CSHB 256(EDC): "An Act relating to the power and duties of the Department of Education and Early Development to improve instructional practices; relating to teacher exit surveys; and relating to duties of the state Board of Education and Early Development."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 256(EDC) 01 "An Act relating to the power and duties of the Department of Education and Early 02 Development to improve instructional practices; relating to teacher exit surveys; and 03 relating to duties of the state Board of Education and Early Development." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.03.078 is amended to read: 06 Sec. 14.03.078. Report. The department shall provide to the legislature by 07 February 15 of each year an annual report regarding the progress of each school and 08 school district toward high academic performance by all students. The report required 09 under this section must include 10 (1) information described under AS 14.03.120(d); 11 (2) the number and percentage of students in each school who pass the 12 examination required under AS 14.03.075, and the number who pass each section of 13 the examination; 14 (3) progress of the department
01 (A) toward implementing the school accountability provisions 02 of AS 14.03.123; and 03 (B) in assisting high schools to become accredited; 04 (4) a description of the resources provided to each school and school 05 district for coordinated school improvement activities and staff training in each school 06 and school district; 07 (5) each school district's and each school's progress in aligning 08 curriculum with state education performance standards; 09 (6) a description of the efforts by the department to assist a public 10 school that receives a designation of deficient [OR IN CRISIS]; 11 (7) a description of restoration [INTERVENTION] efforts by each 12 school district and school for students who are not meeting state performance 13 standards; 14 (8) the number and percentage of, and the reasons for, turnover in 15 certificated personnel and superintendents; 16 (9) the number of teachers by district and by school who are teaching 17 outside the teacher's area of endorsement but in areas tested by the high school 18 competency examination. 19 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.123(d) is amended to read: 20 (d) A public school or district that receives a low performance designation 21 under this section shall, with the assistance of the department, prepare and submit to 22 the department a school or district improvement plan, as applicable, in accordance 23 with regulations adopted by the board. The improvement plan must be prepared with 24 the maximum feasible public participation of the community including, as appropriate, 25 interested individuals, teachers, parents, parent organizations, students, tribal 26 organizations, local government representatives, and other community groups. 27 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 28 Sec. 14.03.127. Department accountability. (a) By June 1 of each year, the 29 superintendents of each school district in the state shall provide to the Department of 30 Administration an evaluation of the department that addresses the following matters: 31 (1) whether the department staff were supportive of the district;
01 (2) a description of the support received, if any, from each division of 02 the department and an evaluation of the support; 03 (3) the level of contact the district had with the department, on a rating 04 scale of one to five, with five being an excellent level of contact; 05 (4) an evaluation of the reporting requirements on district activities to 06 the department, including level of burden, necessity, and redundancy of reporting 07 requirements; 08 (5) a statement on how the department may improve services to the 09 district. 10 (b) The Department of Administration shall annually compile the evaluations 11 provided under (a) of this section and provide to the governor, the legislature, and the 12 commissioner of education, in a manner that protects the identity of the 13 superintendents, a comprehensive description of evaluation results. 14 * Sec. 4. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) The department shall 16 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 17 except the University of Alaska; 18 (2) after providing notice and an opportunity for public school and 19 district administrators to participate, study the conditions and needs of the public 20 schools of the state, adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to 21 improve school performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for 22 the improvement of the public schools; the plans adopted or recommended for 23 public schools must 24 (A) include appropriate cultural standards consistent with 25 the 1998 Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools adopted by 26 the Assembly of Alaska Native Educators; 27 (B) require appropriate cultural standards adopted by the 28 board to be included in instructional practices in districts in which 50 29 percent or more of the student population is of Alaska Native heritage; 30 (C) describe intensive early learning opportunities for each 31 district in the state;
01 (D) require an analysis of community involvement in the 02 district and methods for improving community involvement; 03 (E) address teaching capacity, retention, and development 04 and provide for technical assistance to teachers; 05 (F) establish routine evaluations and assistance to ensure 06 that districts develop and maintain elective and career and technical 07 courses; 08 (G) establish standards and timelines for restoration 09 activities after first notifying a district of a low performance designation 10 and offering technical assistance with predictable and research-based 11 strategies tailored to the state to improve performance; 12 (H) describe research-based strategies that target 13 educational performance of low-performing students in the state; 14 (3) employ qualified personnel who shall provide advisory and 15 consultative services to all public school governing bodies and personnel; the services 16 (A) must comply with AS 14.07.030(14); and 17 (B) may not include the use or employment of a trustee; 18 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 19 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 20 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 21 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 22 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 23 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 24 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 25 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 26 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 27 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 28 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 29 the members of each house; 30 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 31 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will assure healthful and safe
01 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 02 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 03 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 04 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 05 receive direct state or federal funding; 06 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 07 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 08 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 09 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 10 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 11 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 12 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 13 licensed; 14 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 15 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 16 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 17 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 18 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 19 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 20 and costs, and final contract documents; 21 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 22 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 23 are no longer attending school; 24 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 25 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 26 school bus driver training course; 27 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 28 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 29 behavior; 30 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 31 under which the department may restore [INTERVENE IN] a school or district to
01 improve instructional practices, as described in (19) of this subsection and 02 AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 03 (A) a notice provision that alerts the school and the district to 04 the deficiencies and the instructional practice changes proposed by the 05 department; 06 (B) an end date for departmental restoration activities 07 [INTERVENTION], as described in AS 14.07.030(14)(A) - (D) [(A) AND 08 (B)] and (15), after the school or district demonstrates three consecutive years 09 of improvement on measures identified as indicators of student success and 10 achievement under AS 14.03.123(f); notwithstanding that a school or 11 district has demonstrated three consecutive years of improvement, the 12 district may, in its discretion, choose to receive restoration services for a 13 fourth year [CONSISTING OF NOT LESS THAN TWO PERCENT 14 INCREASES IN STUDENT PROFICIENCY ON STANDARDS-BASED 15 ASSESSMENTS IN MATHEMATICS, READING, AND WRITING AS 16 PROVIDED IN AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A)]; and 17 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 18 continuing or discontinuing the department's restoration activities 19 [INTERVENTION]; 20 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 21 education before restoring [INTERVENING IN] a school or district under 22 AS 14.07.030(14) or redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15); 23 (18) assist the Department of Natural Resources in developing and 24 implementing the farm-to-school program established under AS 03.20.100; 25 (19) engage in a process of collaborative support to restore and 26 improve school performance when a school is designated as low performing 27 under AS 14.03.123; the process must include 28 (A) for the first school year after the designation of the 29 school as a low-performing school, by 30 (i) August 15, selection by the superintendent of the 31 district and the commissioner of an independent expert to evaluate
01 the areas of business services, board governance, leadership, 02 facilities, human relations, instruction, preparedness of students to 03 learn, or community involvement; the expert shall also evaluate the 04 extent to which the district has implemented the Alaska State 05 Cultural Standards; the expert shall visit the school or district for 06 not more than seven days to conduct the evaluation; 07 (ii) October 15, preparation of a written report by 08 the expert selected under (i) of this subparagraph and distribution 09 of the report to the commissioner, the local school board, and the 10 superintendent; a summary of the report shall be made available to 11 the public by posting the summary on the Internet; 12 (iii) November 15, mandatory selection and hiring of 13 two qualified coaches to advise the district with regard to the needs 14 identified in the evaluation completed under (ii) of this 15 subparagraph; one coach shall be selected jointly by the 16 superintendent and the department, and one coach shall be selected 17 jointly by the local school board and the department; the coaches 18 may advise the district for not more than 20 days in total for each 19 school year for which they are hired; and 20 (iv) June 1, provide to the department, parents, and 21 the legislature and publish on the Internet a summary of the 22 progress of the efforts to restore the school and the observations 23 and recommendations of the coaches hired under (iii) of this 24 subparagraph; 25 (B) for the second school year after the designation of a 26 school as a low-performing school, by 27 (i) September 15, mandatory selection and hiring of 28 two additional qualified coaches to advise the district with regard 29 to the needs identified in the evaluation completed under (A)(ii) of 30 this paragraph; one coach shall be selected by the superintendent, 31 and one coach shall be selected by the local school board, after
01 input from the Association of Alaska School Boards; the coaches 02 may advise the district for not more than 20 days in total for each 03 school year for which they are hired; and 04 (ii) June 1, provide to the state Board of Education 05 and Early Development, the department, parents, and the 06 legislature and publish on the Internet a summary of the progress 07 of the efforts to restore the school and the observations and 08 recommendations of the coaches hired under this subparagraph; 09 (C) for the third school year after the designation of a 10 school as a low-performing school, 11 (i) that the department engage in frequent 12 consultation with the staff at the low-performing school and with 13 the superintendent of the district in which the school is located; 14 (ii) that the department establish a school 15 improvement team for the purpose of advising the commissioner 16 on restoration activities; the team consists of the commissioner or 17 the commissioner's designee, a member of the state Board of 18 Education and Early Development, the superintendent of the 19 district, the four qualified coaches selected under (A) and (B) of 20 this paragraph, and one member of the local school board; the 21 team shall consider and evaluate evidence at the school of best 22 practices in the state for business services, instructional practices, 23 local school board governance, district leadership, facilities 24 maintenance, human resources, implementation of Alaska State 25 Cultural Standards, and preparedness of students to learn; 26 (iii) that the team established under (ii) of this 27 subparagraph develop a three-year plan to restore the school; 28 during the three-year plan, the team may redirect funding in the 29 district budget to improve instruction; the superintendent shall 30 implement the plan developed by the team; each year, at the end of 31 the school year, the team shall evaluate and adjust the plan as the
01 team determines necessary. 02 * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.030(14) is amended to read: 03 (14) restore [NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF 04 THIS TITLE, INTERVENE IN] a school or district to improve instructional practices 05 under standards established by the department in regulation; the regulations must be 06 consistent with federal and state law and the superior court's findings, dated 07 February 4, 2009, in Moore et al. v. State of Alaska, No. 3AN-04-9756 CI, 08 including [DIRECTING THE] 09 (A) [EMPLOYEES IDENTIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT 10 TO EXERCISE SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY FOR INSTRUCTIONAL 11 PRACTICES IN THE DISTRICT OR IN A SPECIFIED SCHOOL; 12 (B)] directing the use of appropriations under this title for 13 distribution to a district as necessary under AS 14.07.020(a)(19); 14 (B) providing for training and technical support to a low- 15 performing school or district as necessary to implement the school or 16 district improvement plan submitted under AS 14.03.123(d); 17 (C) providing for regular monitoring, evaluation, and 18 modification of improvement efforts that are tailored to the strengths and 19 weaknesses of the school or district; 20 (D) providing for the availability of courses and remedial 21 programs necessary for all students attending a low-performing school to 22 meet state standards for graduation from secondary school in the expected 23 time frame; 24 * Sec. 6. AS 14.07.030(15) is repealed and reenacted to read: 25 (15) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, redirect public 26 school funding under AS 14.17 appropriated for distribution to a school district, after 27 providing notice to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over education and to 28 the district and an opportunity for the district to respond, if 29 (A) the department has assembled a school improvement team 30 under AS 14.07.020(a)(19) that has requested the funding to be redirected for a 31 specified purpose related to improvement of instructional practices in a school
01 or district that is in restoration status under (14) of this section; and 02 (B) the department has established a timeline for redirecting the 03 funding to the district after the school improvement team determines that the 04 improvement of instructional practices has satisfactorily occurred; 05 * Sec. 7. AS 14.07.165 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 06 (b) In addition to the duties enumerated in (a) of this section, the board shall 07 (1) review and ensure departmental compliance with state law, 08 including departmental duties related to school monitoring, improvement, and 09 restoration provisions under AS 14.03.123, AS 14.07.020, and 14.07.030; 10 (2) provide to a superintendent and local school board that are affected 11 by an item scheduled for consideration on a board meeting agenda not less than 10 12 days' notice and an opportunity to respond. 13 * Sec. 8. AS 14.20.130 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (b) A contract for a teacher issued after the effective date of this Act, must 15 contain a term requiring a teacher leaving employment to complete the department's 16 exit survey for teachers.