CSSB 36(FIN): "An Act relating to the public school funding program; relating to the definition of a school district, to the transportation of students, to employment of chief school administrators, to school district layoff plans, to the special education service agency, and to the child care grant program; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 36(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to the public school funding program; relating to the definition 02 of a school district, to the transportation of students, to employment of chief 03 school administrators, to school district layoff plans, to the special education 04 service agency, and to the child care grant program; and providing for an 05 effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. PURPOSE. The purposes of sec. 2 of this Act are to 08 (1) provide a level of funding through the public school funding program that 09 allows for an equitable level of educational opportunities for those students attending the 10 public schools of the state; 11 (2) provide an equitable level of funding to each school within a school 12 district; and 13 (3) give people in the unorganized borough the maximum opportunity to 14 organize as a municipality and to provide as much flexibility as possible in choosing a method
01 of making a local contribution to schools. 02 * Sec. 2. AS 14.17 is amended by adding new sections to read: 03 Article 1. State Funding to Public Schools. 04 Sec. 14.17.300. Public school account. (a) The public school account is 05 established. The account consists of appropriations for distribution to school districts, 06 the state boarding school, and for centralized correspondence study under this chapter. 07 (b) The money in the account may be used only in aid of public schools, 08 including community school programs, and for centralized correspondence study 09 programs under this chapter. 10 Sec. 14.17.400. State funding for districts. (a) The state funding for which 11 a school district is eligible in a fiscal year is equal to the amount for which a district 12 qualifies under AS 14.17.410. 13 (b) If the amount in the public school account is insufficient to meet the 14 amounts authorized under (a) of this section for a fiscal year, the department shall 15 reduce pro rata the state share of public school funding for which districts are eligible 16 by the necessary percentage as determined by the department. If the state share of 17 public school funding is reduced under this subsection, the department shall also 18 reduce state funding for centralized correspondence study and the state boarding school 19 by the same percentage. 20 Sec. 14.17.410. Public school funding. (a) A district is eligible for public 21 school funding in an amount equal to the sum calculated under (b) and (c) of this 22 section. 23 (b) Public school funding consists of a state share and a local contribution, 24 determined as follows: 25 (1) the state share equals state support minus a local contribution and 26 90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; state support equals the 27 sum obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set 28 out in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: 29 (A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by 30 applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; 31 (B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is
01 multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; 02 (C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted according 03 to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then multiplied by the 04 special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1); 05 (D) the number obtained for intensive services under 06 AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under 07 AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph; 08 (2) the local contribution of a city or borough school district is the 09 equivalent of a four mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and 10 personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, 11 as determined by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs under 12 AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, not to exceed 100 percent of a district's state support 13 as determined under (1) of this subsection. 14 (c) In addition to the local contribution required under (b)(2) of this section, 15 a city or borough school district in a fiscal year may make a local contribution of not 16 more than the greater of 17 (1) the equivalent of a two mill tax levy on the full and true value of 18 the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second 19 preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Community and Regional 20 Affairs under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110; or 21 (2) 23 percent of the district's state share of public school funding for 22 the fiscal year under (b)(1) of this section. 23 (d) Public school funding may not be provided to a city or borough school 24 district if the local contributions required under (b)(2) of this section have not been 25 made. 26 Sec. 14.17.420. Special needs and intensive services funding. (a) As a 27 component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special needs funding and 28 may be eligible for intensive services funding as follows: 29 (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district 30 in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, and 31 bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 shall
01 be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 02 (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is 03 eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding 04 for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is 05 enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each such student, intensive services 06 funding is equal to ADM multiplied by five. 07 (b) A district is not eligible to receive funding under (a) of this section unless 08 the district has on file with the department a plan that indicates the special education, 09 gifted and talented education, vocational education, and bilingual education services 10 that will be provided to students. 11 (c) In this section, "intensive services" has the meaning given by the 12 department by regulation adopted under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350. 13 Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 14 in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for 15 (1) the state centralized correspondence study program or a district that 16 offers a statewide correspondence study program includes an allocation from the public 17 school account in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the correspondence 18 program by the base student allocation and multiplying that product by 65 percent; and 19 (2) a district correspondence program includes an allocation from the 20 public school account in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the district 21 correspondence program by the base student allocation. 22 Sec. 14.17.440. State funding for state boarding schools. (a) Except as 23 provided in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for state boarding schools established under 24 AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public school account in an amount 25 calculated by 26 (1) determining the ADM of state boarding schools by applying the 27 school size factor to the student count as described in AS 14.17.450; 28 (2) multiplying the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the 29 special needs factor in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and multiplying that product by the base 30 student allocation; and 31 (3) multiplying the product determined under (2) of this subsection by
01 the district cost factor that is applicable to calculation of the public school funding for 02 the adjacent school district under AS 14.17.460. 03 (b) State boarding schools are also eligible for intensive services funding under 04 AS 14.17.420(a)(2). 05 Sec. 14.17.450. School size factor. For purposes of calculating a school's 06 ADM to determine public school funding, the ADM of each school in a district shall 07 be computed by applying the following formula: 08 If the student count The adjusted student count is 09 in a school is The number of 10 students in 11 At least But less than Base Multiplier excess of 12 1 - 20 39.6 13 20 - 30 39.6 + (1.62 x 20) 14 30 - 75 55.8 + (1.49 x 30) 15 75 - 150 122.85 + (1.27 x 75) 16 150 - 250 218.1 + (1.08 x 150) 17 250 - 400 326.1 + (0.97 x 250) 18 400 - 750 471.6 + (0.92 x 400) 19 750 or over 793.6 + (0.84 x 750) 20 Sec. 14.17.460. District cost factors. (a) For purposes of calculating a 21 district's adjusted ADM under AS 14.17.410(b)(1), the district cost factor for a school 22 district is as follows: 23 DISTRICT DISTRICT COST FACTOR 24 Alaska Gateway 1.291 25 Aleutians East 1.423 26 Aleutians Region 1.736 27 Alyeska Central School 1.000 28 Anchorage 1.000 29 Annette Island 1.011 30 Bering Strait 1.525 31 Bristol Bay 1.262
01 Chatham 1.120 02 Chugach 1.294 03 Copper River 1.176 04 Cordova 1.096 05 Craig 1.010 06 Delta/Greely 1.106 07 Denali 1.313 08 Dillingham 1.254 09 Fairbanks 1.039 10 Galena 1.348 11 Haines 1.008 12 Hoonah 1.055 13 Hydaburg 1.085 14 Iditarod 1.470 15 Juneau 1.005 16 Kake 1.025 17 Kashunamiut 1.389 18 Kenai Peninsula 1.004 19 Ketchikan 1.000 20 Klawock 1.017 21 Kodiak Island 1.093 22 Kuspuk 1.434 23 Lake and Peninsula 1.558 24 Lower Kuskokwim 1.491 25 Lower Yukon 1.438 26 Matanuska-Susitna 1.010 27 Mt. Edgecumbe 1.000 28 Nenana 1.270 29 Nome 1.319 30 North Slope 1.504 31 Northwest Arctic 1.549
01 Pelican 1.290 02 Petersburg 1.000 03 Pribilof 1.419 04 Sitka 1.000 05 Skagway 1.143 06 Southeast Island 1.124 07 Southwest Region 1.423 08 St. Mary's 1.351 09 Tanana 1.496 10 Unalaska 1.245 11 Valdez 1.095 12 Wrangell 1.000 13 Yakutat 1.046 14 Yukon Flats 1.668 15 Yukon/Koyukuk 1.502 16 Yupiit 1.469 17 (b) The department shall monitor the cost factors established under (a) of this 18 section and shall prepare and submit to the legislature by January 15 of every other 19 fiscal year proposed district cost factors. In determining the proposed district cost 20 factors, the department shall consider cost-of-living changes as measured by the 21 Anchorage Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers. 22 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is 23 $4,012. 24 Article 2. Preparation of Public School Funding Budget. 25 Sec. 14.17.500. Student count estimate. (a) A district shall prepare and 26 submit to the department by November 5 of each fiscal year, in the manner and on 27 forms prescribed by the department, an estimate of its ADM and other student count 28 data, including per school student count data, for the succeeding fiscal year upon 29 which computations can be made to estimate the amount of public school funding for 30 which the district may be eligible under AS 14.17.400 in the succeeding fiscal year. 31 In making its report, the district shall consider its ADM, other student count data, the
01 pattern of growth or decline of the student population in preceding years, and other 02 pertinent information available to the district. 03 (b) Part-time students shall be included in the student count data in accordance 04 with regulations adopted by the department. 05 Sec. 14.17.505. Fund balance in school operating fund. (a) A district may 06 not accumulate in a fiscal year an unreserved portion of its year-end fund balance in 07 its school operating fund, as defined by department regulations, that is greater than 10 08 percent of its expenditures for that fiscal year. 09 (b) The department shall review each district's annual audit under 10 AS 14.14.050 for the preceding fiscal year to ascertain its year-end operating fund 11 balance. The amount by which the unreserved portion of that balance exceeds the 12 amount permitted in (a) of this section shall be deducted from the public school 13 funding that would otherwise be paid to the district in the current fiscal year. 14 Sec. 14.17.510. Determination of full and true value by Department of 15 Community and Regional Affairs. (a) To determine the amount of required local 16 contribution under AS 14.17.410(b)(2) and to aid the department and the legislature 17 in planning, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs, in consultation with 18 the assessor for each district in a city or borough, shall determine the full and true 19 value of the taxable real and personal property in each district in a city or borough. 20 If there is no local assessor or current local assessment for a city or borough school 21 district, then the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall make the 22 determination of full and true value from information available. In making the 23 determination, the Department of Community and Regional Affairs shall be guided by 24 AS 29.45.110. The determination of full and true value shall be made by October 1 25 and sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, on or before that date to the 26 president of the school board in each city or borough school district. Duplicate copies 27 shall be sent to the commissioner. The governing body of a city or borough that is a 28 school district may obtain judicial review of the determination. The superior court 29 may modify the determination of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs 30 only upon a finding of abuse of discretion or upon a finding that there is no substantial 31 evidence to support the determination.
01 (b) Motor vehicles subject to the motor vehicle registration tax under 02 AS 28.10.431 shall be treated as taxable property under this section. 03 Sec. 14.17.520. Minimum expenditure for instruction. (a) A district shall 04 budget for and spend a minimum of 70 percent of its school operating expenditures in 05 each fiscal year on the instructional component of the district budget. 06 (b) The commissioner shall reject a district budget that does not comply with 07 (a) of this section and, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this 08 section, shall withhold payments of state aid from that district, beginning with the 09 payment for the second full month after rejection and continuing until the school board 10 of the district revises the district budget to comply with (a) of this section. 11 (c) The commissioner shall review the annual audit of each district for 12 compliance with the expenditure requirements of (a) of this section. If the 13 commissioner determines that a district does not meet those requirements, the 14 commissioner shall advise the district of the determination, calculate the amount of the 15 deficiency, and deduct that amount from state aid paid to the district for the current 16 fiscal year. A deduction in state aid required under this subsection begins with the 17 payment for the second full month after the determination, unless a waiver has been 18 granted by the board under (d) of this section. 19 (d) A district that has been determined by the commissioner to be out of 20 compliance with the requirements of this section may, within 20 days of the 21 commissioner's determination, request a waiver by the board of the imposition by the 22 commissioner of any reduction in state aid payments under (b) or (c) of this section. 23 The request must be in writing and must include an analysis of the reasons and causes 24 for the district's inability to comply with the requirements of this section. The board 25 shall either grant or deny the waiver. The request must also be submitted to the 26 Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which shall review the district's request and 27 forward the committee's recommendations on it to the board. 28 (e) The commissioner shall submit an annual report on actions taken by the 29 commissioner or the board under this section to the Legislative Budget and Audit 30 Committee by April 15 of each year. 31 (f) In this section, "instructional component" includes expenditures for teachers
01 and for pupil support services. 02 Article 3. Procedure for Payments of Public School Funding. 03 Sec. 14.17.600. Student counting periods. (a) Within two weeks after the 04 end of the 20-school-day period ending the fourth Friday in October, each district shall 05 transmit a report to the department that, under regulations adopted by the department, 06 reports its ADM for that counting period and other student count information that will 07 aid the department in making a determination of its state aid under the public school 08 funding program. If it makes the district eligible for more state aid under the program, 09 a district may transmit, within two weeks after the 20-school-day period ending the 10 second Friday in February, a similar report for that counting period. For centralized 11 correspondence study, the October report shall be based on the period from July 1 12 through the fourth Friday in October, except that summer school students shall be 13 counted as a proportionate fraction as determined by the department. The department 14 may make necessary corrections in the report submitted and shall notify the district of 15 changes made. The commissioner shall notify the governor of additional 16 appropriations the commissioner estimates to be necessary to fully finance the public 17 school funding program for the current fiscal year. 18 (b) Upon written request and for good cause shown, the commissioner may 19 permit a district to use a 20-school-day counting period other than the periods set out 20 in (a) of this section. However, a counting period approved under this subsection must 21 be 20 consecutive school days unless one or more alternate counting periods are 22 necessary to permit a district to implement flexible scheduling that meets the district's 23 needs and goals without jeopardizing the public school funding for which the district 24 would be ordinarily be eligible under this chapter. 25 Sec. 14.17.610. Distribution of public school funding. (a) The department 26 shall determine the public school funding for each school district in a fiscal year on 27 the basis of the district's student count data reported under AS 14.17.600. On or 28 before the 15th day of each of the first nine months of each fiscal year, one-twelfth 29 of each district's public school funding shall be distributed on the basis of the data 30 reported for the preceding fiscal year. On or before the 15th day of each of the last 31 three months of each fiscal year, one-third of the balance of each district's public
01 school funding shall be distributed, after the balance has been recomputed on the basis 02 of student count and other data reported for the current fiscal year. 03 (b) Distribution of public school funds under (a) of this section shall be made 04 as required under AS 14.17.410. If a district receives more public school funding than 05 it is entitled to receive under this chapter, the district shall immediately remit the 06 amount of overpayment to the commissioner, to be returned to the public school 07 account. The department may make adjustments to a district's public school funding 08 to correct underpayments made in previous fiscal years. 09 (c) Upon an adequate showing of a cash flow shortfall of a district, and in the 10 discretion of the commissioner, the department may make advance payments to a 11 district. The total of advance payments may not exceed the amount of public school 12 funding for which the district is eligible for the fiscal year. 13 Article 4. General Provisions. 14 Sec. 14.17.900. Construction and implementation of chapter. (a) This 15 chapter does not create a debt of the state. Each district shall establish, maintain, and 16 operate under a balanced budget. The state is not responsible for the debts of a school 17 district. 18 (b) Money to carry out the provisions of this chapter may be appropriated 19 annually by the legislature into the public school account. If the amount in the 20 account is insufficient to meet the allocations authorized under AS 14.17.400 - 21 14.17.470 for a fiscal year, public school funding shall be reduced according to 22 AS 14.17.400(b). 23 Sec. 14.17.910. Restrictions governing receipt and expenditure of district 24 money. (a) Each district shall maintain complete financial records of the receipt and 25 disbursement of public school funding, money acquired from local effort, and other 26 money received or held by the district. The records must be in the form required by 27 the department and are subject to audit by the department at a time and place 28 designated by the department. 29 (b) Public school funding provided under this chapter is for general operational 30 purposes of the district. All district money, including public school funding, shall be 31 received, held, allocated, and expended by the district under applicable local law and
01 state and federal constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations, including those 02 related to ethical standards and accounting principles. 03 Sec. 14.17.920. Regulations. The department shall adopt regulations necessary 04 to implement this chapter. 05 Sec. 14.17.990. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context requires 06 otherwise, 07 (1) "ADM or average daily membership" means the aggregate number 08 of full-time equivalent students enrolled in a school district during the student count 09 period for which a determination is being made, divided by the actual number of days 10 that school is in session for the student count period for which the determination is 11 being made; 12 (2) "district" means a city or borough school district or a regional 13 educational attendance area; 14 (3) "district adjusted ADM" means the number resulting from the 15 calculations under AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 16 (4) "district ADM" means the sum of the ADMs in a district; 17 (5) "local contribution" means appropriations and the value of in-kind 18 services made by a district; 19 (6) "public school funding" means money provided under the public 20 school funding program established in this chapter; 21 (7) "taxable real and personal property" means all real and personal 22 property taxable under the laws of the state. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 24 (d) Each public school shall, by May 31 of each year, prepare a report on the 25 school's performance and the performance of the school's students. The report shall 26 be presented to parents, students, and community members at a public meeting [AND 27 FORWARDED TO THE CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE DISTRICT]. 28 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.120(g) is amended to read: 29 (g) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 30 [AS 14.17.250]. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.125(e) is amended to read:
01 (e) In this section, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 02 [AS 14.17.250]. 03 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.150(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) The department may not award a school construction or major maintenance 05 grant under AS 14.11 to a municipality that is a school district or a regional 06 educational attendance area that is not in compliance with (a) of this section. The 07 department shall reduce the amount of public school funding [STATE FOUNDATION 08 AID] under AS 14.17.400 [AS 14.17.021] for which a school district may qualify [,] 09 by the amount, if any, paid by the department under (b) of this section. 10 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.160(f)(2) is amended to read: 11 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250]. 12 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03.260(c) is amended to read: 13 (c) The charter school shall provide the financial and accounting information 14 requested by the local school board or the Department of Education [,] and shall 15 cooperate with the local school district or the department in complying with the 16 requirements of AS 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.190]. 17 * Sec. 9. AS 14.08.101 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 18 (11) employ a chief school administrator. 19 * Sec. 10. AS 14.08.111(3) is amended to read: 20 (3) [EMPLOY A CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR AND] approve 21 the employment of the professional administrators, teachers, and noncertificated 22 personnel necessary to operate its schools; 23 * Sec. 11. AS 14.09.010(b) is repealed and reenacted to read: 24 (b) A school district that enters into a contract described under (a)(1) of this 25 section shall be reimbursed for 26 (1) at least 90 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 27 system if the transportation is provided by the school district; and 28 (2) 100 percent of the cost of operating the student transportation 29 system when the transportation is provided under a contract with the school district. 30 * Sec. 12. AS 14.11.008(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) The required participating share for a municipal school district is based on
01 the district's full value per average daily membership ( ADM ) , which is calculated 02 by dividing the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the 03 district, calculated as described in AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.025(a)(1),] by the district 04 ADM [AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP (ADM)] as defined in AS 14.17.990 05 [AS 14.17.250], for the same fiscal year for which the valuation was made. The 06 municipal district's full value per ADM determines the district's required participating 07 share, as follows: 08 Full Value Per ADM District Participating Share 09 $1 - $100,000 5 percent 10 100,001 - 200,000 10 percent 11 200,001 - 600,000 30 percent 12 over 600,000 35 percent. 13 * Sec. 13. AS 14.14.115(c)(2) is amended to read: 14 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 [AS 14.17.250]. 15 * Sec. 14. AS 14.14.130(a) is amended to read: 16 (a) A [EACH] school board may [SHALL] select and employ a qualified 17 person as the chief school administrator for the district. In this subsection, "employ" 18 includes employment by contract. 19 * Sec. 15. AS 14.14.130(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 21 administrator [OF THE DISTRICT] shall administer the district in accordance with 22 the policies that the school board prescribes by bylaw. 23 * Sec. 16. AS 14.14.130(c) is amended to read: 24 (c) If the district employs a [THE] chief school administrator , the 25 administrator shall select, appoint, and otherwise control all school district employees 26 that serve under the chief school administrator subject to the approval of the school 27 board. 28 * Sec. 17. AS 14.16.020(2) is amended to read: 29 (2) [EMPLOY CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND] approve 30 the employment of [OTHER] personnel necessary to operate state boarding schools; 31 * Sec. 18. AS 14.16.050(a)(2) is amended to read:
01 (2) requirements relating to the public school funding program 02 [STATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION] and the receipt and 03 expenditure of that funding [ASSISTANCE]: 04 (A) AS 14.17.500 [AS 14.17.080] (relating to student count 05 estimates); 06 (B) AS 14.17.505 [AS 14.17.082] (relating to school operating 07 fund balances); 08 (C) AS 14.17.500 - 14.17.910 [AS 14.17.160 - 14.17.220] 09 (setting out the procedure for payment of public school funding [FINANCIAL 10 ASSISTANCE,] and imposing general requirements and limits on money paid); 11 * Sec. 19. AS 14.16.080(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) AS 14.17.440 [AS 14.17.024] applies to the calculation of public school 13 funding [STATE AID] payable for operation of a state boarding school. 14 * Sec. 20. AS 14.20.025 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 14.20.025. Limited teacher certificates. Notwithstanding 16 AS 14.20.020(b), a person may be issued a limited certificate, valid only in the area 17 of expertise for which it is issued, to teach Alaska Native language or culture, military 18 science, or a vocational or technical course for which the board determines by 19 regulation that baccalaureate degree training is not sufficiently available. A limited 20 certificate may be issued under this section only if the school board of the district or 21 regional educational attendance area in which the person will be teaching 22 [, THROUGH THE CHIEF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR,] has requested its issuance. 23 A person who applies for a limited certificate shall demonstrate, as required by 24 regulations adopted by the board, instructional skills and subject matter expertise 25 sufficient to ensure the public that the person is competent as a teacher. The board 26 may require a person issued a limited certificate to undertake academic training as may 27 be required by the board by regulation and make satisfactory progress in the academic 28 training. 29 * Sec. 21. AS 14.20.147(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) When an attendance area is transferred from a currently operating district 31 to, or absorbed into, a new or existing school district, the teachers for the attendance
01 area also shall be transferred unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher or 02 teachers and the chief school administrator of the new district if the district employs 03 a chief school administrator . Accumulated or earned benefits, including [BUT NOT 04 LIMITED TO,] seniority, salary level, tenure, leave, and retirement, accompany the 05 teacher who is transferred. 06 * Sec. 22. AS 14.20.148 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 14.20.148. Intradistrict teacher reassignments. When a teacher is 08 involuntarily transferred or reassigned to a position for which the teacher is qualified, 09 within the district, the teacher's moving expenses shall be paid unless the one-way 10 driving distance is 20 miles or less from the teacher's present place of residence, or 11 unless otherwise mutually agreed by the teacher and chief school administrator of the 12 district if the district employs a chief school administrator . 13 * Sec. 23. AS 14.20.177(a) is amended to read: 14 (a) A school district may implement a layoff plan under this section if it is 15 necessary for the district to reduce the number of tenured teachers because 16 (1) school attendance in the district has decreased; or 17 (2) the state support for [BASIC NEED OF] the school district 18 determined under AS 14.17.410(b)(1) [AS 14.17.021(c) AND ADJUSTED UNDER 19 AS 14.17.225(b)] decreases by three percent or more from the previous year. 20 * Sec. 24. AS 14.30.305 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 14.30.305. State support of programs for children hospitalized or 22 confined to their homes. A child who is hospitalized or confined to home and who 23 receives at least 10 hours of special education and related services per week may be 24 counted as a pupil in average daily membership when computing state support under 25 the public school funding [FOUNDATION] program. 26 * Sec. 25. AS 14.30.347 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 14.30.347. Transportation of exceptional children. When transportation 28 is required to be provided as related services, an exceptional child [CHILDREN] shall 29 be carried with other children if the district provides transportation to other 30 children in the district [,] except when the nature of the [THEIR] physical or mental 31 disability [DISABILITIES] is such that it is in the best interest of the exceptional
01 child [CHILDREN], as determined by the school district, that the child [THEY] be 02 transported separately. State reimbursement for transportation of exceptional children 03 shall be as provided for transportation of all other pupils except that eligibility for 04 reimbursement is not subject to restriction based on the minimum distance between the 05 school and the residence of the exceptional child. 06 * Sec. 26. AS 14.30.650 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 14.30.650. Funding. Each fiscal year the department shall allocate to the 08 agency not less than $85 for each special education student in the state in average 09 daily membership or the equivalent of two percent of the funds appropriated for special 10 education for that fiscal year, whichever is greater. Money to carry out the 11 provisions of this section may be appropriated annually by the legislature. If 12 amounts are insufficient to meet the allocation authorized under this section for 13 a fiscal year, the allocation shall be reduced pro rata. The amount allocated to the 14 agency shall be reduced each fiscal year by the amount contributed by the department 15 to the Teachers' Retirement System (AS 14.25) or the Public Employees' Retirement 16 System (AS 39.35) on behalf of employees of the agency. 17 * Sec. 27. AS 14.36.030(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) A district operating a community school program under an approved plan 19 of operation may receive an annual grant from the state of one-half of one percent of 20 its public school funding [FOUNDATION SUPPORT] or $10,000, whichever is 21 greater. 22 * Sec. 28. AS 29.45.020(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) If a municipality levies and collects property taxes, the governing body 24 shall provide the following notice: 25 "NOTICE TO TAXPAYER 26 For the current fiscal year the (city)(borough) has been allocated the following amount 27 of state aid for school and municipal purposes under the applicable financial assistance 28 Acts: 29 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING [FOUNDATION] 30 PROGRAM [ASSISTANCE] (AS 14.17) $ 31 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT OF SCHOOL
01 CONSTRUCTION DEBT (AS 14.11.100) $ 02 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE EQUALIZATION 03 (AS 29.60.010 - 29.60.080) $ 04 PRIORITY REVENUE SHARING FOR 05 MUNICIPAL SERVICES (AS 29.60.100 - 29.60.180) $ 06 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE COMMUNITIES 07 (AS 29.60.350 - 29.60.375) $ 08 TOTAL AID $ 09 The millage equivalent of this state aid, based on the dollar value of a mill in the 10 municipality during the current assessment year and for the preceding assessment year, 11 is: 12 MILLAGE EQUIVALENT 13 PREVIOUS YEAR THIS YEAR 14 PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING 15 [FOUNDATION] PROGRAM 16 ASSISTANCE . . . . MILLS . . . . MILLS 17 STATE AID FOR RETIREMENT 18 OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 19 DEBT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 20 MUNICIPAL TAX RESOURCE 21 EQUALIZATION . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 22 PRIORITY REVENUE FOR SHARING 23 MUNICIPAL SERVICES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 24 REVENUE SHARING FOR SAFE 25 COMMUNITIES . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS 26 TOTAL MILLAGE 27 EQUIVALENT . . . .MILLS . . . .MILLS" 28 Notice shall be provided by 29 (1) [BY] furnishing a copy of the notice with tax statements mailed for 30 the fiscal year for which aid is received; or 31 (2) [BY] publishing in a newspaper of general circulation in the
01 municipality a copy of the notice once each week for a period of three successive 02 weeks, with publication to occur not later than 45 days after the final adoption of the 03 municipality's budget. 04 * Sec. 29. AS 29.60.030(d) is amended to read: 05 (d) The full and true assessed property value shall be determined by the 06 department in the manner provided for the computation of state aid to education under 07 AS 14.17.510 [AS 14.17.140]. When the determination of locally generated revenue 08 includes revenue of a utility received under AS 29.60.010(c)(1)(E), the full and true 09 assessed property value must include the computed assessed value of the utility, 10 determined by dividing the amount of the payment in place of taxes made by the 11 utility by the millage rate that would apply to the utility if the utility were subject to 12 levy and collection of taxes under AS 29.45. 13 * Sec. 30. AS 36.10.090(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) A local government or school district covered by the provisions of this 15 chapter that is found to be in violation of these provisions may be required to forfeit 16 all or part of the state aid made available for the project in which the violation occurs 17 and in addition may be denied up to 12 months of state revenue sharing or public 18 school funding [FOUNDATION MONEY]. A state department or agency head found 19 to be in violation of this chapter may be required to forfeit the position of department 20 or agency head. 21 * Sec. 31. AS 36.10.125(c) is amended to read: 22 (c) In an action brought under (b) of this section , the court may, in its 23 discretion, order denial of state revenue sharing or public school funding 24 [FOUNDATION MONEY], forfeiture of office or position, or injunctive or other 25 relief. If the court finds for the plaintiff in an action brought under (b) of this section, 26 it may award the plaintiff an amount equal to the actual costs and attorney fees 27 incurred by the plaintiff. 28 * Sec. 32. AS 44.47.305(c) is amended to read: 29 (c) A grant under (a) of this section may not exceed $50 per month for each 30 child the child care facility cares for, or for each full-time equivalent, as determined 31 by the department. The grant shall be adjusted on a geographic basis by the same
01 factor [PERCENTAGES] as funding for a school district is [INSTRUCTIONAL 02 UNIT ALLOTMENTS ARE] adjusted under AS 14.17.460 [AS 14.17.051]. 03 * Sec. 33. AS 14.16.050(a)(1)(G); AS 14.17.010, 14.17.021, 14.17.022, 14.17.024, 04 14.17.025, 14.17.026, 14.17.031, 14.17.041, 14.17.043, 14.17.045, 14.17.047, 14.17.051, 05 14.17.056, 14.17.080, 14.17.082, 14.17.140, 14.17.160, 14.17.170, 14.17.190, 14.17.200, 06 14.17.210, 14.17.220, 14.17.225, 14.17.250; and AS 14.30.315(a) are repealed. 07 * Sec. 34. TRANSITION: TRANSITION FUNDING. (a) Except as provided in (b) and 08 (c) of this section, if, for a fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, or July 1, 1999, a city or 09 borough school district or a regional educational attendance area would receive less public 10 school funding under AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, than the district or area 11 would have received as state aid for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, the district or area 12 is eligible to receive additional public school funding equal to a percentage of the difference 13 between the state aid the district or area would have received for the fiscal year beginning 14 July 1, 1998, and the public school funding the district or area is eligible to receive under 15 AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act, according to the following table: 16 For the fiscal year beginning Percentage of difference 17 July 1, 1998 75 18 July 1, 1999 50. 19 (b) A city or borough school district is not eligible for additional funding authorized 20 under (a) of this section unless, during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1997, the district 21 received the local contribution described under AS 14.17.025(a)(1), as that provision existed 22 on the day before the effective date of this Act. 23 (c) For the purposes of the reduction required under AS 14.17.400(b), enacted by sec. 24 2 of this Act, transition funding authorized under (a) of this section is treated the same as the 25 state share of public school funding under AS 14.17.410, enacted by sec. 2 of this Act. 26 (d) For purposes of this section, "state aid" means state foundation aid distributed 27 under the provisions of AS 14.17, if those provisions had not been repealed by this Act, and 28 additional district support appropriated by the legislature. 29 * Sec. 35. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. (a) To the extent the regulations are not 30 inconsistent with the language and purposes of this Act, regulations relating to state aid for 31 public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the effective date of this
01 section remain in effect as valid regulations implementing this Act; all other regulations 02 relating to state aid for public schools adopted by the Department of Education before the 03 effective date of this section are annulled. The Department of Education may administer and 04 enforce those previously adopted regulations relating to state foundation aid for public schools. 05 (b) The Department of Education shall, by regulation, define the term "school" for 06 purposes of AS 14.17. 07 * Sec. 36. TRANSITION: PROPOSED DISTRICT COST FACTORS. The Department 08 of Education shall submit the initial proposed district cost factors, required under 09 AS 14.17.460(b), enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, to the Alaska State Legislature by January 15, 10 2001. 11 * Sec. 37. TRANSITION: BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION. Notwithstanding 12 AS 14.17.470, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, the base student allocation is as follows: 13 For the fiscal year beginning Base student allocation 14 July 1, 1998 $3,866 15 July 1, 1999 $3,918. 16 * Sec. 38. TRANSITION: SMALL SCHOOLS. For purposes of determining the school 17 size factor under AS 14.17.450, enacted under sec. 2 of this Act, the students in a school 18 smaller than 10 ADM on the effective date of this section shall be included in the largest 19 school in the district existing on the effective date of this section. 20 * Sec. 39. TRANSITION: MINIMUM EXPENDITURE FOR INSTRUCTION. 21 Notwithstanding AS 14.17.520, enacted in sec. 2 of this Act, the minimum expenditure for the 22 instructional component of the school district budget is as follows: 23 For the fiscal year beginning Minimum expenditure 24 July 1, 1998 60 percent 25 July 1, 1999 65 percent. 26 * Sec. 40. This Act takes effect only if an Act providing for mandatory incorporation of 27 boroughs in the unorganized borough is enacted into law and takes effect on or before July 1, 28 1998. 29 * Sec. 41. If this Act takes effect under sec. 40 of this Act, it takes effect July 1, 1998.