CSSB 225(EDC): "An Act relating to a paraprofessional training program; creating a limited teacher resident certificate; creating a teacher residency program; relating to requirements to issue a teacher certificate; relating to subject-matter expert limited teacher certificates; relating to limited teacher certificates; creating a teacher registered apprenticeship program; and creating a teacher recruitment and retention fund."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 225(EDC) 01 "An Act relating to a paraprofessional training program; creating a limited teacher 02 resident certificate; creating a teacher residency program; relating to requirements to 03 issue a teacher certificate; relating to subject-matter expert limited teacher certificates; 04 relating to limited teacher certificates; creating a teacher registered apprenticeship 05 program; and creating a teacher recruitment and retention fund." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) The department shall 09 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 10 except the University of Alaska; 11 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 12 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 13 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement
01 of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 02 develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 03 preparatory courses; 04 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 05 governing bodies and personnel; 06 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 07 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 08 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 09 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social 10 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile 11 detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in 12 AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 13 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 14 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 15 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 16 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 17 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 18 the members of each house; 19 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 20 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 21 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 22 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 23 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 24 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that 25 receive direct state or federal funding; 26 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 27 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 28 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 29 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 30 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 31 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this
01 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 02 licensed; 03 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 04 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 05 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 06 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 07 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 08 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 09 and costs, and final contract documents; 10 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 11 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 12 are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 13 unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 14 will lead to employment opportunities; 15 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 16 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 17 school bus driver training course; 18 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 19 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 20 behavior; 21 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, 22 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 23 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 24 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 25 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 26 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 27 AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 28 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 29 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 30 arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 31 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for
01 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 02 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 03 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 04 redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 05 (18) collaborate with the University of Alaska and districts to 06 establish a paraprofessional training program for districts designed to prepare 07 high school students for entry into the teacher registered apprenticeship program 08 established in AS 14.20.700. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Sec. 14.20.013. Limited teacher resident certificate. (a) Notwithstanding 11 AS 14.20.020, the department shall issue a limited teacher resident certificate to a 12 person who meets the requirements of (b) of this section. 13 (b) To be eligible for a limited teacher resident certificate, a person must 14 (1) either 15 (A) hold a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher 16 education accredited by a recognized regional or national accrediting 17 association or approved by the commissioner and be currently enrolled in an 18 approved 19 (i) post-baccalaureate teacher education program at a 20 nationally or regionally accredited institution meeting the requirements 21 of AS 14.20.020(b) that provides for completion of the regular teacher 22 certificate education requirements within three years after receipt of a 23 limited teacher resident certificate under this section; or 24 (ii) nontraditional or alternative teacher education 25 program; or 26 (B) be currently enrolled in the final year of a baccalaureate 27 degree teacher education program at an institution of higher education 28 accredited by a recognized regional or national accrediting association or 29 approved by the commissioner; 30 (2) have submitted fingerprints and the fees required by the 31 Department of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and
01 a national criminal history record check to the department; the department must have 02 submitted the fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public Safety for a report of 03 criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record 04 check under AS 12.62.400, and the person must have been found by the department to 05 be suitable for employment as a teacher under AS 14.20.020(f); and 06 (3) have taken the competency examination or examinations described 07 in AS 14.20.020(i). 08 (c) A limited teacher resident certificate is valid for one school year and only 09 valid while a teacher resident is participating in the teacher residency program 10 established under AS 14.20.014. A limited teacher resident certificate may be renewed 11 for two additional school years upon a showing of substantial progress toward 12 completion of a teacher education program required under (b)(1) of this section and 13 continued participation in the teacher residency program under AS 14.20.014. In this 14 subsection, "teacher resident" means a teacher qualified to teach under (b) of this 15 section. 16 (d) The department shall adopt regulations necessary to implement this section 17 and shall consult with school districts, regional educational attendance areas, the 18 University of Alaska, and other stakeholders before adopting regulations as required 19 under this subsection. 20 (e) The board shall establish standards for the approval of nontraditional and 21 alternative teacher education programs described in (b)(1)(A)(ii) of this section. The 22 standards must be comparable to the standards for approving institutions of higher 23 education under AS 14.20.020(b). 24 Sec. 14.20.014. Teacher residency program. (a) The teacher residency 25 program is established in the department. The department shall adopt regulations to 26 establish, implement, and govern the program. At a minimum, the regulations must 27 (1) establish a program designed to help a teacher resident work as a 28 teacher while progressing toward completion of the teacher education program 29 required under AS 14.20.013(b)(1); the program must require that, during a teacher 30 resident's first year of participation in the program, the teacher resident teach in 31 conjunction with a program mentor who is an experienced teacher;
01 (2) allow a school district or a regional educational attendance area to 02 participate in the program if the school district or regional educational attendance area 03 provides compensation to a teacher resident who is participating in the program and 04 working for the school district or regional educational attendance area under the 05 program; and 06 (3) require that a school district and a regional educational attendance 07 area participating in the program ensure that a program mentor provided by the 08 department under this section is trained in accordance with the standards established 09 by the board under (e) of this section. 10 (b) The department shall 11 (1) provide each teacher resident participating in the program with a 12 program mentor who is an experienced teacher and who will teach in conjunction with 13 the teacher resident; 14 (2) help a school district or a regional educational attendance area meet 15 the standards for the training of program mentors established by the board under (d) of 16 this section; and 17 (3) help place a teacher resident in a school district or regional 18 educational attendance area where the teacher resident will work as a teacher while 19 progressing toward completion of the teacher education program required under 20 AS 14.20.013(b)(1). 21 (c) Before adopting regulations under (a) of this section, the department shall 22 consult with school districts, regional educational attendance areas, the University of 23 Alaska, and other stakeholders. 24 (d) A person employed as a teacher resident under this section is considered a 25 certificated employee for purposes of AS 14.25 (teachers' retirement system). 26 Employment as a teacher resident under this section counts as employment for 27 purposes of acquiring tenure under AS 14.20.150; however, a teacher resident is not 28 entitled to tenure until the teacher resident receives a teacher certificate under 29 AS 14.20.020. 30 (e) The board shall establish standards for the training of program mentors as 31 described in this section.
01 (f) In this section, 02 (1) "program" means the teacher residency program established under 03 this section; 04 (2) "teacher resident" means a teacher qualified to teach under 05 AS 14.20.013(b). 06 * Sec. 3. AS 14.20.020(h) is amended to read: 07 (h) A person is not eligible for a teacher certificate unless the person has 08 completed the coursework, training, and examinations [THREE SEMESTER 09 HOURS] in Alaska studies and [THREE SEMESTER HOURS] in multicultural 10 education or cross-cultural communications as required by the board by regulation. 11 However, the commissioner may issue a provisional certificate, valid for not [NO] 12 longer than two years, to an applicant who has not completed the coursework, 13 training, and examinations [SEMESTER HOURS] required under this subsection at 14 the time of application. A school district or regional educational attendance area 15 may establish coursework, training, and examination requirements that are more 16 stringent than the coursework, training, and examinations required under this 17 subsection. 18 * Sec. 4. AS 14.20.020(i) is amended to read: 19 (i) Beginning on July 1, 1998, a person is not eligible for an initial regular 20 teacher certificate unless the person has taken and successfully completed a 21 competency examination or examinations designated, at the time the person took the 22 test, by the board, or the person has demonstrated competency through an 23 alternative method under this subsection. The board shall review nationally 24 recognized examinations that are designed to test the competency of new teachers and 25 shall designate those examinations that it finds adequately test the skills and abilities 26 of new teachers. For each examination designated under this subsection, the board 27 shall establish the minimum acceptable level of performance. The board may 28 establish an alternative method to test the competency, skills, and abilities of new 29 teachers who have taken but have not successfully completed the competency 30 examination or examinations designated by the board under this subsection. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 14.20.022(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) To be eligible for a subject-matter expert limited teacher certificate, a 02 person shall 03 (1) hold at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher 04 education accredited by a recognized regional or national accrediting association or 05 approved by the commissioner and 06 (A) have majored or minored in the subject that the person will 07 be teaching; [OR] 08 (B) have at least five years of experience in the subject matter 09 that the person will be teaching; or 10 (C) have achieved a passing score, as defined by 11 department regulations, on a subject–matter examination approved by the 12 board; 13 (2) have submitted fingerprints and the fees required by the 14 Department of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and 15 a national criminal history record check to the department; the department must have 16 submitted the fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public Safety for a report of 17 criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record 18 check under AS 12.62.400 and the person must have been found by the department to 19 be suitable for employment as a teacher under AS 14.20.020(f); [AND] 20 (3) be currently enrolled in an approved 21 (A) post-baccalaureate teacher education program at a 22 nationally or regionally accredited institution meeting the requirements of 23 AS 14.20.020(b) that provides for completion of the regular teacher certificate 24 education requirements within three [TWO] years after receipt of a subject- 25 matter expert limited teacher certificate under this section; or 26 (B) nontraditional or alternative teacher education 27 program; and 28 (4) have taken the competency examination or examinations 29 described in AS 14.20.020(i). 30 * Sec. 6. AS 14.20.022(d) is amended to read: 31 (d) A subject-matter expert limited teacher certificate is valid for one school
01 year and may be renewed for two [ONE] additional school years [YEAR] upon a 02 showing of substantial progress toward [TOWARDS] completion of a [THE] teacher 03 education program required under (b)(3) of this section. 04 * Sec. 7. AS 14.20.022(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) A school district or regional educational attendance area that employs a 06 subject-matter expert teacher shall provide a mentor who is an experienced teacher for 07 the subject-matter expert teacher for at least the first two years [YEAR] of the 08 subject-matter expert teacher's employment in the school district or regional 09 educational attendance area. 10 * Sec. 8. AS 14.20.022 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11 (i) The board shall establish standards for the approval of nontraditional and 12 alternative teacher education programs described in (b)(3)(B) of this section. The 13 standards must be comparable to the standards for approving institutions of higher 14 education under AS 14.20.020(b). 15 * Sec. 9. AS 14.20.025 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 14.20.025. Limited teacher certificates. Notwithstanding 17 AS 14.20.020(b), a person may be issued a limited certificate, valid only in the area of 18 expertise for which it is issued, to teach Alaska Native language or culture, military 19 science, or a vocational or technical course [FOR WHICH THE BOARD 20 DETERMINES BY REGULATION THAT BACCALAUREATE DEGREE 21 TRAINING IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY AVAILABLE]. A limited certificate may be 22 issued under this section only if the school board of the district or regional educational 23 attendance area in which the person will be teaching has requested its issuance. A 24 person who applies for a limited certificate shall demonstrate, as required by 25 regulations adopted by the board, instructional skills and subject matter expertise 26 sufficient to ensure the public that the person is competent as a teacher. The board 27 may require a person issued a limited certificate to undertake academic training as 28 may be required by the board by regulation and make satisfactory progress in the 29 academic training. 30 * Sec. 10. AS 14.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 31 Article 8. Teacher Registered Apprenticeship Program.
01 Sec. 14.20.700. Teacher registered apprenticeship program. (a) The teacher 02 registered apprenticeship program is established in the department. 03 (b) The department shall 04 (1) adopt regulations to establish, implement, and govern the program; 05 at a minimum, the regulations must establish 06 (A) a program for school districts designed to help 07 paraprofessionals or persons who possess a valid limited teacher certificate 08 issued under AS 14.20.025 continue to work as a paraprofessional or teacher 09 under a limited teacher certificate issued under AS 14.20.025 while earning 10 credit toward a bachelor's degree and teaching certification; the program must 11 (i) be a multi-year program designed for a person who 12 has not yet obtained a bachelor's degree; 13 (ii) include tiered compensation and responsibilities that 14 increase as the participant gains pedagogical expertise; and 15 (iii) be designed to allow participants who successfully 16 complete the program to obtain a teacher certificate; and 17 (B) program standards that meet the requirements necessary to 18 qualify the program as a registered apprenticeship program under 29 U.S.C. 50 19 - 50c (National Apprenticeship Act); 20 (2) establish a standard form a school district may use to apply to 21 register the program as a registered apprenticeship program under 29 U.S.C. 50 - 50c 22 (National Apprenticeship Act); 23 (3) consult with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development 24 and the United States Department of Labor before establishing the standard form 25 described in (2) of this subsection; and 26 (4) in conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce 27 Development, help school districts 28 (A) develop programs established under this section; and 29 (B) secure funding for the programs from sources other than 30 the state. 31 (c) A school district may apply to register a program established under this
01 section as a registered apprenticeship program under 29 U.S.C. 50 - 50c (National 02 Apprenticeship Act). A school district may use the standard form established by the 03 department under (b)(2) of this section to apply under this subsection. 04 (d) In this section, "program" means the teacher registered apprenticeship 05 program. 06 Sec. 14.20.710. Teacher recruitment and retention fund. (a) The teacher 07 recruitment and retention fund is established in the general fund for the purpose of 08 providing grants under (b) of this section. The fund consists of money appropriated to 09 it by the legislature, including grants and donations, money from other sources, and 10 interest earned on money in the fund. Appropriations to the fund do not lapse. 11 (b) Money in the fund may be appropriated for the department to provide 12 grants to nonprofit organizations that advance recruitment and retention efforts in the 13 state and to provide grants to school districts for the school districts to design, 14 develop, implement, or fund 15 (1) teacher registered apprenticeship programs; 16 (2) teacher residency programs; 17 (3) alternative pathway programs; 18 (4) student loan repayment; 19 (5) housing stipends; 20 (6) cost of living subsidies; 21 (7) recruitment bonuses; 22 (8) longevity bonuses; 23 (9) mentorship coaching; 24 (10) teacher training; 25 (11) professional development for superintendents, principals, and 26 other school administrators; 27 (12) continuing education; and 28 (13) other programs approved by the department that are likely to 29 improve teacher recruitment and reduce teacher turnover. 30 (c) The department shall 31 (1) apply for and use funds from the fund to obtain private and federal
01 grants for the purposes under AS 14.20.700 and this section; 02 (2) help school districts complete grant applications for a grant under 03 (b) of this section; 04 (3) award grants under (b) of this section based on a scoring matrix 05 established by the department in regulation; the scoring matrix must give the most 06 weight to applications from school districts that 07 (A) have the greatest need for a grant; and 08 (B) will use the grant money for purposes that most greatly 09 benefit student performance through improved teacher recruitment and 10 retention rates. 11 (d) The department may require that a school district provide matching funds 12 for the implementation and operation of the program for which the school district 13 requests the grant. The matching funds may come from private sources, including a 14 corporation organized under 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. (Alaska Native Claims Settlement 15 Act). 16 (e) The department shall, after each award cycle, provide to each school 17 district a copy of each grant application that resulted in an award of a grant under (b) 18 of this section for the purpose of spreading innovative ideas across the state. 19 (f) In this section, "fund" means the teacher recruitment and retention fund. 20 * Sec. 11. AS 37.05.146(c) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 21 (80) the teacher recruitment and retention fund under AS 14.20.710. 22 * Sec. 12. AS 14.16.050(a)(3)(C); AS 14.20.022(c), and 14.20.220 are repealed. 23 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 REPORT ON STUDY OF TEACHER HOUSING NEEDS. The Department of 26 Education and Early Development shall conduct a study that assesses the needs for teacher 27 housing in rural areas of the state. The study must include a projection of future teacher 28 housing needs in rural areas of the state, a plan to meet those needs, and identification of the 29 annual appropriations required to satisfy the identified needs. The Department of Education 30 and Early Development shall collaborate with the Department of Labor and Workforce 31 Development to determine the projection of future teacher housing needs as part of the study.
01 The Department of Education and Early Development shall collaborate with the Alaska 02 Housing Finance Corporation and school districts in the state to develop the plan to meet the 03 needs for teacher housing identified in the study. Not later than December 31, 2023, the 04 Department of Education and Early Development shall submit a report on the study to the 05 senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that 06 the report is available.