CSHB 154(EDC): "An Act providing for the establishment of a statewide early childhood education plan and guidelines."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 154(EDC) 01 "An Act providing for the establishment of a statewide early childhood education plan 02 and guidelines." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The department shall 06 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 07 except the University of Alaska; 08 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 09 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 10 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 11 of the public schools; 12 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 13 governing bodies and personnel; 14 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public
01 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 02 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 03 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 04 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 05 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 06 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 07 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 08 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 09 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 10 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 11 the members of each house; 12 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 13 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure [ASSURE] healthful and 14 safe conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement 15 of physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards 16 for private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 17 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 18 receive direct state or federal funding; 19 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 20 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 21 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 22 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 23 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 24 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 25 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 26 licensed; 27 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 28 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 29 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 30 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 31 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans"
01 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 02 and costs, and final contract documents; 03 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 04 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 05 are no longer attending school; 06 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 07 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 08 school bus driver training course; 09 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 10 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 11 behavior; 12 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 13 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 14 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 15 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 16 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 17 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 18 AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 19 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 20 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in math, 21 reading, and writing as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A); and 22 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 23 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 24 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 25 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(14) or redirecting 26 public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15); 27 (18) assist the Department of Natural Resources in developing and 28 implementing the farm-to-school program established under AS 03.20.100; 29 (19) devise a statewide early childhood education plan for students 30 that 31 (A) incorporates the early learning guidelines adopted by
01 the board under AS 14.07.165(6); 02 (B) provides for effective and efficient coordination with or 03 expansion of optional pre-elementary programs operating in the state, 04 including Head Start, to the extent permitted by law. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 14.07.165 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 14.07.165. Duties. The board shall adopt 07 (1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 08 goals that are consistent with local needs; 09 (2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under 10 AS 14.03.125; 11 (3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 12 (4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 13 state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 14 (5) regulations implementing the secondary school student competency 15 examination provisions of AS 14.03.075, including the criteria and procedure under 16 which a governing body uses a waiver to grant a diploma to a student; criteria 17 regarding granting a waiver must include provisions that a waiver may only be granted 18 for students who enter the system late or have rare or unusual circumstances meriting 19 a waiver; 20 (6) early learning guidelines that support an effective, cost- 21 efficient, and optional pre-elementary program provided under a statewide early 22 childhood education plan approved by the department. 23 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 REPORT: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PLAN. On or before January 15, 26 2012, the Department of Education and Early Development shall prepare and submit a report 27 to the legislature on the early childhood education plan devised under AS 14.07.020(a)(19), 28 added by sec. 1 of this Act.