SB 36: "An Act relating to transportation of public school students; relating to school construction grants; relating to the public school foundation program and to local aid for education; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 36 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 local 03 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 an appropriate amount of 09 eligible transportation reimbursement to a school district under this subsection, the 10 department shall provide [REVIEW] the same level of reimbursement for 11 transportation provided on a motor vehicle owned by the school district as [AND] for 12 transportation provided on a motor vehicle operated under a contract with the school 13 district. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 14.11.013(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) With regard to projects for which grants are requested under AS 14.11.011, 02 the department shall 03 (1) annually review the six-year plans submitted by each district under 04 AS 14.11.011(b) and recommend to the board a revised and updated six-year capital 05 improvement project grant schedule that serves the best interests of the state and each 06 district; in recommending projects for this schedule, the department shall verify that 07 each proposed project meets the criteria established under AS 14.11.014(b) and 08 qualifies as a project required to 09 (A) avert imminent danger or correct life-threatening situations; 10 (B) house students who would otherwise be unhoused; for 11 purposes of this subparagraph, students are considered unhoused if the students 12 attend school in temporary relocatable facilities; 13 (C) protect the structure of existing school facilities; 14 (D) correct building code deficiencies that require major repair 15 or rehabilitation in order for the facility to continue to be used for the 16 educational program; 17 (E) achieve an operating cost savings; 18 (F) modify or rehabilitate facilities for the purpose of improving 19 the instructional program; 20 (G) meet an educational need not specified in (A) - (F) of this 21 paragraph, identified by the department; 22 (2) prepare an estimate of the amount of money needed to finance each 23 project; 24 (3) provide to the governor, by November 1, and to the legislature 25 within the first 10 days of each regular legislative session, a revised and updated six- 26 year capital improvement project grant schedule, together with a proposed schedule of 27 appropriations. 28 * Sec. 3. AS 14.17.010(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) The public school foundation account is established. The account consists 30 of municipal contributions made under AS 14.17.025(i) and appropriations for 31 distribution to school districts, the state boarding school, and for centralized
01 correspondence study programs under this chapter. 02 * Sec. 4. AS 14.17.025(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) Local contributions to a city or borough school district 04 (1) shall be [INCLUDE AT LEAST THE LESSER OF 05 (1)] the equivalent of a 4.5 [FOUR] mill tax levy on the full and true 06 value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the 07 second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and 08 Regional Affairs under AS 14.17.140 and AS 29.45.110; or 09 (2) if the amount determined under (1) of this subsection is greater 10 than the district's basic need for the current fiscal year as determined under 11 AS 14.17.021(c), shall be [35 PERCENT OF] the district's basic need for the current 12 [PRECEDING] fiscal year, as determined under AS 14.17.021(c) [AS 14.17.021(b)]. 13 * Sec. 5. AS 14.17.025 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 14 (i) A city or borough school district that is required to make a local 15 contribution under (a)(2) of this section shall also pay into the public school foundation 16 account an amount determined by subtracting the amount under (a)(2) of this section 17 from the amount under (a)(1) of this section in that district. 18 (j) In addition to the amount contributed under (a) of this section, a city or 19 borough school district shall make a local contribution that is equal to the amount 20 determined under AS 14.17.065(a)(1)(B). 21 * Sec. 6. AS 14.17.031 is amended to read: 22 Sec. 14.17.031. Allowable instructional units. (a) The department shall 23 adopt regulations defining funding communities within each district that reflect 24 geographic and attendance area factors and that include at least 10 students in 25 average daily membership . For the purpose of determining instructional units, 26 students are counted in the district and the funding community from which they 27 receive educational services. The total number of instructional units in a school 28 district is the sum of the following units for each funding community within the 29 district, as determined by the department: 30 (1) the number of units for elementary and secondary students 31 determined under AS 14.17.041(a) or (b);
01 (2) the number of units for vocational education determined under 02 AS 14.17.043; 03 (3) the number of units for special education determined under 04 AS 14.17.045; [AND] 05 (4) the number of units for bilingual education determined under 06 AS 14.17.047 ; and 07 (5) the number of units for gifted and talented education 08 determined under AS 14.17.048 . 09 (b) If the total elementary and secondary instructional units that a school 10 district is eligible to receive under (a) of this section decrease by five [10] percent or 11 more from one fiscal year to the next, the school district may use the last fiscal year 12 before the reduction as a base fiscal year and offset its reduction according to the 13 following schedule: (1) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the school 14 district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary instructional units 15 determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 75 percent of the difference in total 16 elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal year and the first 17 fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (2) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal 18 year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary and secondary 19 instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 50 percent of the 20 difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between the base fiscal 21 year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (3) for the third fiscal year 22 after the base fiscal year, the school district is eligible to receive the total elementary 23 and secondary instructional units determined under (a)(1) of this section plus 25 24 percent of the difference in total elementary and secondary instructional units between 25 the base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year. The schedule 26 established in this subsection is available to a school district for the three fiscal years 27 following the base fiscal year only if the total elementary and secondary instructional 28 units received by the school district under (a)(1) of this section for each fiscal year are 29 less than the total elementary and secondary instructional units received by the school 30 district in the base fiscal year. This subsection does not apply to a decrease in total 31 elementary and secondary instructional units resulting from a loss of enrollment that
01 occurs as a result of a boundary change under AS 29. 02 * Sec. 7. AS 14.17.041(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) For funding communities that have an average daily membership of less 04 than 200 in grades K-6 or less than 200 in grades 7-12, combined elementary and 05 secondary instructional units are determined under the following table: 06 ADM No. Instructional Units 07 [1 - 10 2] 08 10 [11] - 20 2 + ((ADM-10)/5) 09 21 - 60 4 + ((ADM-20)/8) 10 61 - 120 9 + ((ADM-60)/12) 11 121 - 525 14 + ((ADM-120)/15). 12 * Sec. 8. AS 14.17.041 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (e) A district with an ADM of 900 or less that consists of one funding 14 community shall increase the elementary and secondary instructional units received 15 under (a) or (b) of this section by multiplying the instructional units by a factor 16 determined under the following table: 17 District ADM Factor 18 1 - 250 1.12 19 251 - 525 1.08 20 526 - 900 1.06. 21 * Sec. 9. AS 14.17.045(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) An exceptional child, other than a gifted child, as both are defined in 23 AS 14.30.350, who is enrolled in a special education program, approved by the 24 department, on the last day of the counting period for which a determination is being 25 made, generates [0.025 INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS IF THE CHILD RECEIVES 26 GIFTED SERVICES,] 0.056 instructional units if the child receives resource services, 27 0.1 instructional units if the child receives self-contained services, or 0.333 28 instructional units if the child receives intensive or hospital/homebound services, as 29 those categories of service are defined by the department by regulation, in the funding 30 community in which the child is served. A child may be counted in one special 31 education category only.
01 * Sec. 10. AS 14.17.045(b) is amended to read: 02 (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, in a district that offers a special 03 education program for exceptional children other than gifted children, as both are 04 defined in AS 14.30.350, each funding community receives a minimum of 0.25 05 instructional units for special education for each funding community in which such a 06 child is served or the district receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units for special 07 education, whichever is greater. 08 * Sec. 11. AS 14.17.047 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 14.17.047. Bilingual education instructional units. A student for whom 10 an appropriate bilingual program must be provided under regulations adopted by the 11 department, and who is enrolled in a bilingual program, approved by the department, 12 as of the last day of the counting period for which a determination is being made, 13 generates, in the funding community in which the student is served, 0.021 14 instructional units [THE NUMBER OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION 15 INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS THAT IS THE PRODUCT OBTAINED BY 16 MULTIPLYING 0.042 BY THE STUDENT'S LANGUAGE DOMINANCE 17 CATEGORY WEIGHT UNDER DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS]. A funding 18 community in which a bilingual program approved by the department is operated 19 receives a minimum of 0.10 instructional units for bilingual education, or a district in 20 which a bilingual program is operated receives a minimum of 1.00 instructional units, 21 whichever is greater. 22 * Sec. 12. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 14.17.048. Gifted and talented instructional units. Gifted and talented 24 instructional units for a funding community in a district are calculated by 25 (1) multiplying by .045 the elementary and secondary student 26 enrollment in the funding community on the last day of the student counting period 27 under AS 14.17.160; and 28 (2) multiplying the product obtained under (1) of this section by a 29 supplemental revenue weighting factor specified in regulations adopted by the 30 department. 31 * Sec. 13. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read:
01 Sec. 14.17.065. Supplemental equalization aid. (a) In addition to state 02 foundation aid for which a district may qualify under AS 14.17.021, a school district 03 is eligible to receive supplemental equalization funds as follows: 04 (1) in a city or borough school district, supplemental equalization aid 05 is equal to a 06 (A) state share under the following formula: 07 funding = Vs/(Vs + Vi) x Vs x 2.5 mills x district ADM; 08 (B) local share under the following formula: 09 funding = Vs x 2.5 mills x district ADM - the amount 10 determined under (A) of this paragraph; 11 (2) in a regional educational attendance area, supplemental equalization 12 aid is equal to the amount determined under the formula provided under (1)(A) of this 13 subsection in that regional educational attendance area. 14 (b) In this section, 15 (1) "Vi" means the amount determined by dividing the full and true 16 value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as calculated under 17 AS 14.17.140 and AS 29.45.110 by the district ADM for the same fiscal year for 18 which the valuation of real and personal property was made; 19 (2) "Vs" means the amount determined by dividing the sum of the 20 property valuations of all districts in the state by the total ADM of all districts in the 21 state. 22 * Sec. 14. AS 14.17.080 is amended to read: 23 Sec. 14.17.080. Student count estimates. Each district shall prepare and 24 submit to the department, by November 20 [OCTOBER 15] of each fiscal year, in the 25 manner and on forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its average daily 26 membership and other student count data for the succeeding fiscal year, upon which 27 computations can be made of the amount of estimated state foundation aid for which 28 the district will be eligible under AS 14.17.021 in that fiscal year. In making this 29 estimate for the succeeding fiscal year , the district shall consider its average daily 30 membership in the current fiscal year , other student count data, the pattern of growth 31 or decline in preceding years, and other pertinent information available to the district.
01 The preliminary reports required by this section are the basis for estimating the need 02 for state foundation aid for the next fiscal year. 03 * Sec. 15. AS 14.17.160(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 05 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period from the same school year 06 other than the periods set out in (a) of this section. However, the counting period must 07 be 20 consecutive school days. 08 * Sec. 16. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Education may 09 immediately proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement this Act. The regulations 10 take effect under the Administrative Procedure Act, but not before July 1, 1997. 11 * Sec. 17. Section 16 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 12 * Sec. 18. Except as provided in sec. 17 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 1997.