04/12/2017 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SCR5 | |
| HB86 | |
| HB135 | |
| HB64 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SCR 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 86 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 135 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 64 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 12, 2017
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Shelley Hughes, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Cathy Giessel
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Gardner
Representative Claman
Representative Westlake
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5
Proclaiming March 2, 2018, as Alaska Reads Day.
- MOVED SCR 5 OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 86
"An Act relating to nonrenewal of occupational licenses for
default on a student loan."
- HEARD & HELD
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 135(EDC) AM
"An Act relating to school district participation in the school
construction grant program."
- HEARD & HELD
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 64(EDC)
"An Act relating to the establishment of the Task Force on
Reading Proficiency and Reading Instruction for All Students and
on the Effects of Dyslexia on Some Students."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SCR 5
SHORT TITLE: ALASKA READS DAY
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) GARDNER
02/24/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/24/17 (S) EDC, STA
04/03/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
04/03/17 (S) Heard & Held
04/03/17 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
04/12/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 86
SHORT TITLE: STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT/OCC. LICENSE RENEWAL
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CLAMAN
01/27/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/27/17 (H) EDC, L&C
03/01/17 (H) EDC RPT 7DP
03/01/17 (H) DP: TALERICO, PARISH, KOPP, SPOHNHOLZ,
JOHNSTON, FANSLER, DRUMMOND
03/01/17 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/01/17 (H) Moved HB 86 Out of Committee
03/01/17 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
03/22/17 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
03/22/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/22/17 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
03/24/17 (H) L&C AT 3:15 PM BARNES 124
03/24/17 (H) Moved HB 86 Out of Committee
03/24/17 (H) MINUTE(L&C)
03/27/17 (H) L&C RPT 6DP 1NR
03/27/17 (H) DP: SULLIVAN-LEONARD, STUTES, WOOL,
JOSEPHSON, BIRCH, KITO
03/27/17 (H) NR: KNOPP
03/29/17 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/29/17 (H) VERSION: HB 86
03/31/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/31/17 (S) EDC, L&C
04/12/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 135
SHORT TITLE: SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) WESTLAKE
02/20/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/20/17 (H) EDC
03/10/17 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/10/17 (H) Heard & Held
03/10/17 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
03/20/17 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/20/17 (H) Moved CSHB 135(EDC) Out of Committee
03/20/17 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
03/22/17 (H) EDC RPT CS(EDC) 5DP 2NR
03/22/17 (H) DP: PARISH, SPOHNHOLZ, JOHNSTON,
FANSLER, DRUMMOND
03/22/17 (H) NR: TALERICO, KOPP
04/05/17 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
04/05/17 (H) VERSION: CSHB 135(EDC) AM
04/06/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
04/06/17 (S) EDC, FIN
04/12/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
BILL: HB 64
SHORT TITLE: READING PROFICIENCY TASK FORCE; DYSLEXIA
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) DRUMMOND
01/20/17 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/20/17 (H) EDC
01/30/17 (H) EDC AT 9:00 AM CAPITOL 106
01/30/17 (H) Heard & Held
01/30/17 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
03/10/17 (H) EDC RPT CS(EDC) 7DP
03/10/17 (H) DP: TALERICO, PARISH, SPOHNHOLZ, KOPP,
JOHNSTON, FANSLER, DRUMMOND
03/10/17 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/10/17 (H) Moved CSHB 64(EDC) Out of Committee
03/10/17 (H) MINUTE(EDC)
03/24/17 (H) TRANSMITTED TO (S)
03/24/17 (H) VERSION: CSHB 64(EDC)
03/27/17 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/27/17 (S) EDC
04/03/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
04/03/17 (S) Heard & Held
04/03/17 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
04/12/17 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
POSEY BOGGS, Member
Alaska Reading Coalition
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on SCR 5 and on HB 64.
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 86.
OWEN PHILLIPS, Staff
Representative Matt Claman
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on HB 86, on behalf of
the sponsor.
STEPHANIE BUTLER, Executive Director
Commission on Postsecondary Education
Executive Officer
Alaska Student Loan Corporation
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on HB 86.
REPRESENTATIVE DEAN WESTLAK
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 135.
JESSE LOGAN, Staff
Representative Dean Westlake
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska,
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to HB 135.
LORI PICKETT, representing herself
International Dyslexia Association
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 64.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:03:55 AM
CHAIR SHELLEY HUGHES called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Begich, Coghill, and Chair Hughes. Senator
Stevens arrived shortly thereafter.
She welcomed Senator Gardner, Representative Claman, and
Representative Westlake.
SCR 5-ALASKA READS DAY
8:05:04 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced that the first order of business would be
SCR 5.
8:05:10 AM
CHAIR HUGHES opened public testimony.
8:05:18 AM
POSEY BOGGS, Member, Alaska Reading Coalition, testified on SCR
5. She spoke of the ways early reading skills help students and
how parents can promote early literacy goals. She noted they
need support of extra information to reduce the number of the
state's fourth graders who are not reading proficiently. She
stated the importance of best practices to harness resolve as a
state to.
8:08:10 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked why March 2 was chosen.
MS. BOGGS did not know.
CHAIR HUGHES wished it were in the fall so legislators were home
and could go into schools to promote it.
SENATOR COGHILL said March 2 is Dr. Seuss's birthday.
8:08:49 AM
CHAIR HUGHES closed public testimony.
8:08:58 AM
SENATOR COGHILL moved to report SCR 5 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. There
being no objection, the motion carried.
8:09:22 AM
At ease
HB 86-STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT/OCC. LICENSE RENEWAL
8:10:24 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of HB 86.
8:10:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MATT CLAMAN, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of
HB 86. He thanked the committee for hearing HB 86. He quoted
Thomas Jefferson, "Government is best which governs least." The
goal of HB 86 is to revoke Alaska Commission on Postsecondary
Education's (ACPE) authority to use non-renewal of occupational
licensing as an incentive to ensure payment of student loans in
the instance of default. As the consequences of defaulting are
already severe and ACPE has not exercised this authority since
2010, it makes sense to repeal these statutes.
8:11:17 AM
OWEN PHILLIPS, Staff, Representative Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, presented information on HB 86, on behalf of the
sponsor. He read from the sponsor statement:
House Bill 86 repeals current statutes that allow the
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE) to
threaten nonrenewal of occupational licenses for
individuals who have defaulted on their student loans.
Effectively, nonrenewal of an occupational license
could obstruct an individual's main source of income
and make repayment of the defaulted loan difficult if
not impossible. The ACPE has not used this power since
2010, and prior to 2010, only 155 instances were
listed. Repealing this authority will allow licensed
individuals to continue their practice, earn an
income, and pay back their defaulted loans without the
fear of losing their occupational license and their
income from that occupation.
Delinquency and default have serious consequences.
Loss of an occupational license may take away a
debtor's best means to pay off their student loan.
Student loan default can harm the borrower's credit
and continued loan debt can create late fees,
additional interest, potential court costs, collection
fees, attorney's fees, and other costs associated with
the collection process. Failure to repay a student
loan may result in liens on property and adverse
reports to consumer reporting agencies. An initial
default can have a domino effect that increases the
challenge of getting out of debt.
The current statute (AS 14.43.145 (4)) states that the
commission has the authority to provide notice to a
licensing authority for nonrenewal of a license. If
the ACPE posts such, the licensing entity may not
renew said license during the next renewal cycle.
Affected occupations include licenses for nurses,
pharmacists, social workers, veterinarians, dentists,
attorneys, teachers (k-12), EMS workers, and
correctional officers.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Congress passed
legislation to give states the authority to revoke,
suspend, or refuse to renew a variety of licenses in
the instance of defaults on loans, as student aid was
often provided by states. There are currently 21
states with similar statutes in place. Last year,
Montana became the first state to repeal statues that
allowed the state to revoke a license in the event of
a student loan default.
Due to the potential barriers that current Alaska
statutes may cause, passing HB 86 will allow
borrowers, who may already be struggling, the
opportunity to maintain their practice while
addressing their financial challenges.
8:12:49 AM
MR. PHILLIPS presented the sectional analysis of the bill:
Section 1 deletes language that is no longer necessary after the
repeals mentioned in Section 2.
Section 2 repeals AS 14.43.145(a)(4), which gives the authority
to the Commission to provided notice of a default to a licensing
entity for non-renewal of the license. It also repeals AS
14.43.148, which indicates that a licensing entity may not renew
a license if they have received such notice from the Commission
that the licensee has defaulted on a loan issued by the
Commission and AS 21.27.390(d), which makes reference to
temporary licenses.
MR. PHILLIPS noted those present to answer questions.
8:14:10 AM
SENATOR BEGICH asked how often recovation was used, if at all.
MR. PHILLIPS replied that prior to 2010 it was used 155 times,
and to date there are 46 outstanding cases of loans that were
never paid back.
8:14:38 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked if, under current statute, there is a way for
a student who defaults to not lose their license or if it is up
to the discretion of ACPE.
MR. PHILLIPS understood that it is discretionary. He suggested
Ms. Butler can address that question.
CHAIR HUGHES asked how many students are currently receiving
student loans.
MR. PHILLIPS shared data from ACPE: there are currently 17,400
borrowers equaling about $240 million.
CHAIR HUGHES asked if there is any other place in statute where
a person gets penalized for defaulting on their loan.
MR. PHILLIPS replied that garnishing wages has worked very well
because individuals are allowed to still earn some income.
8:16:25 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked how the decision to garnish wages is made.
8:16:38 AM
MR. PHILLIPS deferred to Ms. Butler to answer.
SENATOR COGHILL liked the ability to work and pay off debt at
the same time. He noted AS 21.27.390 applied to temporary
licenses and asked what they were.
MR. PHILLIPS said he would have to look it up.
8:17:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN related that they discovered that when
revoking licenses, those with occupational licenses would go to
another state to obtain a license and Alaska was not able to
garnish their wages. It was doubly ineffective. Taking wages
away was also not effective.
SENATOR COGHILL said Senator Begich discovered that AS 21.27.390
applies to a variety of temporary licenses. He agreed with the
sponsor's point.
8:19:27 AM
CHAIR HUGHES commented out that the bill applies to all
occupational licenses and has an impact across the economy.
CHAIR HUGHES requested Ms. Butler address members' questions,
explain the current process, and state the administration's
position on the bill.
8:19:51 AM
STEPHANIE BUTLER, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on
Postsecondary Education (ACPE), Executive Officer, Alaska
Student Loan Corporation, Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED), answered questions on HB 86. She provided
the history of ACPE's efforts to collect defaulted loans. She
spoke of an effective means to collect defaulted loans - wage
garnishment. Taking occupational licenses away was ineffective,
as was putting a hold on the license renewal. She noted there
are 40 holds pending, but it appears that none of the people are
in Alaska. Should the legislation pass, they would release those
holds.
8:22:02 AM
SENATOR BEGICH recalled when Representative Porchet tried
various methods of loan collection.
8:22:35 AM
CHAIR HUGHES said it is a good bill and is needed. She pointed
out that when people leave the state, the state loses
jurisdiction. She asked, if the bill were to not pass, and
someone defaults and is in Alaska, would it be up to ACEP to
proceed with the different authorities.
8:23:23 AM
MS. BUTLER explained that wage garnishment is an automated
process which treats all equally. It is set into motion when a
person has not made a payment in six months or they have not
made an arrangement for a deferment. At 180 days they are
notified and they receive notifications every 30 days up until
that time. They have 30 days to appeal the default, after which,
wage garnishment commences. At that point their option to be
relieved from wage garnishment is to demonstrate financial
hardship.
CHAIR HUGHES asked if the default will be reflected on a credit
score for those who move out of state.
MS. BUTLER said yes.
8:24:58 AM
CHAIR HUGHES opened public testimony, and seeing no testifiers,
closed public testimony. She held HB 86 in committee.
HB 135-SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM
8:25:56 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of HB 135.
8:26:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DEAN WESTLAK, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor
of HB 135. He thanked the committee for hearing the bill. He
said HB 135 aims to do two things. It increases the original
time limit to identify and secure matching funds from the
current three-year window to five years. The bill will also
allow the Commissioner of Education to grant time extensions for
an additional three years if just cause is shown. It extends a
time period for school districts to raise their percentage of
shares for project costs appropriated through the Education
Facilities Maintenance and Construction Fund for appropriations
made under AS 37.05.560.
Currently, school districts are required to raise a percentage
share match of the total cost for projects within three years.
However, since the adoption of a three-year time constraint in
1993, multiple projects have required more time to raise their
required share. According to DEED the three-year time lapse,
while appropriate for most projects, exceptions do exist when
faced with extenuating circumstances. Previous and current
examples include, but are not limited to, projects within the
Northwest Arctic Borough, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Yupik
School District, Yukon Flats School District, and the Hoonah
School District.
When the legislature makes appropriations for this program, it
is the intent to see the projects through to completion. This
bill allows fluidity to account for real world hurdles that can
slow projects down or prevent them from happening.
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE requested the committee's support for
the bill. He noted they worked on it in the House where it
passed unanimously.
8:28:39 AM
SENATOR COGHILL asked about Section 1, "except for in (d) and
(g)." He did not find (d) in the bill.
JESSE LOGAN, Staff, Representative Dean Westlake, Alaska State
Legislature, answered questions related to HB 135. He explained
that (d) already exists in statute and (g) is being added as a
new subsection.
8:30:33 AM
SENATOR BEGICH explained that if a district with full value per
ADM of $200,000 or less can demonstrate in writing that it is
unable to provide the participating share it is allowed the
exception. The bill references that existing exception. He did
not know of any districts that had an ADM of $200,000 or less.
He said it is a clean-up piece.
SENATOR COGHILL said he understood.
8:32:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE agreed it is a clean-up piece. The
amendment changed it from a three-year floor to a five-year
floor, with the exception of the Commissioner being able to
extend for a three-year period if there is just cause.
CHAIR HUGHES noted there will be times the extension will be
needed and granted by the Commissioner. She asked if the
Commissioner can make only one three-year exception and how it
has it worked in the past.
8:32:43 AM
MR. LOGAN explained that there has not been an exception piece
previously; there was once case - the Hoonah major maintenance
project in 2011 - where the Commissioner made an executive
decision to reduce the matching share by $35,000 when they were
unable to secure their match within the timeframe allowed.
CHAIR HUGHES asked which districts this bill is important to.
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE said if they go to the five-year floor,
all schools will be ok. He noted the road in NWASD is beyond
their control.
MR. LOGAN added that the Kivalina School and the Kachemak Selo
project are up against the deadline.
8:34:09 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked if they are aware of other schools that would
be running into the three-year problem.
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE thought there were others.
8:34:38 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted two other school construction projects
potentially affected by the bill, one in the Lower Kuskokwim
School District and one in the Yukon Koyukuk School District.
8:35:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE thought there was also one from the
Interior.
8:35:25 AM
CHAIR HUGHES held HB 135 in committee.
8:35:41 AM
At ease
HB 64-READING PROFICIENCY TASK FORCE; DYSLEXIA
8:37:55 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of HB 64.
CHAIR HUGHES opened public testimony.
8:38:16 AM
LORI PICKETT, representing herself, International Dyslexia
Association, testified on HB 64. She thanked the committee for
hearing the bill. She spoke from many perspectives; educator,
parent, board member, and person with dyslexia. She stressed the
problem of the gap between what is scientifically known about
how to teach reading and the instruction given in the majority
of schools. She opined that a task force on reading instruction
could develop a sustainable plan to bridge that gap.
8:40:19 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked how many K-12 children in Alaska have
dyslexia.
MS. PICKETT guessed 12 to 20 percent.
8:41:00 AM
POSIE BOGGS, Member, Alaska Reading Coalition, testified on HB
64. She appreciated the public testimony at the previous meeting
and the bi-partisan nature of the bill.
She said the Coalition views the task force as a tool to extend
their hard work beyond their own careers and to collaborate
across stakeholders and create a plan for reading outcomes that
is sustainable and systemic and based on the best scientific
information. She encouraged the passage of the bill.
CHAIR HUGHES reiterated her question about the number of
children with dyslexia.
MS. BOGGS said under the general definition it is 10 percent;
using a broader definition it is 15 percent; personal
observation is even larger.
8:43:44 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked how dyslexia impacts mathematics.
MS. BOGGS noted that three of her students are greatly impacted
in math when reading word problems. Also, long-term memory is an
issue as it relates to math, such as in algebra and fractions.
8:45:17 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked about number reversals.
MS. BOGGS said reversal of numbers has very little to do with
dyslexia.
8:46:56 AM
SENATOR STEVENS noted that the bill has a broader scope than
dyslexia - it talks about reading.
8:47:19 AM
MS. BOGGS said it is absolutely broader than dyslexia; it is for
all students and is a global bill.
SENATOR STEVENS asked whether schools of education in Alaska use
scientific research to train teachers in this areas.
8:48:55 AM
MS. BOGGS said that the National Council on Teacher Quality has
addressed the issue of early reading instruction. The program at
UAF for educators received a 99 percentile rating of basic
knowledge for teaching reading. UAA received only a 9 percentile
rating. Only about 19 percent of universities instruct their
teachers in the foundations of reading. She provided an example
of teaching phonics in Ohio. There is a huge disparity and it is
a challenging issue.
8:51:27 AM
CHAIR HUGHES asked if the committee has any questions.
CHAIR HUGHES closed public testimony. She said they are working
on a CS for HB 64. She held HB 64 in committee.
She made announcements.
8:52:33 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Senator Hughes adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
at 8:52 a.m.