00 HOUSE BILL NO. 174 01 "An Act relating to organization of the public school system; and providing for 02 an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.08.011(a) is amended to read: 05  (a) It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for public education in regional 06 educational attendance areas [THE UNORGANIZED BOROUGH] and the military 07 reservations in the state. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 14.08.031(a) is amended to read: 09  (a) The Department of Community and Regional Affairs in consultation with 10 the Department of Education and local communities shall establish and determine the 11 boundaries of regional educational attendance areas. A regional educational 12 attendance area must have 1,000 or more students in average daily membership 13 [DIVIDE THE UNORGANIZED BOROUGH INTO EDUCATIONAL SERVICE 14 AREAS USING THE BOUNDARIES OR SUB-BOUNDARIES OF THE REGIONAL 01 CORPORATIONS ESTABLISHED UNDER THE ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS 02 SETTLEMENT ACT, UNLESS BY REFERENDUM A COMMUNITY VOTES TO 03 MERGE WITH ANOTHER COMMUNITY CONTIGUOUS TO IT BUT WITHIN 04 THE BOUNDARIES OR SUB-BOUNDARIES OF ANOTHER REGIONAL 05 CORPORATION]. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 14.08.031(b) is amended to read: 07  (b) [AN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA ESTABLISHED IN THE 08 UNORGANIZED BOROUGH UNDER (a) OF THIS SECTION CONSTITUTES A 09 REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL ATTENDANCE AREA.] As far as practicable, a 10 [EACH] regional educational attendance area shall contain an integrated 11 socio-economic, linguistically, and culturally homogeneous area. In the formation of 12 the regional educational attendance areas, consideration shall be given to how the 13 transportation and communication network will [TO] facilitate the administration of 14 education [AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COMMUNITIES THAT 15 COMPRISE THE AREA]. Whenever possible, municipalities, other governmental or 16 regional corporate entities, drainage basins, and other identifiable geographic features 17 shall be used in describing the boundaries of the regional educational [SCHOOL] 18 attendance areas. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 14.08.071(a) is amended to read: 20  (a) In each regional educational attendance area [IN THE UNORGANIZED 21 BOROUGH], the lieutenant governor, within not less than 60 [,] nor more than 90 22 days after the establishment of the regional educational attendance area, shall provide 23 for the election of a regional school board. 24 * Sec. 5. AS 14.12.010 is repealed and reenacted to read: 25  Sec. 14.12.010. PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS. The public school system 26 consists of the following districts: 27  (1) an organized borough; 28  (2) a home rule or first class city in the unorganized borough with 29 1,000 or more students in average daily membership; and 30  (3) a regional educational attendance area with 1,000 or more students 31 in average daily membership. 01 * Sec. 6. AS 29.35.260(b) is amended to read: 02  (b) A home rule or first class city outside a borough is a city school district 03 if the home rule or first class city qualifies under AS 14.12.010. A city school 04 district [AND] shall establish, operate, and maintain a system of public schools as 05 provided by AS 29.35.160 for boroughs. A second class city outside a borough is not 06 a school district and may not establish a system of public schools. 07 * Sec. 7. AS 14.12.025 and 14.12.110 are repealed. 08 * Sec. 8. TRANSITION. (a) Existing home rule or first class city school districts and 09 regional educational attendance areas are not affected by this Act until the Department of 10 Community and Regional Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Education and the 11 affected communities, determines that, as a result of the amendment of AS 14.08.031(a) by 12 sec. 2 of this Act and AS 14.12.010 by sec. 5 of this Act, new districts or regional educational 13 attendance areas are required to be established. 14 (b) A term of a member of a school board of a city school district or regional 15 educational attendance area serving on the effective date of this Act is not affected by this Act 16 until a new regional school board is established under AS 14.08.041. 17 * Sec. 9. This Act takes effect July 1, 1993.