00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 70(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to transportation of public school students; relating to school 02 construction grants; relating to the public school foundation program and to 03 local aid for education; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.09.010(b) is amended to read: 06  (b) Each school district mentioned in (a)(1) of this section is entitled to receive 07 reimbursement from the state for the operation of the transportation system on a unit 08 cost basis determined by the department.  In determining a school district's amount 09 of eligible transportation reimbursement under this subsection, the department 10 shall provide the same level of reimbursement for transportation provided on a 11 motor vehicle owned by the school district as for transportation provided on a 12 motor vehicle operated under a contract with the school district. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 14.11.013(a) is amended to read: 14  (a) With regard to projects for which grants are requested under AS 14.11.011, 01 the department shall 02  (1) annually review the six-year plans submitted by each district under 03 AS 14.11.011(b) and recommend to the board a revised and updated six-year capital 04 improvement project grant schedule that serves the best interests of the state and each 05 district; in recommending projects for this schedule, the department shall verify that 06 each proposed project meets the criteria established under AS 14.11.014(b) and 07 qualifies as a project required to 08  (A) avert imminent danger or correct life-threatening situations; 09  (B) house students who would otherwise be unhoused; for 10 purposes of this subparagraph, students are considered unhoused if the 11 students attend school in temporary relocatable facilities; 12  (C) protect the structure of existing school facilities; 13  (D) correct building code deficiencies that require major repair 14 or rehabilitation in order for the facility to continue to be used for the 15 educational program; 16  (E) achieve an operating cost savings; 17  (F) modify or rehabilitate facilities for the purpose of improving 18 the instructional program; 19  (G) meet an educational need not specified in (A) - (F) of this 20 paragraph, identified by the department; 21  (2) prepare an estimate of the amount of money needed to finance each 22 project; 23  (3) provide to the governor, by November 1, and to the legislature 24 within the first 10 days of each regular legislative session, a revised and updated six- 25 year capital improvement project grant schedule, together with a proposed schedule of 26 appropriations. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 14.17.010(a) is amended to read: 28  (a) The public school foundation account is established. The account consists 29 of municipal contributions made under AS 14.17.025(i) and appropriations for 30 distribution to school districts, the state boarding school, and for centralized 31 correspondence study programs under this chapter. 01 * Sec. 4. AS 14.17.021(a) is amended to read: 02  (a) The amount of state foundation aid for which a school district may qualify 03 in a fiscal year is calculated by subtracting from the basic need defined in (b) of this 04 section the required local contributions under AS 14.17.025(a) and 100 [90] percent 05 of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year.  In a rural educational attendance 06 area, the reduction of eligible federal impact aid is in lieu of a contribution of 07 funds from local taxes. The department may make adjustments to a district's state 08 foundation aid for a fiscal year to correct underpayments made in previous fiscal years. 09 * Sec. 5. AS 14.17.025(a) is amended to read: 10  (a) Local contributions to a city or borough school district 11   (1) shall be [INCLUDE AT LEAST THE LESSER OF 12  (1)] the equivalent of a 4.5 [FOUR] mill tax levy on the full and true 13 value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the 14 second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and 15 Regional Affairs under AS 14.17.140 and AS 29.45.110; or 16  (2)  if the amount determined under (1) of this subsection is greater 17 than the district's basic need for the current fiscal year as determined under 18 AS 14.17.021(b), shall be [35 PERCENT OF] the district's basic need for the current 19 [PRECEDING] fiscal year, as determined under AS 14.17.021(b). 20 * Sec. 6. AS 14.17.025 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 21  (i) A city or borough school district that is required to make a local 22 contribution under (a)(2) of this section shall also pay into the public school foundation 23 account an amount determined by subtracting the amount under (a)(2) of this section 24 from the amount under (a)(1) of this section in that district. 25  (j) In addition to the amount contributed under (a) of this section, a city or 26 borough school district shall make a local contribution that is equal to the amount 27 determined under AS 14.17.065(a)(1)(B). 28 * Sec. 7. AS 14.17.031(a) is amended to read: 29  (a) The department shall adopt regulations defining funding communities 30 within each district that reflect geographic and attendance area factors, and that 31 include at least 10 students in average daily membership. For the purpose of 01 determining instructional units, students are counted in the district and the funding 02 community from which they receive educational services. The total number of 03 instructional units in a school district is the sum of the following units for each 04 funding community within the district, as determined by the department: 05  (1) the number of units for elementary and secondary students 06 determined under AS 14.17.041(a) or (b); 07  (2) the number of units for vocational education determined under 08 AS 14.17.043; 09  (3) the number of units for special education determined under 10 AS 14.17.045; [AND] 11  (4) the number of units for bilingual education determined under 12 AS 14.17.047; and 13  (5) the number of units for gifted and talented education 14 determined under AS 14.17.048. 15 * Sec. 8. AS 14.17.031(b) is amended to read: 16  (b) If the total elementary and secondary instructional units that a school 17 district is eligible to receive under (a) of this section decrease by five [10] percent or 18 more from one fiscal year to the next, the school district may use the last fiscal year 19 before the reduction as a base fiscal year and offset its reduction according to the 20 following schedule: (1) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school 21 district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units 22 determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 75 percent of the difference in total 23 elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the first 24 fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (2) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal 25 year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary 26 instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 50 percent of the 27 difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal 28 year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (3) for the third fiscal year 29 after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary 30 and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 25 31 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between 01 the base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year. The schedule 02 established in this subsection is available to a school district for the three fiscal years 03 following the base fiscal year only if the total elementary and secondary instructional 04 units received by the school district under (a)(1) of this section for each fiscal year are 05 less than the total elementary and secondary instructional units received by the school 06 district in the base fiscal year. This subsection does not apply to a decrease in total 07 elementary and secondary instructional units resulting from a loss of enrollment that 08 occurs as a result of a boundary change under AS 29. 09 * Sec. 9. AS 14.17.041(a) is amended to read: 10  (a) For funding communities that have an average daily membership of less 11 than 200 in grades K-6 or less than 200 in grades 7-12, combined elementary and 12 secondary instructional units are determined under the following table: 13 ADM No. Instructional Units 14 [1 - 10 2] 15  10 [11] - 20 2 + ((ADM-10)/5) 16 21 - 60 4 + ((ADM-20)/8) 17 61 - 120 9 + ((ADM-60)/12) 18 121 - 525 14 + ((ADM-120)/15). 19 * Sec. 10. AS 14.17.041 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20  (e) A district with an ADM of 900 or less that consists of one funding 21 community shall increase the elementary and secondary instructional units received 22 under (a) or (b) of this section by multiplying the instructional units by a factor 23 determined under the following table: 24 District ADM Factor 25 1 - 250 1.12 26 251 - 525 1.08 27 526 - 900 1.06. 28 * Sec. 11. AS 14.17.045(a) is amended to read: 29  (a) An exceptional child, other than a gifted child, as both are defined in 30 AS 14.30.350, who is enrolled in a special education program, approved by the 31 department, on the last day of the counting period for which a determination is being 01 made, generates [0.025 INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS IF THE CHILD RECEIVES 02 GIFTED SERVICES,] 0.056 instructional units if the child receives resource services, 03 0.1 instructional units if the child receives self-contained services, or 0.333 04 instructional units if the child receives intensive or hospital/homebound services, as 05 those categories of service are defined by the department by regulation, in the funding 06 community in which the child is served. A child may be counted in one special 07 education category only. 08 * Sec. 12. AS 14.17.045(b) is amended to read: 09  (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, in a district that offers a special 10 education program for exceptional children other than gifted children, as both are 11 defined in AS 14.30.350, each funding community receives a minimum of 0.25 12 instructional units for special education for each funding community in which such a 13 child is served or the district receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units for special 14 education, whichever is greater. 15 * Sec. 13. AS 14.17.047 is amended to read: 16  Sec. 14.17.047. BILINGUAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS. A 17 student for whom an appropriate bilingual program must be provided under regulations 18 adopted by the department, and who is enrolled in a bilingual program, approved by 19 the department, as of the last day of the counting period for which a determination is 20 being made, generates, in the funding community in which the student is served, 0.021 21 instructional units [THE NUMBER OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION 22 INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS THAT IS THE PRODUCT OBTAINED BY 23 MULTIPLYING 0.042 BY THE STUDENT'S LANGUAGE DOMINANCE 24 CATEGORY WEIGHT UNDER DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS]. A funding 25 community in which a bilingual program approved by the department is operated 26 receives a minimum of 0.10 instructional units for bilingual education, or a district in 27 which a bilingual program is operated receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units, 28 whichever is greater. 29 * Sec. 14. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 30  Sec. 14.17.048. GIFTED AND TALENTED INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS. 31 Gifted and talented instructional units for a funding community in a district are 01 calculated by 02  (1) multiplying by .045 the elementary and secondary student 03 enrollment in the funding community on the last day of the student counting period 04 under AS 14.17.160; and 05  (2) multiplying the product obtained under (1) of this section by a 06 supplemental revenue weighting factor specified in regulations adopted by the 07 department. 08 * Sec. 15. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09  Sec. 14.17.065. SUPPLEMENTAL EQUALIZATION AID. (a) In addition 10 to state foundation aid for which a district may qualify under AS 14.17.021, a school 11 district is eligible to receive supplemental equalization funds as follows: 12  (1) in a city or borough school district, supplemental equalization aid 13 is equal to a 14  (A) state share under the following formula: 15  funding = Vs/(Vs + Vi) x Vs x 2.5 mills x District ADM; 16  (B) local share under the following formula: 17  funding = Vs x 2.5 mills x District ADM - the amount 18 determined under (A) of this paragraph; 19  (2) in a regional educational attendance area, supplemental equalization 20 aid is equal to the amount determined under the formula provided under (1)(A) of this 21 subsection in that regional educational attendance area. 22  (b) In this section, 23  (1) "Vi" means the amount determined by dividing the full and true 24 value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as calculated under 25 AS 14.17.140 and AS 29.45.110 by the District ADM for the same fiscal year for 26 which the valuation of real and personal property was made; 27  (2) "Vs" means the amount determined by dividing the sum of the 28 property valuations of all districts in the state by the total ADM of all districts in the 29 state. 30 * Sec. 16. AS 14.17.080 is amended to read: 31  Sec. 14.17.080. STUDENT COUNT ESTIMATES. Each district shall prepare 01 and submit to the department, by November 20 [OCTOBER 15] of each fiscal year, 02 in the manner and on forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its average 03 daily membership and other student count data for the succeeding fiscal year, upon 04 which computations can be made of the amount of estimated state foundation aid for 05 which the district will be eligible under AS 14.17.021 in that fiscal year. In making 06 this estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, the district shall consider its average daily 07 membership in the current fiscal year, other student count data, the pattern of growth 08 or decline in preceding years, and other pertinent information available to the district. 09 The preliminary reports required by this section are the basis for estimating the need 10 for state foundation aid for the next fiscal year. 11 * Sec. 17. AS 14.17.160(b) is amended to read: 12  (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 13 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period from the same school year 14 other than the periods set out in (a) of this section. However, the counting period must 15 be 20 consecutive school days. 16 * Sec. 18. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education may 17 immediately proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. The regulations 18 take effect under the Administrative Procedure Act, but not before July 1, 1996. 19 * Sec. 19. Section 18 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 20 * Sec. 20. Except as provided in sec. 19 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 1996.