00SENATE BILL NO. 294                                                                                                     
01 "An Act relating to regional educational attendance areas."                                                             
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1.  AS 14.08.031(a) is amended to read:                                                                    
04  (a)  The Department of Community and Regional Affairs in consultation with                                            
05 the Department of Education and local communities shall divide the unorganized                                          
06 borough into educational service areas using the boundaries or sub-boundaries of the                                    
07 regional corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.                                       
08 However, a  community located within an educational service area may become                                             
09 a part of a different educational service area as provided under (e) of this section                                   
10 [, UNLESS BY REFERENDUM A COMMUNITY VOTES TO MERGE WITH                                                                 
11 ANOTHER COMMUNITY CONTIGUOUS TO IT BUT WITHIN THE                                                                       
12 BOUNDARIES OR SUB-BOUNDARIES OF ANOTHER REGIONAL                                                                        
13 CORPORATION].                                                                                                           
14    * Sec. 2.  AS 14.08.031 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                               

01  (e)  A community in an educational service area may become a part of a                                                
02 different educational service area if                                                                                   
03   (1)  the community has at least 25 or more permanent residents;                                                      
04   (2)  a majority of the residents of the community vote to become part                                                
05 of another educational service area; an election required under this paragraph shall be                                 
06 conducted by the lieutenant governor in the general manner required under AS 15; an                                     
07 election under this paragraph may not be conducted more than once every two years;                                      
08 and                                                                                                                     
09   (3)  the commissioner does not disapprove the relocation;  the                                                       
10 commissioner may disapprove a relocation allowed under this subsection if the                                           
11 commissioner, within 30 days after a community votes to relocate, makes a written                                       
12 finding that the relocation of the community would result in an educational service                                     
13 area that is not integrated socially, economically, linguistically, and culturally.