HB 128: "An Act relating to prekindergarten programs within a school district; relating to pre-elementary students and pre-elementary schools; providing for the establishment of a statewide early childhood education plan; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 128 01 "An Act relating to prekindergarten programs within a school district; relating to pre- 02 elementary students and pre-elementary schools; providing for the establishment of a 03 statewide early childhood education plan; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.03.060(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, an elementary school consists of 07 grades kindergarten through grade eight or any appropriate combination of grades 08 within this range, and a prekindergarten program provided by a school district 09 under AS 14.03.065. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.060(e) is amended to read: 11 (e) In addition to the grades enumerated in (a) of this section, an elementary 12 school consists of a prekindergarten [PRE-ELEMENTARY] program supervised by 13 the department under AS 14.07.020(a)(8), operated by the department as a head start 14 program under AS 14.38.010, or located in a public school [FOR FEDERAL
01 FUNDING PURPOSES. EXCEPT FOR A CHILD WITH A DISABILITY WHO IS 02 RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION OR RELATED SERVICES UNDER 03 AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350, PRE-ELEMENTARY STUDENTS MAY NOT BE 04 COUNTED IN A SCHOOL'S AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP UNDER 05 AS 14.17]. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 07 Sec. 14.03.065. Prekindergarten program. (a) A school district may provide 08 a prekindergarten program for students who are four years of age on or before 09 September 1 following the beginning of the school year and who reside in the district 10 if the program is 11 (1) optional for a student; 12 (2) supervised by the department under AS 14.07.020(a)(8); and 13 (3) consistent with regulations adopted by the board under 14 AS 14.07.165. 15 (b) A student who is enrolled in and attends a prekindergarten program 16 provided by a district shall be counted as not more than a half-time student in the 17 district average daily membership count estimate under AS 14.17.500. 18 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.080 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (g) A child who is four years of age on or before September 1 following the 20 beginning of the school year and who is under school age may enter a public school 21 prekindergarten program. 22 * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) The department shall 24 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 25 except the University of Alaska; 26 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 27 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 28 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 29 of the public schools; 30 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 31 governing bodies and personnel;
01 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 02 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 03 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 04 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 05 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in detention 06 facilities in the state during the period of detention; 07 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 08 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 09 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 10 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 11 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 12 the members of each house; 13 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 14 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure [ASSURE] healthful and 15 safe conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement 16 of physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards 17 for private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 18 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools and 19 district prekindergarten programs that receive direct state or federal funding; 20 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 21 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 22 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 23 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 24 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 25 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 26 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 27 licensed; 28 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 29 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 30 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 31 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school
01 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 02 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 03 and costs, and final contract documents; 04 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 05 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 06 are no longer attending school; 07 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 08 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 09 school bus driver training course; 10 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 11 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 12 behavior; 13 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 14 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 15 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(14) or (15); the regulations must include 16 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 17 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 18 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 19 AS 14.07.030(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 20 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 21 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in 22 mathematics, reading, and writing as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(2)(A); and 23 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 24 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 25 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 26 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(14) or redirecting 27 public school funding under AS 14.07.030(15); 28 (18) assist the Department of Natural Resources in developing and 29 implementing the farm-to-school program established under AS 03.20.100; 30 (19) devise a statewide early childhood education plan for students 31 that
01 (A) incorporates the model curriculum developed by the 02 department under AS 14.07.030(13); 03 (B) provides for effective and efficient coordination with or 04 expansion of optional prekindergarten programs operating in the state, 05 including Head Start, to the extent permitted by law. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 14.07.020(c) is amended to read: 07 (c) In this section, "pre-elementary school" means a school for children 08 [AGES] three through five years of age, if the school's primary function is 09 educational, and a prekindergarten program for children four years of age that is 10 provided by a school district. 11 * Sec. 7. AS 14.07.165 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 14.07.165. Duties. The board shall adopt 13 (1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 14 goals that are consistent with local needs; 15 (2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under 16 AS 14.03.125; 17 (3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 18 (4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 19 state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 20 (5) regulations implementing the secondary school student competency 21 examination provisions of AS 14.03.075, including the criteria and procedure under 22 which a governing body uses a waiver to grant a diploma to a student; criteria 23 regarding granting a waiver must include provisions that a waiver may only be granted 24 for students who enter the system late or have rare or unusual circumstances meriting 25 a waiver; 26 (6) regulations for the implementation of a prekindergarten 27 program by a school district using the model curriculum developed by the 28 department under AS 14.07.030(13). 29 * Sec. 8. AS 14.17.905(a) is amended to read: 30 (a) For purposes of this chapter, the determination of the number of schools in 31 a district is subject to the following:
01 (1) a community with an ADM of at least 10, but not more than 100, 02 shall be counted as one school; 03 (2) a community with an ADM of at least 101, but not more than 425, 04 shall be counted as 05 (A) one elementary school, which includes those students in 06 grades kindergarten through six, and, except as provided in (c) of this 07 section, a prekindergarten program provided by a school district for 08 students four years of age; and 09 (B) one secondary school, which includes students in grades 10 seven through 12; 11 (3) in a community with an ADM of greater than 425, each facility that 12 is administered as a separate school shall be counted as one school, except that each 13 alternative school with an ADM of less than 175 shall be counted as a part of the 14 school in the district with the highest ADM. 15 * Sec. 9. AS 14.17.905 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 16 (c) A school district may not include in the average daily membership of a 17 school students who are four years of age if the students are enrolled in a program that 18 receives state funding other than funding under this chapter. 19 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 20 read: 21 REPORT: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PLAN. On or before January 15, 22 2015, the Department of Education and Early Development shall prepare and submit a report 23 to the legislature on the early childhood education plan devised under AS 14.07.020(a)(19), 24 added by sec. 5 of this Act. 25 * Sec. 11. This Act takes effect July 1, 2014.