20 meeting)
WITNESS REGISTER
EDDY JEANS, Director
School Finance and Facilities Section
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding impact of Moore
vs. State.
NEIL SLOTNIK, Senior Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division
Labor and State Affairs Section
Department of Law (DOL)
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding impact of Moore
vs. State.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:31 AM
CHAIR KIM ELTON called the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Davis, Huggins, Olson and Elton.
^Moore vs. State
MOORE VS. STATE
8:03:56 AM
CHAIR ELTON announced the continuation of the overview of Moore
vs. State and what the department's and Legislature's role is in
working to meet the mandates of Superior Court Judge Gleason. He
asked Mr. Jeans to review what he thinks the judge told the
department to do in 60 days.
SENATOR STEVENS joined the meeting.
8:04:10 AM
EDDY JEANS, Director, School Finance and Facilities Section,
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), deferred
the answer to Mr. Slotnik.
NEIL SLOTNIK, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division
Labor and State Affairs Section, Department of Law (DOL), said
he was representing the DEED. He explained that in the most
recent Moore decision, the court ruled that the state's
intervention plans in the districts were not broad enough in
scope and they have not considered early literacy standards for
a broad-based education or curriculum alignment. Furthermore,
the plans didn't look specifically enough at the strengths and
weaknesses of each underperforming district, that existing
intervention is too much of a one-size fits all, and noted the
lack of teaching capacity in the intervention districts. The
decision required the state to assess its own capacity to run
these interventions and gave the state 60 days to bring back
amended plans for each district to accomplish these objectives.
CHAIR ELTON asked him how far along they are on addressing the
judge's concerns and said after that they could segue to whether
or not the department would need help through the budget to
accomplish that in this session.
8:07:05 AM
MR. JEANS said they came to the legislature last year for
additional support as well as legislation to make it very clear
to school districts and school boards that once the department
has identified that a school or district is underperforming that
the legislature gave the department clear authority to intervene
in those districts or schools. And, he said, with SB 285 the
legislature gave them clear authority to redirect resources or
to make personnel decisions in those underperforming schools or
school districts basically from the principal on up - anybody
that has to do with instruction outside of the teachers.
That gets back to the leadership component, he said. If the
districts or individual schools have weak leadership, it's a
good bet they'll be underperforming. When the department started
its intervention strategies even before this last hearing, they
found those schools and districts were lacking in three
"foundational skills:" leadership, using formative assessments,
and collaboration among the teachers to improve student
achievement. This is where the judge found it was too uniform a
program for the individual districts.
Commissioner LeDoux made school intervention strategies the main
focus of the Deputy Commissioner, Les Morse, who is very
familiar with the individual schools and district performance,
as he has been doing that data collection and analyses in AYP
for the last six or eight years. He had already started
addressing many of the issues that Judge Gleason raised in her
final order.
He is working with districts to individualize their school
improvement plans and having meetings with the superintendents
as well as the board president so that they understand what
intervention means in their district. This gets back to the
judge's ruling that the Legislature can delegate its authority
to operate schools as long as they're performing. If they are
not performing, local control must give way. That's what SB 285
made very clear.
8:10:21 AM
CHAIR ELTON said Judge Gleason was aware of what the Legislature
had done last year but kind of questioned the department's
capacity to fulfill what the Legislature granted.
MR. JEANS explained there were two pieces. First, she thought
the two percent annual growth in reading, writing and math that
a district would have to obtain before it could return to local
control was too low. Mr. Jeans added that he still believes it
was an adequate and appropriate measurement. The department
wasn't sure the judge understood it was to be 2 percent in each
category - reading, writing and math - for three consecutive
years. Testimony from the department's experts said growth
happened at a much higher rate.
JUDGE GLEASON'S second issue was the department's capacity, but
SB 285 gave them three more positions. However, because of the
way the state budget process works, most people they would hire
for those positions were already under contract, so it was
difficult for them to immediately respond to the legislative
action. The same would happen this year with the additional
positions; most would already be employed. They are currently
recruiting for additional positions to start July 1st.
8:12:53 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked if he means he's recruiting for more than the
three positions they were expecting to fill.
MR. JEANS clarified that two out of the three positions are
filled; they are recruiting for one as well as another position
within the department that has been re-designated for
interventions. They are asking for $800,000 to expand their
capacity to provide technical assistance, but they are not
asking for more positions. They want to hire teachers from the
districts similar to what is done with the mentoring program.
These teachers would work under contract for the department for
a couple of years and then return back to the district. They
feel doing it that way gets the best expertise in the state into
those areas.
8:14:17 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said he didn't understand the criticism of "one
size fits all" and remarked that you have to have some common
direction. What did the judge mean by that?
8:14:42 AM
MR. JEANS explained that the judge was looking at the very
beginning of their intervention strategies. Their approach was
to look at the foundational pieces that were missing within the
districts and to address those first. But she says they have to
look beyond those foundational pieces. That's why Deputy
Commissioner Morse will be having those meetings with the board
presidents and superintendents to get their additional input on
what they believe they need as assistance.
He wanted to make it clear that the judge did say that the
school districts have adequate resources to do the job they need
to do. The department needs to help these districts identify
what their weaknesses are and figure out what they need to
address them. The department can help them find the resources
within their own budgets.
8:15:45 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS wanted to know how many students they are
talking about, and he also remarked that some of the schools
were fairly small. Also he asked if Head Start Program funding
is increased and more programs are started, how those positions
would be developed.
MR. JEANS replied that Head Start is federally funded by grants
such as "Rural Cap." The last couple of years the department
asked for an additional $600,000 to "cut in" to the statewide
waiting list of 1,000. Head Start is a "wrap around" program
that includes not only early learning, but dental and counseling
services to both children and parents, and health care. The
programs tend to operate pretty independently right now, but the
Head Start legislation has a component that requires
collaboration, and more of that is being seen.
One of the department's strategies is to put an early learning
educator in the school who will collaborate with the Head Start
Program in those communities instead of trying to duplicate
services by starting a pre-K program in a community where 80-90
percent of the children are already being served through a head
start program.
8:18:18 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if they have problems with districts not
supporting existing early learning programs now.
MR. JEANS replied that they get "mixed reviews" especially with
Head Start, and building those bridges is what the department
needs to work on. He admitted some programs in the state are
effective, some are not. So to say districts need to add pre-K
to the system isn't enough. The needs of the kids in a community
need to be identified and then those needs have to be filled.
8:19:25 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked superintendents in the audience to raise their
hands and to submit their questions to his office so he could
respond to them. He asked Mr. Jeans what authority the
department has in an underperforming district to change
leadership, and how do they address teaching capacity.
8:20:38 AM
MR. JEANS answered that previous to SB 285, the only authority
they had was through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and that was a
gray area. The department spoke to the school board in one
district they had intervened in where the principal was a
problem; the board agreed and removed him. With this
legislation, the department can force reassignment.
As for teaching capacity there is very high turn over in the
rural communities, he stated. They are in discussions with UAA
on developing programs to address that including providing
incentives for people to go to those rural areas.
CHAIR ELTON asked if the judge expects them to be able to answer
that issue in 60 days, as well.
MR. JEANS replied he thinks she just needs to see progress.
8:23:09 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked Mr. Jeans to explain the strategy behind
the director of rural education position.
MR. JEANS explained that is another initiative from Commissioner
LeDoux who wants to hire an Alaska Native who would be the
director of rural education. He believes that a person of that
stature could have discussions with individual leaders in rural
communities that he and Deputy Commissioner Morse couldn't have
to help bridge the gap between the department and the districts
to help identify their needs. They are recruiting for that now
and that is already included in their budget.
8:24:15 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS said it seems when people look at remediation
plans for districts, they need a mid-term and long-term
strategy, not just the short-term plan to satisfy the judge.
8:25:03 AM
MR. JEANS said he doesn't think this is a knee-jerk reaction to
the ruling. The state's accountability system using their
assessment system is relatively new. They are trying to build on
the data that actually shows them specific areas children are
underperforming in. They can help districts identify what
resources areas have available and what programs work to
increase student achievement in those particular areas. He
thought they were already headed down this road without the
judge's decision; she just wants them to move faster than they
are.
8:26:13 AM
CHAIR ELTON said Senator Huggins was talking about both
department and the legislature.
SENATOR HUGGINS agreed; he said 40 percent non-graduates is a
long-term problem.
CHAIR ELTON directed them to the chart on reading proficiency
that indicated improvement in three schools, and he asked if the
department had identified what those districts are doing to
achieve those improvements and if what they are doing is
transferable.
8:27:42 AM
MR. JEANS replied that is what Deputy Commissioner Morse is
looking at, but a specific program had not been identified.
Hoonah has the "Parents as Teachers" program that helps a lot,
but that has been in place for 14 years. So, he couldn't tie
improvement back to that specific program. At St. Mary's Dave
Herbert, the superintendent, is a very dedicated and very good
instructional leader. "It starts with the leadership."
8:28:49 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked if four years is a long time for serving in
these leadership positions.
MR. JEANS replied he isn't sure; Mr. Herbert had been at St.
Mary's for a number of years.
CHAIR ELTON said he assumed these charts were used in the court
case.
MR. JEANS confirmed that.
CHAIR ELTON asked if this is part of the data the judge used in
attempting to determine what the department was capable of doing
in some of those underperforming districts.
8:29:46 AM
MR. JEANS responded that he isn't convinced the judge totally
understands the education landscape in Alaska, and that the
state has 90 schools that are serving 30 or fewer students.
Schools of that size have one or two teachers and it's very
difficult to provide a very high quality educational program in
that small of a setting. The judge used a lot of anecdotal
information from people who testified.
8:30:37 AM
CHAIR ELTON responded that the judge has been hearing this case
for several years, and if that is the case, you can't just say
to her at the end of 60 days that she doesn't understand.
8:31:31 AM
MR. JEANS said they have no intention of doing that, but there
is the reality of these small schools scattered throughout
Alaska. Many teachers go into these schools as new teachers for
a couple of years, but when they start their own families they
don't want to stay there. Maybe the department needs to be
looking at incentives to get experienced teachers to go to these
areas and stay for three to five years at least. That is one of
the things that kept coming up in the court case, the revolving
door in these communities. The department is aware of the
problem and is working on ways to improve retention.
8:33:27 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS agreed that continuity for the kids is
important. He asked if they are talking about Title 1 schools
and for him to explain what those schools get for being Title 1.
8:34:15 AM
MR. JEANS replied for the most part, they are talking about
Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are those that have a high
percentage of their population in poverty, so they get
additional resources through the federal government. The problem
with that is strings are always attached. The NCLB might allow
flexibility in how Title 1 funds are used to address
deficiencies, but he didn't know if they could be used for
retention bonuses.
8:35:03 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS said it would be helpful to know which schools
are Title 1 and remarked that those schools also have an
accountability factor.
MR. JEANS replied that the department has more flexibility in
directing Title 1 funds under NCLB, but he'd like to think under
SB 285 they are treating all schools the same way. The
legislature gave them clear authority to redirect any of the
districts' state resources to improve instructional practices.
SB 285 was a huge step in the right direction.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked him to let him know how many communities
have housing for teachers.
8:36:40 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said it seemed to him that in the 70's there
were some good teachers in the rural communities around Kodiak,
and the state was paying the highest salaries in the nation at
that time. He asked if there is a correlation with salary.
8:37:18 AM
MR. JEANS replied that is the kind of work that needs to be done
through the university system. He has seen UAA studies that
indicate that salary isn't what keeps people in rural Alaska.
It's more the quality of life. They are trying to find ways to
incent those experienced teachers whose families have graduated
from high school and gone on to college to go back out to the
rural areas.
8:38:11 AM
SENATOR DAVIS said she knows the department is working on the
problems, but she wants to know exactly what they intend to do
in 30 days when they go back to court.
8:39:35 AM
MR. JEANS answered that is what Deputy Commissioner Morse is
doing with the superintendents and board presidents - rewriting
individual school/district improvement plans. That is one of the
key points the judge said they didn't do in their first go-round
- that it was not a collaborative effort.
SENATOR DAVIS asked him to give the committee something on paper
showing what they intend to present.
MR. JEANS said he would do that.
8:41:06 AM
SENATOR OLSON said in looking at the whole intervention process
and the upheaval that happens within the school districts, there
seems to be a tension between the department and the local
districts. As it mounts, the students whom they are trying to
help are the ones who are losing out. What is the status of
that problem?
8:42:07 AM
MR. JEANS agreed there has been a lot of tension, which goes
back to the local control issue. He explained that the state had
a number of state operated schools in the 70s. Then it moved to
the local control model, so there has been a question as to how
much authority the department has when they know the schools are
low performing. This lawsuit brought that to light. The judge
made it very clear that if a school or district is chronically
low-performing, the state has an obligation and a duty to
intervene, and local control must give way. The legislature
understood that when they passed SB 285.
A number of school districts they are intervening in right now
believe the judge said the department has to give them more
resources; the department believes she said the department has
to help them direct their resources more effectively. If they
have to put people in the field to guarantee that programs are
being implemented in the classrooms, "Then, Senator, we are
ready to go there, if that's what it requires." But, he said,
they would rather have the districts take the leadership role in
that area and work with the department to implement those
programs.
8:44:18 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked how this issue is being melded with the
stimulus dollars that are coming for Title 1 schools.
MR. JEANS replied that their first effort is to try to
understand the stimulus package. They believe they understand
Judge Gleason's instructions with or without the stimulus
package, but if they can make use of stimulus funds, they will
be looking at doing that.
CHAIR ELTON asked how many dollars are coming from the stimulus
package.
8:46:13 AM
MR. JEANS replied that he does not know, but he didn't think
they would have a problem using them to improve instructional
practices.
CHAIR ELTON said it seems to him that the department has not
asked for a lot of new money, but it did ask for $2 million for
an early learning pilot program in both urban and rural Alaska.
Given the Judge's concerns and specificity on early education,
he asked if the department is thinking at all of having the
pilot program in just rural Alaska rather than both.
MR. JEANS replied that the commissioner is dedicated to insuring
that the districts the department is intervening in have quality
early childhood programs. It doesn't have to come from that $2
million. Districts have a number of resources available for
that. If they offer a pre-K program, Impact Aide is a readily
available resource. For example, Bering Straits School District
generated $1.1 million in Impact Aid for their three and four-
year olds. That is the level of detail they need to get into for
each district.
CHAIR ELTON asked if Bering Straits was successful in getting
those additional funds because their leadership team knows how
to apply for them.
8:48:40 AM
MR. JEANS replied that he didn't think so; he thinks it's an
awareness issue for the superintendents. "The ball is in their
court. I can't force them to apply for Impact Aid funds, but it
is a resource that is available." Some districts might not have
enough students to make it a viable option.
CHAIR ELTON said it seems that given the authority the
department got from the legislature last year on intervention,
if there are Impact Aid dollars available and the districts
aren't taking advantage of them, the department could apply for
them on their behalf.
8:49:55 AM
MR. JEANS said Impact Aid is a direct relationship between the
school districts and the federal government, and he cannot force
a district to apply for it. He hadn't thought about whether SB
285 gives the department the ability to apply for those funds,
but he didn't think they wanted to have that role anyhow.
8:50:41 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked about the bullet on the last page -
technical support on governance.
8:51:28 AM
MR. JEANS said they have a contract with the School Boards
Association's Norm Wooten who is providing some of the technical
support on governance issues. This is a piece they are pulling
together to make the whole system work.
8:52:00 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked what the committee can expect to see in
the future on using experienced teachers for the retention
issue.
MR. JEANS responded that he needs to get together with the
University that can provide research on whether or not that
would be an effective tool, and then he could come back to the
legislature with a proposal.
SENATOR STEVENS said he looks forward to that.
8:52:50 AM
CHAIR ELTON went back to Mr. Jeans' comment that it's difficult
to provide quality education in the small communities. If that
is the case, is the department looking at regional schools?
MR. JEANS replied that maybe he used too broad a brush in making
that comment. With the high turnover in the small schools, it is
difficult to maintain quality. They are looking at regional
schools as a viable option on a voluntary basis, and are already
doing that with Galena, Nenana Boarding School and Mt.
Edgecumbe. The department is not advocating for additional
regional schools, but the base closure in Galena has provided
them with additional facilities and they would like to ramp up
their program from 150 to 400 students.
8:54:35 AM
CHAIR ELTON reiterated Senator Davis's request for specifics
regarding the department's response. He encouraged the
superintendents to also put together some bullet points for the
committee that suggest what they think some of the solutions are
and whether or not they can be handled within the existing
budget recipe.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Elton adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting at 8:56.
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