HB 25-PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING  9:08:38 AM CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the next order of business would be HB 25 "An Act relating to the duties of the state Board of Education and Early Development; relating to statewide standards for instruction in social-emotional learning; and providing for an effective date." 9:09:07 AM REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS, as prime sponsor of HB 25, overviewed the proposed legislation's fiscal notes. He said there would be a one-time increment for creating social/emotional learning (SEL) standards that would include $30,000 for 20 educators to come together for one year to create the standards, $35,000 for a contract for an expert to help facilitate the standards process, and $6,000 in legal fees to implement the necessary regulatory changes. He noted that stakeholder meetings would be held virtually in order to save cost. 9:11:13 AM ABBY O'NEILL, Educator, National Education Association (NEA) Alaska, provided invited testimony in support of HB 25. She said that children successful when they have strong connections with people who care about them. She explained that this allows them to take risks safely, work with others, regulate emotions, and recognize their strengths. She said this is the epitome of SEL. She argued that when taught in the classroom and relationships are strengthened, SEL provides for academic success and personal growth both socially and emotionally. MS. O'NEILL argued the pandemic highlighted that teachers do much more than teach academics. She said teachers are educating children on how to interact, how to calm down and reset, how to work past a challenge, and how to be their best selves. She stated that SEL has allowed her to instill self-regulation for those with high needs behaviors and has also encouraged teamwork and an appreciation of differences. She stated that SEL builds a bridge between life's obstacles and a student's learning. She opined that adding SEL standards at the state level would allow for students to be supported on a level other than academics. She offered that SEL can help bring in more trauma-informed teaching practices and can provide students the skills that will help them be more successful in the classroom and more prepared for the future. 9:13:47 AM MALLORY VANREENAN provided invited testimony in support HB 25. She shared that her daughter has received support for SEL during her time in a special education program, which has helped her overcome shyness and given her the skills to advocate in the classroom. She shared her belief that this sort of curriculum would benefit all students. She said simple skills like naming and recognizing emotions can help to process feelings and help kids function in the classroom and the world as they grow. She stated that these skills also help them interact with both their teachers and their peers. She opined that statewide standards for this curriculum would benefit every Alaska child and help hold the school system to a high standard. 9:15:00 AM CO-CHAIR STORY opened public testimony on HB 25. 9:15:37 AM KATIE BOTZ testified in support HB 25. She shared that she was sexually abused when in the sixth grade, and she wasn't allowed to talk about her experience or the investigation that followed. She said her teacher noticed she was falling behind academically in the eighth grade, and a teacher asked that she be held back. Ms. Botz asserted that she fell behind because she couldn't process the social and emotional aspects of her trauma, which has since affected her work as an adult. 9:19:09 AM CHRISTINE HUTCHINSON testified in opposition to HB 25. She called the proposed legislation "mission creep of the Education Department." She said [public education] was to be [limited to] reading, writing, and arithmetic. She suggested that HB 25 be modified to include interaction and permission from the student's family. She said [emotional and behavioral] problems and solutions start in the home, which is where she opined these things should be addressed. She saw HB 25 as an added governmental expense. 9:21:39 AM MIKE COONS testified in opposition to HB 25. He said this bill addressed learning that children should receive from their parents, and that he disagreed with spending $71,000 on the proposed legislation. He said families were more concerned with reading, writing, and arithmetic, and other social issues. 9:24:27 AM NORM WOOTEN, Director of Advocacy, Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB), said the association strongly supports HB 25. He shared that AASB has a full-time position that works with school districts and families to support SEL. He explained that AASB doesn't intend to supplant parent teaching within the home, but to supplement it. He argued that children's problems don't stop when they attend school, and it is necessary that teaching staff address student's problems and also help families overcome problems that children may be having. 9:26:04 AM KELLY NASH testified in opposition to HB 25. She stated that HB 25 was "funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ... Chan Zuckerberg, and it also has affiliations with Chinese corporations," and she opined that it is, "absolutely disgusting." She argued this legislation would be a violation of privacy and was unconstitutional. She reiterated previous testifiers' sentiments that schools should [stick to] teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. She expressed that she was displeased with the legislature's response to COVID-19 in schools, and that it was bad for children's stress. She said she was considering removing her daughter from the public school system. 9:28:24 AM ALYSYN THIBAULT, Teacher, testified in favor of HB 25. She said there is much more to schools than just the academics that teachers cover. She shared that as a teacher she has witnessed the challenges young people have in coping with and surviving struggles. She argued that Alaska can and must do better to support students and families. She said HB 25 would be a small step forward by providing a framework of SEL standards. She argued that SEL is no longer [comprised of] soft-skills and called SEL "twenty-first century skills" that business owners look for in their workforce. 9:31:05 AM LISA SKILES PARADY, PhD, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA), testified in support HB 25. She related that ACSA is an umbrella group supporting superintendents, elementary and secondary principals, school business officials, and administrators. She said as an umbrella organization working with multiple members, ACSA develops joint position statements annually, which reflect collective priorities in public education. In addition to the issues of student achievement and adequate funding, ACSA's members support SEL. She shared that Alaska students endure extremely high rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences, which is reflected in the fact that Alaska has the highest rate of teen suicide attempts in the nation. She said ACSA urges the state to implement comprehensive SEL programs and supports targeted funding to enable schools to recruit, retain, and increase students' access to school counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and mental health specialists and to provide additional professional development for all staff to meet student's social and emotional needs. DR. SKILES PARADY said ACSA also supports the Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN). She shared that for almost 40 years, ACSA has been providing professional development to educators across Alaska, including in SEL instruction and support. She opined that with the pandemic, this has become an even more critical need for the state. 9:34:30 AM CO-CHAIR STORY, after ascertaining that there was no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 25. 9:34:57 AM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed concern with the state setting standards for skills "normally taught ... by parents and through Sunday school, churches, and organizations like that." He argued that the proposed legislation dove into religious freedoms. He opined that children may not be ready to deal with these things, and the legislature may be creating more problems than it is solving. [HB 25 was held over.]