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CSSB 62(CRA): "An Act relating to the public school foundation program; and providing for an effective date."

00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 62(CRA) 01 "An Act relating to the public school foundation program; and providing for an 02 effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.17.021(b) is amended to read: 05  (b) The basic need of a school district is determined by multiplying the school 06 price index for [AREA COST DIFFERENTIAL OF] the district under AS 14.17.049 07 [AS 14.17.051] by the number of instructional units in the district under AS 14.17.031 08 and then multiplying that product by the instructional unit value in AS 14.17.056. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.17.024(a) is amended to read: 10  (a) Money for the instructional services provided in a fiscal year by the state 11 boarding school established under AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public 12 school foundation account in an amount calculated by 13  (1) multiplying the instructional unit value in AS 14.17.056 by the total 14 number of instructional units under AS 14.17.031 for that fiscal year, as determined

01 by treating the school as if it were a school district consisting of a single funding 02 community; 03  (2) multiplying the product determined under (1) of this subsection by 04 the school price index [AREA COST DIFFERENTIAL] that is applicable to 05 calculation of the entitlement for the adjacent school district under AS 14.17.049 06 [AS 14.17.051]; and 07  (3) adding 10 percent of the eligible federal impact aid received for that 08 fiscal year on behalf of the school plus any federal impact aid received on behalf of 09 the school which the state, under P.L. 81-874 (20 U.S.C. 236 - 244), as amended, and 10 regulations adopted under it, could not consider as local resources if the school were 11 considered a school district. 12 * Sec. 3. AS 14.17.025(a) is amended to read: 13  (a) Local contributions to a city or borough school district shall include at least 14 the lesser of 15  (1) the equivalent of a four mill tax levy on the full and true value of 16 the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second 17 preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional 18 Affairs under AS 14.17.140 and AS 29.45.110; or 19  (2) 50 [35] percent of the district's basic need for the preceding fiscal 20 year, as determined under AS 14.17.021(b). 21 * Sec. 4. AS 14.17.031(a) is amended to read: 22  (a) The department shall adopt regulations defining funding communities 23 within each district that reflect geographic and attendance area factors, and that 24 include at least 16 students in average daily membership. For the purpose of 25 determining instructional units, students are counted in the district and the funding 26 community from which they receive educational services. The total number of 27 instructional units in a school district is the sum of the following units for each 28 funding community within the district, as determined by the department: 29  (1) the number of units for elementary and secondary students 30 determined under AS 14.17.041(a) or (b); 31  (2) the number of units for vocational education determined under

01 AS 14.17.043; 02  (3) the number of units for special education determined under 03 AS 14.17.045; and 04  (4) the number of units for bilingual education determined under 05 AS 14.17.047. 06 * Sec. 5. AS 14.17.031(b) is amended to read: 07  (b) If the total elementary and secondary instructional units that a school 08 district is eligible to receive under (a) of this section decrease by five [10] percent or 09 more from one fiscal year to the next, the school district may use the last fiscal year 10 before the reduction as a base fiscal year and offset its reduction according to the 11 following schedule: (1) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school 12 district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units 13 determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 75 percent of the difference in total 14 elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the first 15 fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (2) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal 16 year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary 17 instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 50 percent of the 18 difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal 19 year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (3) for the third fiscal year 20 after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary 21 and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 25 22 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between 23 the base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year. The schedule 24 established in this subsection is available to a school district for the three fiscal years 25 following the base fiscal year only if the total elementary and secondary instructional 26 units received by the school district under (a)(1) of this section for each fiscal year are 27 less than the total elementary and secondary instructional units received by the school 28 district in the base fiscal year. This subsection does not apply to a decrease in total 29 elementary and secondary instructional units resulting from a loss of enrollment that 30 occurs as a result of a boundary change under AS 29. 31 * Sec. 6. AS 14.17.041(b) is amended to read:

01  (b) For funding communities that are not included under (a) of this section, 02  (1) instructional units for elementary students are determined by the 03 formula: units = 15 + ((ADM-200)/16) [15 + ((ADM-200)/17)], where ADM is the 04 number of students in average daily membership in grades kindergarten through 6; 05  (2) instructional units for secondary students are determined by the 06 formula: units = 18 + ((ADM-200)/13), where ADM is the number of students in 07 average daily membership in grades 7 through 12. 08 * Sec. 7. AS 14.17.041 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09  (e) A district with an ADM of 900 or less that consists of one funding 10 community shall increase the elementary and secondary instructional units received 11 under (a) or (b) of this section by multiplying the instructional units by a percentage 12 determined under the following table: 13 District ADM Percentage 14 1 - 250 1.12 15 251 - 525 1.08 16 526 - 900 1.06. 17 * Sec. 8. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 18  Sec. 14.17.049. SCHOOL PRICE INDEX. (a) The department shall 19 determine the school price index for a district based on an average of costs for 20 educational goods and services utilized by the school districts receiving aid under this 21 chapter. The department, by regulation, shall assign weights for the following 22 categories of costs: 23  (1) salaries and benefits of certificated employees; 24  (2) salaries and benefits of noncertificated employees; 25  (3) other expenses for nonpersonnel educational goods and services; 26  (4) other factors intended to take into account the extent to which an 27 educational program reflects the additional cost of providing free public education in 28 particular types of school districts, including a district that is geographically isolated 29 or to a particular type of student, including a student with a disability. 30  (b) The department shall adjust the school price index for a district or districts 31 in fiscal year 1999 and every third fiscal year thereafter, based on a national

01 elementary and secondary school price index as designated in regulations adopted by 02 the department. The department shall notify school districts annually of the school 03 price index for each district. 04  (c) The department may require school districts to submit uniform cost reports 05 as designated in regulations adopted by the department. 06  (d) The department shall assign a school price index to a new district based 07 on the school price index for districts that the department determines have similar 08 characteristics, including remoteness, population density, and geographic location. 09 * Sec. 9. AS 14.17.080 is amended to read: 10  Sec. 14.17.080. STUDENT COUNT ESTIMATES. Each district shall prepare 11 and submit to the department, by November 20 [OCTOBER 15] of each fiscal year, 12 in the manner and on forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its average 13 daily membership and other student count data for the succeeding fiscal year, upon 14 which computations can be made of the amount of estimated state foundation aid for 15 which the district will be eligible under AS 14.17.021 in that fiscal year. In making 16 this estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, the district shall consider its average daily 17 membership in the current fiscal year, other student count data, the pattern of growth 18 or decline in preceding years, and other pertinent information available to the district. 19 The preliminary reports required by this section are the basis for estimating the need 20 for state foundation aid for the next fiscal year. 21 * Sec. 10. AS 14.17.160(b) is amended to read: 22  (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 23 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period from the same school year 24 other than the periods set out in (a) of this section. However, the counting period must 25 be 20 consecutive school days. 26 * Sec. 11. AS 14.17.160 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 27  (c) Upon written request, and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 28 permit a district to use, for purposes of reporting its average daily membership, the 29 October or February counting period report described in (a) of this section, or the 30 report for another period authorized under (b) of this section, from the immediately 31 preceding school year. The report must accompany a request under this subsection,

01 and is in addition to the October report for the current school year required by (a) of 02 this section. 03  (d) For purposes of this section, "good cause" includes reduction in student 04 enrollment. 05 * Sec. 12. AS 14.17.051 is repealed. 06 * Sec. 13. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education may 07 immediately proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. The regulations 08 take effect under the Administrative Procedure Act, but not before July 1, 1994. 09 * Sec. 14. Sections 1, 2, and 12 of this Act take effect July 1, 1995. 10 * Sec. 15. Section 13 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 11 * Sec. 16. Sections 3 - 11 of this Act take effect July 1, 1994.