00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 69(RLS) am 01 "An Act relating to education; relating to open enrollment in public schools; relating to 02 school and student performance reports; relating to school and district accountability; 03 relating to charter schools; relating to an annual report for correspondence study 04 programs; relating to the base student allocation; relating to reading proficiency 05 incentive grants; relating to wireless telecommunications devices in public schools; 06 relating to the duty of the legislature to pass a public education appropriation bill; 07 relating to the duty of the governor to prepare a public education appropriation bill; 08 establishing the Task Force on Education Funding; relating to a report on regulation of 09 school districts; and providing for an effective date." 10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 11  * Section 1. AS 14.03.080(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) Subject to AS 14.14.110 and 14.14.120, a [A] child of school age is 01 entitled to attend public school without payment of tuition during the school term 02 (1) at [IN] the school in a school district that is assigned to the child  03 based on the child's residence within the school district's boundary area; or 04 (2) at a school selected by a parent of the child under  05 AS 14.03.080(i) [DISTRICT IN WHICH THE CHILD IS A RESIDENT SUBJECT 06 TO THE PROVISIONS OF AS 14.14.110 AND 14.14.120]. 07  * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.080(a), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, is amended to read: 08 (a) A [SUBJECT TO AS 14.14.110 AND 14.14.120, A] child of school age is 09 entitled to attend public school without payment of tuition during the school term in  10 [(1) AT] the school district in which the child is a resident subject  11 to the provisions of AS 14.14.110 and 14.14.120 [IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT 12 IS ASSIGNED TO THE CHILD BASED ON THE CHILD'S RESIDENCE WITHIN 13 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S BOUNDARY AREA; OR 14 (2) AT A SCHOOL SELECTED BY A PARENT OF THE CHILD 15 UNDER AS 14.03.080(i)]. 16  * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.080 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 17 (i) Each school district shall, upon application by a parent of a child of school 18 age and subject to other provisions of this title governing enrollment of students in 19 public schools and the enrollment capacity limitations of a selected school, allow the 20 child to attend the school in the district selected by the parent instead of the school that 21 is assigned to the child based on the child's residence within the district's boundary 22 area. The district shall enroll the children selected by lottery throughout the school 23 year, except that the district shall prioritize the enrollment of siblings in the same 24 school. Each district shall establish a lottery for enrollment of children under this 25 subsection and a process for conducting the lottery. The local school board of the 26 district shall determine the capacity limitations of a school in the district. 27 (j) Each school district shall annually report to the department and publish on 28 the district's publicly available Internet website student enrollment data for each 29 school in the district, including enrollment capacity and vacancies for each grade in 30 the school, the number of enrollment applications the district received under (i) of this 31 section, the number of those applications the district approved, the number of those 01 applications the district denied, and an explanation of the reason for each denial. 02 (k) The department shall establish by regulation a process for appealing a 03 school district's denial of an enrollment application submitted to the district under (i) 04 of this section. 05  * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.120(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) A district shall annually file with the department, and make available to the 07 public, a report that 08 (1) establishes district goals and priorities for improving education in 09 the district; 10 (2) includes a plan for achieving district goals and priorities; and 11 (3) includes a means of measuring student academic performance  12 over time [THE ACHIEVEMENT OF DISTRICT GOALS AND PRIORITIES]. 13  * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 14 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 15 public school shall deliver to the department for posting on the department's Internet 16 website and provide, in a public meeting of parents, students, and community 17 members, a report on the school's performance and the performance of the school's 18 students. The report shall be prepared on a form prescribed by the department and 19 must include 20 (1) information on accreditation; 21 (2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests that measure  22 student academic performance over time; 23 (3) results of state standards-based assessments in language arts and 24 mathematics; 25 (4) [A DESCRIPTION, INCLUDING QUANTITATIVE AND 26 QUALITATIVE MEASURES, OF STUDENT, PARENT, COMMUNITY, AND 27 BUSINESS INVOLVEMENT IN STUDENT LEARNING; 28 (5)] a description of the school's attendance, retention, dropout, and 29 graduation rates as specified by the state board; 30 (5) [(6)] the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, 31 and the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of 01 the school district; 02 (6) [(7)] if Native language education is provided, a summary and 03 evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420; 04 (7) [(8)] the performance designation assigned the school under 05 AS 14.03.123 and the methodology used to assign the performance designation, 06 including the measures used and their relative weights; 07 (8) [(9)] other information concerning school performance and the 08 performance of the school's students as required by the state board in regulation; and 09 (9) [(10)] information on the number, attendance, and performance of 10 students enrolled in the school whose parents or guardians are on active duty in the 11 armed forces of the United States, the United States Coast Guard, the Alaska National 12 Guard, the Alaska Naval Militia, or the Alaska State Defense Force. 13  * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.123(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) By September 1 of each year, the department shall assign a performance 15 designation to each public school and school district and to the state public school 16 system in accordance with (f) of this section. The performance designation must be  17 based on measurements of student academic performance over time.  18  * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.123(f) is amended to read: 19 (f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this 20 section, the department shall 21 (1) implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including 22 the use of 23 (A) measures of student performance on standards-based 24 assessments in language arts and mathematics; the assessments must 25 (i) be selected with the input of teachers and school 26 administrators; 27 (ii) [AND] minimize disruption to classroom 28 instruction; and  29 (iii) measure student academic performance over  30 time; 31 (B) measures of student improvement and academic 01 achievement; and 02 (C) other measures identified that are indicators of student 03 success and achievement; and 04 (2) to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on 05 districts. 06  * Sec. 8. AS 14.03.123 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 07 (h) Schools and districts may not use more than three hours of instructional 08 time in a school year to conduct the assessments required under (f) of this section. 09 (i) The department may not use the National Assessment of Educational 10 Progress to measure student academic performance or assign a performance 11 designation under this section. 12  * Sec. 9. AS 14.03.253(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) In an appeal to the state Board of Education and Early Development of a 14 denial of a charter school application under (a)(3) of this section, the state board shall 15 determine, based on the record, whether the commissioner's findings are supported by 16 substantial evidence and whether the decision is contrary to law. The state board shall 17 issue a written decision within 45 [90] days after the state board receives an appeal. 18  * Sec. 10. AS 14.03.255(c) is amended to read: 19 (c) A charter school shall operate under a contract between the charter school 20 and the local school board. A contract must contain the following provisions: 21 (1) a description of the educational program; 22 (2) specific levels of achievement for the education program; 23 (3) admission policies and procedures; 24 (4) administrative policies; 25 (5) a statement of the charter school's funding allocation from the local 26 school board and costs assignable to the charter school program budget; 27 (6) the method by which the charter school will account for receipts 28 and expenditures; 29 (7) the location and description of the facility; 30 (8) the name of the teacher, or teachers, who, by agreement between 31 the charter school and the teacher, will teach in the charter school; 01 (9) the teacher-to-student ratio; 02 (10) the number of students served; 03 (11) the term of the contract, not to exceed a term of 10 years; 04 (12) a termination clause providing that the contract may be terminated 05 by the local school board for the failure of the charter school to meet educational 06 achievement goals or fiscal management standards, or for other good cause; 07 (13) a clause providing that, before a local school board terminates  08 a contract, the local school board must provide the charter school with written  09 notice and a reasonable opportunity, as determined by the local school board, to  10 cure the problem; 11 (14) a statement that the charter school will comply with all state and 12 federal requirements for receipt and use of public money; 13 (15) [(14)] other requirements or exemptions agreed on [UPON] by the 14 charter school and the local school board. 15  * Sec. 11. AS 14.03.255 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 16 (e) A charter school may carry forward to the next fiscal year not more than 17 10 percent of the unreserved portion of the charter school's year-end program budget 18 balance. Money carried forward under this subsection is reserved and excluded from 19 the unreserved portion of a school district's year-end fund balance in the school 20 operating fund under AS 14.17.505. The local school board shall review the charter 21 school's program budget for the preceding fiscal year to ascertain the charter school's 22 year-end program budget balance. 23 (f) A local school board shall establish procedures and standards for renewal 24 of a contract between the local school board and a charter school. The renewal process 25 must be as simple as possible. 26  * Sec. 12. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 27 Sec. 14.03.256. Charter school termination appeal. If a local school board 28 terminates a contract with a charter school, the charter school may appeal the decision 29 to the commissioner under regulations established by the commissioner. The 30 commissioner may request written supplementation from the appellant or local school 31 board. The commissioner shall review the decision of the local school board to 01 determine whether the findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence and 02 whether the decision is contrary to law. The commissioner shall issue a written 03 decision within 90 days after the appeal is filed and may 04 (1) remand the appeal to the local school board for further review; 05 (2) reapprove the charter school with or without added conditions; or 06 (3) uphold the decision terminating the charter school contract. 07  * Sec. 13. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 09 annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the 10 students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local 11 school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the 12 department up to eight [FOUR] percent. Costs directly related to charter school 13 facilities, including rent, utilities, and maintenance, may not be included in an annual 14 program budget for the purposes of calculating the eight [FOUR] percent cap on 15 administrative costs under this subsection. A local school board shall provide a charter 16 school with a report itemizing the administrative costs retained by the local school 17 board under this section. The "amount generated by students enrolled in the charter 18 school" is to be determined in the same manner as it would be for a student enrolled in 19 another public school in that school district and includes funds generated by grants, 20 appropriations, federal impact aid, the required local contribution, the local 21 contribution under AS 14.17.410(c), special needs under AS 14.17.420(a)(1), and 22 secondary school vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3). A 23 school district shall direct state aid under AS 14.11 for the construction or major 24 maintenance of a charter school facility to the charter school that generated the state 25 aid, subject to the same terms and conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for 26 construction or major maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school. 27  * Sec. 14. AS 14.03.275 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 14.03.275. Contracts; duration; renewal. A contract for a charter school 29 may be for a term of not [NO] more than 10 years. A local school board may renew  30 the contract for successive terms.  31  * Sec. 15. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 01 Sec. 14.03.277. Charter school coordinator. A charter school coordinator 02 position is established in the department. This position is responsible for the 03 development of a repository of charter school resources in the department. The charter 04 school coordinator shall provide support to charter schools, including 05 (1) providing charter schools with policy and regulation guidance; 06 (2) assisting groups with preparing charter school applications; and 07 (3) coordinating with school districts and an organization that is the 08 representative agency of the members of the school boards of the state to support 09 charter school academic policy committees and local school boards.  10  * Sec. 16. AS 14.03.300 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 11 (c) Each district that provides a correspondence study program, and the 12 department if the department provides a correspondence study program, shall prepare 13 an annual report that includes 14 (1) the number of students enrolled in the program; 15 (2) the demographic information of the students enrolled in the 16 program; 17 (3) an accounting of student allotment funds that have been disbursed; 18 (4) assessment and proficiency scores of the students enrolled in the 19 program; and 20 (5) a review of curricula that have been provided by the program or 21 purchased using allotment funds. 22 (d) A district shall submit a report required under (c) of this section to the 23 department, and the department shall provide the report to the state Board of 24 Education and Early Development. If the department provides a correspondence study 25 program, the department shall also submit to the state board the department's report 26 required under (c) of this section. 27  * Sec. 17. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 28 (a) The department shall 29 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 30 except the University of Alaska; 31 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 01 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 02 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 03 of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 04 develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 05 preparatory courses; 06 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 07 governing bodies and personnel; 08 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 09 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 10 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 11 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Family and 12 Community Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held 13 in juvenile detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are 14 defined in AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 15 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 16 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 17 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 18 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 19 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 20 the members of each house; 21 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 22 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 23 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 24 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 25 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 26 (8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 27 receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 28 a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education 29 program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the 30 board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if 31 the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under 01 AS 14.07.165(a)(5); 02 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 03 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 04 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 05 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 06 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 07 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 08 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 09 licensed; 10 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 11 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 12 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 13 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 14 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 15 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 16 and costs, and final contract documents; 17 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 18 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 19 are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 20 unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 21 will lead to employment opportunities; 22 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 23 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 24 school bus driver training course; 25 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 26 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 27 behavior; 28 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 29 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 30 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 31 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 01 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 02 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 03 AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 04 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 05 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 06 arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1) 07 [AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A)]; and 08 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 09 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 10 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 11 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 12 redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 13 (18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and 14 intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described 15 in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; 16 (19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to 17 review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department 18 and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410, 14.03.420, 19 AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel 20 (A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, 21 the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and 22 reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs 23 focused on cultural education within the department; 24 (B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native 25 languages and other non-English languages; 26 (C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and include teachers of 27 grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, parents of students in grades 28 kindergarten through three, stakeholders from indigenous language immersion 29 programs, representatives from early education stakeholder groups, and researchers of 30 best practices for improving literacy performance, including best practices for 31 instruction of indigenous students and students whose first language is not English. 01  * Sec. 18. AS 14.07.168 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 03 day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 04 person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 05 report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 06 improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 07 bylaws of the board. The report must include 08 (1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 09 policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 10 (2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 11 recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 12 (3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 13 maintain the public education system; 14 (4) a summary of implementation and utilization of the consortium 15 established under AS 14.30.800, including a review of consortium effectiveness and 16 the participation rates of districts, teachers, and students;  17 (5) the information reported to the board under AS 14.03.300(d). 18  * Sec. 19. AS 14.07.168, as amended by sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 2022, is amended to read: 19 Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative 20 day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in 21 person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual 22 report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously 23 improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the 24 bylaws of the board. The report must include 25 (1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of 26 policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015; 27 (2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or 28 recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125; 29 (3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and 30 maintain the public education system;  31 (4) the information reported to the board under AS 14.03.300(d). 01  * Sec. 20. AS 14.11.019 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 14.11.019. Grant appropriations. Within the appropriation bill 03 authorizing capital expenditures submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020(a)(4) 04 [AS 37.07.020(a)(3)], the governor shall include an appropriation for grants in the 05 succeeding fiscal year as determined by the six-year capital improvement project grant 06 schedule prepared under AS 14.11.013.  07  * Sec. 21. AS 14.11.100(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) The school construction account is established. Funds to carry out the 09 provisions of this section shall be included within the appropriation bill authorizing 10 capital expenditures submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020(a)(4) 11 [AS 37.07.020(a)(3)] and may be appropriated annually by the legislature to the 12 account. If amounts in the account are insufficient for the purpose of providing the 13 share to which a borough or city is entitled under this section, those funds that are 14 available shall be distributed pro rata among the eligible municipalities, except that the 15 legislature may direct that additional debt service on refunding bonds that exceeds the 16 total debt service on the refunded bonds be disregarded in whole or in part. 17  * Sec. 22. AS 14.17.470 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $6,960 19 [$5,960]. 20  * Sec. 23. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 21 Sec. 14.30.773. Reading proficiency incentive grants. (a) Subject to 22 appropriation, a school district is eligible to receive a reading proficiency incentive 23 grant of $450 for each student in 24 (1) kindergarten through grade three who performs at grade level or 25 demonstrates improvement on expected grade-level skills on the statewide screening 26 tool adopted by the department under AS 14.30.760; and 27 (2) grades four through six who performs at grade level or 28 demonstrates a measure of increased proficiency on a standards-based assessment in 29 language arts. 30 (b) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. 31  * Sec. 24. AS 14.30.773(a), enacted by sec. 23 of this Act, is amended to read: 01 (a) Subject to appropriation, a school district is eligible to receive a reading 02 proficiency incentive grant of $450 for each student in 03 [(1)] kindergarten through grade [THREE WHO PERFORMS AT 04 GRADE LEVEL OR DEMONSTRATES IMPROVEMENT ON EXPECTED 05 GRADE-LEVEL SKILLS ON THE STATEWIDE SCREENING TOOL ADOPTED 06 BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER AS 14.30.760; AND 07 (2) GRADES FOUR THROUGH] six who performs at grade level or 08 demonstrates a measure of increased proficiency on a standards-based assessment in 09 language arts. 10  * Sec. 25. AS 14.33 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Article 5. Wireless Telecommunications Devices.  12 Sec. 14.33.300. Wireless telecommunications device policy. (a) The 13 department shall develop and adopt a model policy that regulates the use of 14 nonschool-issued wireless telecommunications devices in public schools during 15 regular school hours, including lunch and passing periods. If the model policy 16 prohibits the use of nonschool-issued wireless telecommunications devices, the policy 17 must allow exceptions for students to use a wireless telecommunications device for 18 medical or translation purposes, in the event of an emergency, or when a teacher or 19 administrator of the school grants permission to a student to use a wireless 20 telecommunications device for educational purposes. 21 (b) Each school district shall adopt a policy that regulates the possession and 22 use of nonschool-issued wireless telecommunications devices during regular school 23 hours, including lunch and passing periods. Each school district shall share this policy 24 with parents or guardians, students, volunteers, and school employees. If a school 25 district's policy prohibits the use of nonschool-issued wireless telecommunications 26 devices, the policy must allow exceptions for students to use a wireless 27 telecommunications device for medical or translation purposes, in the event of an 28 emergency, or when a teacher or administrator of the school grants permission to a 29 student to use a wireless telecommunications device for educational purposes. A 30 school district may either develop and adopt its own policy or adopt the model policy 31 developed under (a) of this section. 01 (c) This section does not authorize a person to monitor, collect, or access 02 information related to a student's use of a wireless telecommunications device. 03 (d) In this section, "wireless telecommunications device" means any portable 04 wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data 05 communication between two or more parties. 06  * Sec. 26. AS 24.20.140(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) Appropriations for carrying out AS 24.20.010 - 24.20.140 shall be set out 08 in the appropriation bill authorizing operating expenditures submitted to the legislature 09 under AS 37.07.020(a)(3) [AS 37.07.020(a)(2)] or other bills as may be necessary. 10 The council may direct the executive director to transfer amounts from one 11 appropriation to another if the transfer is considered necessary to accomplish the work 12 of the council. The council may not exceed the total amount of the authorized 13 appropriation. All expenditures of the council are subject to an independent audit that 14 shall be made annually. 15  * Sec. 27. AS 37.07.014 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 16 (g) An appropriation bill authorizing state operating expenditures for public 17 school funding provided under AS 14.09 and AS 14.17 for the succeeding fiscal year 18 must be passed by the legislature by March 15. In this subsection, "passed by the 19 legislature" has the meaning given in AS 01.10.070. 20  * Sec. 28. AS 37.07.020(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) The governor shall prepare a budget for the succeeding fiscal year that 22 must cover all estimated receipts, including all grants, loans, and money received from 23 the federal government and all proposed expenditures of the state government. The 24 budget shall be organized so that the proposed expenditures for each agency are 25 presented separately. The budget must be accompanied by the information required 26 under AS 37.07.050 and by the following separate bills: (1) an appropriation bill 27 authorizing the operating and capital expenditures of the state's integrated 28 comprehensive mental health program under AS 37.14.003(a); (2) an appropriation  29 bill authorizing state operating expenditures for public school funding provided  30 under AS 14.09 and AS 14.17; (3) an appropriation bill authorizing state operating 31 expenditures other than those included in the state's integrated comprehensive mental 01 health program or included under (2) of this subsection; (4) [; (3)] an appropriation 02 bill authorizing capital expenditures other than those included in the state's integrated 03 comprehensive mental health program; and (5) [(4)] a bill or bills covering 04 recommendations, if any, in the budget for new or additional revenue. The budget for 05 the succeeding fiscal year and each of the bills shall become public information on 06 December 15 at which time the governor shall submit copies to the legislature and 07 make copies available to the public. The bills, identical in content to the copies 08 released on December 15, shall be delivered to the rules committee of each house 09 before the fourth legislative day of the next regular session for introduction. 10  * Sec. 29. AS 14.03.123(c)(2), 14.03.123(c)(3), 14.03.123(c)(5), and 14.03.123(e) are 11 repealed. 12  * Sec. 30. AS 14.03.080(i), 14.03.080(j), and 14.03.080(k) are repealed. 13  * Sec. 31. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 TASK FORCE ON EDUCATION FUNDING. (a) The Task Force on Education 16 Funding is established as a joint task force of the Alaska State Legislature. 17 (b) The task force shall 18 (1) analyze the state of public education funding and the current accountability 19 provisions for schools and districts in the state; 20 (2) make recommendations relating to public education funding and 21 accountability provisions for schools and districts in the state; and 22 (3) submit a report of findings and recommendations of the task force to the 23 senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives not later than the first day 24 of the Second Regular Session of the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature and notify the 25 members of the legislature that the report is available. 26 (c) The task force consists of six members as follows: 27 (1) three members of the senate, at least one of whom is a member of the 28 minority, appointed by the president of the senate; the president of the senate shall select one 29 of the members to serve as co-chair of the task force; 30 (2) three members of the house of representatives, at least one of whom is a 31 member of the minority, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; the speaker 01 of the house of representatives shall select one of the members to serve as co-chair of the task 02 force. 03 (d) A vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original 04 selection or appointment. 05 (e) The task force shall meet at the call of the co-chairs. The task force may meet 06 between and during legislative sessions. A majority of the members of the task force 07 constitute a quorum. The task force may conduct meetings in person, telephonically, or by 08 electronic means, as directed by the co-chairs. 09 (f) The task force may request data and other information from the Department of 10 Education and Early Development. 11 (g) The legislative staff of the members of the task force shall serve as staff for the 12 task force. The task force may hire staff and contract for services necessary to carry out the 13 duties of the task force under the procedures adopted by the legislative council governing 14 procurement of services, subject to the approval of the legislative council and the legislative 15 council making funds available for that purpose. 16 (h) The task force expires on January 31, 2026. 17  * Sec. 32. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 REPORT ON REGULATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. The Department of 20 Education and Early Development shall prepare a report recommending regulatory and 21 statutory changes to reduce the regulatory burden on school districts. The department shall 22 submit the report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives not 23 later than the first day of the Second Regular Session of the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State 24 Legislature and notify the members of the legislature that the report is available. 25  * Sec. 33. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 26 read: 27 APPLICABILITY. Sections 9 - 14 of this Act apply to a contract that becomes legally 28 binding on or after the effective date of secs. 9 - 14 of this Act. 29  * Sec. 34. Sections 2 and 30 of this Act take effect July 1, 2028.  30  * Sec. 35. Section 19 of this Act takes effect on the effective date of sec. 23, ch. 40, SLA 31 2022. 01  * Sec. 36. Section 24 of this Act takes effect June 30, 2034. 02  * Sec. 37. Except as provided in secs. 34 - 36 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2025.