SCS CSHB 57(FIN) am S(reengrossed): "An Act relating to maximum classroom sizes in public schools; relating to education reports; relating to charter schools; relating to student transportation funding; relating to secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding; relating to the base student allocation; relating to reading proficiency incentive grants; relating to wireless telecommunications devices in public schools; relating to the use of tax revenue from highly digitized businesses; relating to the duties of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development; establishing the Task Force on Education Funding; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 57(FIN) am S(reengrossed) 01 "An Act relating to maximum classroom sizes in public schools; relating to education 02 reports; relating to charter schools; relating to student transportation funding; relating 03 to secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding; relating to the base 04 student allocation; relating to reading proficiency incentive grants; relating to wireless 05 telecommunications devices in public schools; relating to the use of tax revenue from 06 highly digitized businesses; relating to the duties of the Department of Labor and 07 Workforce Development; establishing the Task Force on Education Funding; and 08 providing for an effective date." 09 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 10 * Section 1. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 11 Sec. 14.03.065. Maximum classroom size. Each school district shall establish 12 and make available to the public a target average class size policy for each grade level. The 13 target average class size for pre-kindergarten through grade six may not exceed 23 and the
01 target average class size for grades seven through 12 may not exceed 30. The policy may 02 exclude mixed grade classes and courses in art, library, music, computer science, vocational- 03 technical, and physical education. The policy must include procedures to reduce class sizes 04 when the school district determines a reduction is appropriate. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.120(g) is amended to read: 06 (g) To the extent allowable under state and federal privacy laws, each district 07 shall annually report to the department information from the previous school year 08 regarding 09 (1) the number of students and teaching staff assigned to each 10 classroom in grades kindergarten through 12 [THREE]; 11 (2) the number and percentage of students 12 (A) in grades kindergarten through three who demonstrated 13 improvement on expected grade-level skills on the statewide screening tool; 14 (B) in grades kindergarten through three who performed below 15 expected grade-level skills on the statewide screening tool, by grade; 16 (C) in grades kindergarten through three who did not progress 17 to the next grade and the reasons the students did not progress; 18 (D) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills to 19 progress to grade four based on the statewide screening tool; 20 (E) in grade three who progressed to grade four based on a 21 waiver under AS 14.30.765(f); 22 (F) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills to 23 progress to grade four based on an alternative standardized reading screening; 24 (G) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills to 25 progress to grade four based on a student reading portfolio; 26 (3) the performance on the statewide screening tool of students in a 27 grade above grade three who did not progress to grade four or who progressed to grade four 28 based on a waiver under AS 14.30.765(f). 29 * Sec 3. AS 14.03.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 30 (k) The department shall collaborate with the Department of Labor and 31 Workforce Development under AS 44.31.020 to gather data on the progress of each
01 high school graduating class in a district by collecting career, postsecondary 02 education, and residency data on each student in the graduating class. The departments 03 shall gather the data every five years for 20 years after the high school graduation date 04 of the class. 05 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.250(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) A local school board shall prescribe an application procedure for the 07 establishment of a charter school in that school district. The application procedure 08 must include provisions for an academic policy committee consisting of parents of 09 students attending the school, teachers, and school employees and a proposed form for 10 a contract between a charter school and the local school board, setting out the contract 11 elements required under AS 14.03.255(c). The application procedure must allow an 12 application to be submitted at any time during a school year for the following 13 school year. A local school board shall announce the deadline to submit an 14 application for establishment of a charter school for the following school year. 15 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.253(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) In an appeal to the state Board of Education and Early Development of a 17 denial of a charter school application under (a)(3) of this section, the state board shall 18 determine, based on the record, whether the commissioner's findings are supported by 19 substantial evidence and whether the decision is contrary to law. The state board shall 20 issue a written decision within 45 [90] days after the state board receives an appeal. 21 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.255(c) is amended to read: 22 (c) A charter school shall operate under a contract between the charter school 23 and the local school board. A contract must contain the following provisions: 24 (1) a description of the educational program; 25 (2) specific levels of achievement for the education program; 26 (3) admission policies and procedures; 27 (4) administrative policies; 28 (5) a statement of the charter school's funding allocation from the local 29 school board and costs assignable to the charter school program budget; 30 (6) the method by which the charter school will account for receipts 31 and expenditures;
01 (7) the location and description of the facility; 02 (8) the name of the teacher, or teachers, who, by agreement between 03 the charter school and the teacher, will teach in the charter school; 04 (9) the teacher-to-student ratio; 05 (10) the number of students served; 06 (11) the term of the contract, not to exceed a term of 10 years; 07 (12) a termination clause providing that the contract may be terminated 08 by the local school board for the failure of the charter school to meet educational 09 achievement goals or fiscal management standards, or for other good cause; 10 (13) a clause providing that the local school board may only 11 terminate a contract under the standards and procedures established in 12 AS 14.03.256; 13 (14) a statement that the charter school will comply with all state and 14 federal requirements for receipt and use of public money; 15 (15) [(14)] other requirements or exemptions agreed on [UPON] by 16 the charter school and the local school board. 17 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.255 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18 (e) A local school board may establish simplified procedures and standards for 19 a renewal of a contract in good standing, as defined by the local school board, between 20 the local school board and a charter school. 21 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 22 Sec. 14.03.256. Charter school termination. (a) A local school board may 23 terminate a contract between the local school board and a charter school only if the 24 charter school has 25 (1) failed to comply with a condition or material term of the contract or 26 AS 14.03.250 - 14.03.290; or 27 (2) intentionally or fraudulently misrepresented, in whole or in part, 28 material facts or circumstances upon which the contract was made. 29 (b) Before termination of a contract under this section, the local school board 30 shall give the charter school written notice of the local school board's intent to 31 terminate the contract. The local school board may also provide the charter school
01 with a reasonable opportunity, as determined by the local school board, to cure any 02 deficiency that is the basis for the termination if the local school board determines that 03 curing the deficiency is appropriate under the circumstances. 04 (c) A charter school whose contract is terminated under this section may file 05 an appeal with the superior court under the Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure. 06 * Sec. 9. AS 14.09.010(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 07 (a) A school district that provides student transportation services for the 08 transportation of students who reside a distance from established schools is eligible to 09 receive funding for operating or subcontracting the operation of the transportation 10 system for students to and from the schools within the student's transportation service 11 area. Subject to appropriation, the amount of funding provided by the state for 12 operating the student transportation system is the amount of a school district's ADM, 13 less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during the current fiscal year, 14 multiplied by the per student amount for the school district as follows, for the school 15 years beginning July 1, 2025: 16 DISTRICT PER STUDENT AMOUNT 17 Alaska Gateway $2,529 18 Aleutians East 377 19 Anchorage 529 20 Annette Island 221 21 Bering Strait 59 22 Bristol Bay 3,247 23 Chatham 341 24 Copper River 1,928 25 Cordova 408 26 Craig 514 27 Delta/Greely 2,013 28 Denali 2,197 29 Dillingham 1,480 30 Fairbanks 992 31 Galena 309
01 Haines 761 02 Hoonah 363 03 Iditarod 257 04 Juneau 733 05 Kake 330 06 Kashunamiut 6 07 Kenai Peninsula 1,112 08 Ketchikan 883 09 Klawock 710 10 Kodiak Island 971 11 Kuspuk 794 12 Lake and Peninsula 466 13 Lower Kuskokwim 337 14 Lower Yukon 1 15 Matanuska-Susitna 1,106 16 Nenana 714 17 Nome 755 18 North Slope 1,361 19 Northwest Arctic 30 20 Pelican 88 21 Petersburg 455 22 Saint Mary's 234 23 Sitka 520 24 Skagway 44 25 Southeast Island 1,404 26 Southwest Region 726 27 Unalaska 788 28 Valdez 894 29 Wrangell 851 30 Yakutat 904 31 Yukon Flats 321
01 Yukon/Koyukuk 364 02 Yupiit 2. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 14.17.420(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) As a component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special 05 needs and secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding and may be 06 eligible for intensive services funding as follows: 07 (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district 08 in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, 09 and bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 10 shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 11 (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is 12 eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding 13 for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is 14 enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each such student, intensive services 15 funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by 13; 16 (3) in addition to the special needs and intensive services funding 17 available under (1) and (2) of this subsection, secondary school vocational and 18 technical instruction funding is available to assist districts in providing vocational and 19 technical instruction to students who are enrolled in a secondary school; a secondary 20 school vocational and technical instruction funding factor of 1.023 [1.015] shall be 21 applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); in this paragraph, "vocational and technical 22 instruction" excludes costs associated with 23 (A) administrative expenses; and 24 (B) instruction in general literacy, mathematics, and job 25 readiness skills. 26 * Sec. 11. AS 14.17.420 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (d) If the legislature increases the secondary school vocational and technical 28 instruction funding factor under (a)(3) of this section, a district shall budget for and 29 spend on secondary school vocational and technical instruction an amount equal to the 30 increase in the funds generated for the district by the increase to the secondary school 31 vocational and technical instruction funding factor under (a)(3) of this section."
01 * Sec. 12. AS 14.17.470 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is $6,660 03 [$5,960]. 04 * Sec. 13. AS 14.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 14.30.773. Reading proficiency incentive grants. (a) Subject to 06 appropriation, a school district is eligible to receive a reading proficiency incentive 07 grant of not less than $450 for each student in kindergarten through grade six who, at 08 the end of the school year, 09 (1) performs at grade-level reading proficiency; or 10 (2) demonstrates improvement on a reading screening tool approved 11 by the department, on a standards-based assessment in language arts approved by the 12 department, or on a student portfolio in language arts approved by the department. 13 (b) If insufficient funding is appropriated to provide all grants authorized 14 under this section, the grants shall be distributed pro rata to eligible school districts. 15 * Sec. 14. AS 14.33 is amended by adding a new section to read: 16 Article 5. Wireless Telecommunications Devices. 17 Sec. 14.33.300. Wireless telecommunications device policy. (a) Each school 18 district shall adopt a policy that regulates the possession and use of nonschool-issued 19 wireless telecommunications devices during regular school hours, including lunch and 20 passing periods. Each school district shall share this policy with parents or guardians, 21 students, volunteers, and school employees. If a school district's policy prohibits the 22 use of nonschool-issued wireless telecommunications devices, the policy must allow 23 exceptions for students to use a wireless telecommunications device for medical or 24 translation purposes, in the event of an emergency, or when a teacher or administrator 25 of the school grants permission to a student to use a wireless telecommunications 26 device for educational purposes. A school in a district that has not adopted a policy 27 under this section may not allow a student to use an electronic telecommunications 28 device during regular school hours, including lunch and passing periods. 29 (b) This section does not authorize a person to monitor, collect, or access 30 information related to a student's use of a wireless telecommunications device. 31 (c) In this section, "wireless telecommunications device" means any portable
01 wireless device that has the capability to provide voice, messaging, or other data 02 communication between two or more parties. 03 * Sec. 15. AS 43.20 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: 04 Sec. 43.20.149. Highly digitized businesses tax revenue. The tax amounts 05 collected from a highly digitized business under AS 43.20 shall be separately 06 accounted for and may be appropriated to the Department of Education and Early 07 Development. The Department of Education and Early Development shall use funds 08 appropriated under this section to fund reading proficiency incentive grants awarded 09 under AS 14.30.773. If the amount appropriated to the Department of Education and 10 Early Development exceeds the amount necessary to award grants under AS 14.30.773 11 for the fiscal year, the department shall use the remaining balance of the appropriation 12 to fund secondary school vocational and technical instruction. The department shall 13 distribute the secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding to 14 secondary schools on a pro rata basis. 15 * Sec. 16. AS 44.31.020 is amended to read: 16 Sec. 44.31.020. Duties of department. The Department of Labor and 17 Workforce Development shall 18 (1) enforce the laws and adopt regulations under them concerning 19 employer-employee relationships, including the safety, hours of work, wages, and 20 conditions of workers, including children; 21 (2) accumulate, analyze, and report labor statistics; 22 (3) operate systems of workers' compensation and unemployment 23 insurance; 24 (4) gather data reflecting the cost of living in various locations of the 25 state upon request of the director of personnel under AS 39.27.030; 26 (5) operate the federally funded employment and training programs 27 under 29 U.S.C. 2801 - 2945 (Workforce Investment Act of 1998); 28 (6) administer the state's program of adult basic education and adopt 29 regulations to administer the program; and 30 (7) administer the programs of the Alaska Vocational Technical Center 31 and adopt regulations to administer the programs, including regulations that set rates
01 for student tuition and room and board and fees for the programs and services 02 provided by the department regarding the Alaska Vocational Technical Center; 03 (8) gather data on the progress of each high school graduating 04 class in a district by collecting career, postsecondary education, and residency 05 data on each student in the graduating class; the department shall gather the 06 data required under this paragraph every five years for 20 years after the high 07 school graduation date of each high school graduating class; the department shall 08 publish a biennial report on the data gathered under this paragraph; in this 09 paragraph, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990. 10 * Sec. 17. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 TASK FORCE ON EDUCATION FUNDING. (a) The Task Force on Education 13 Funding is established as a joint task force of the Alaska State Legislature. 14 (b) The task force shall 15 (1) analyze the state of public education funding and the current accountability 16 provisions for schools and districts in the state; 17 (2) analyze and recommend statewide policy on interdistrict open enrollment, 18 including evaluating the effects on military families, subsidization of student transportation 19 costs, and appeal processes; 20 (3) evaluate internal and external factors leading to school absenteeism and 21 identify district and state level intervention and incentive tools relating to school absenteeism; 22 (4) analyze and make recommendations on effective policies relating to school 23 major maintenance and school construction; 24 (5) evaluate and recommend health insurance, group insurance, and ways to 25 reduce property and building insurance for public school facilities; 26 (6) make recommendations relating to public education funding and 27 accountability provisions for schools and districts in the state; and 28 (7) submit a report of findings and recommendations of the task force to the 29 senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives not later than the first day 30 of the First Regular Session of the Thirty-Fifth Alaska State Legislature and notify the 31 members of the legislature that the report is available.
01 (c) The task force consists of six members as follows: 02 (1) three members of the senate, at least one of whom is a member of the 03 minority, appointed by the president of the senate; the president of the senate shall select one 04 of the members to serve as co-chair of the task force; 05 (2) three members of the house of representatives, at least one of whom is a 06 member of the minority, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; the speaker 07 of the house of representatives shall select one of the members to serve as co-chair of the task 08 force. 09 (d) A vacancy on the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original 10 selection or appointment. 11 (e) The task force shall meet at the call of the co-chairs. The task force may meet 12 between and during legislative sessions. A majority of the members of the task force 13 constitute a quorum. The task force may conduct meetings in person, telephonically, or by 14 electronic means, as directed by the co-chairs. 15 (f) The task force may request data and other information from the Department of 16 Education and Early Development. 17 (g) The legislative staff of the members of the task force shall serve as staff for the 18 task force. The task force may hire staff and contract for services necessary to carry out the 19 duties of the task force under the procedures adopted by the legislative council governing 20 procurement of services, subject to the approval of the legislative council and the legislative 21 council making funds available for that purpose. 22 (h) The task force expires on January 31, 2027. 23 * Sec. 18. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 24 read: 25 APPLICABILITY. (a) Sections 6 - 8 of this Act apply to a contract that becomes 26 legally binding on or after the effective date of secs. 6 - 8 of this Act. 27 (b) Section 11 of this Act applies to an increase to the secondary school vocational 28 and technical instruction funding factor under AS 14.17.420(a)(3) that takes effect on or after 29 the effective date of sec. 11 of this Act. 30 * Sec. 19. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 CONDITIONAL EFFECT. AS 14.17.420(a), as amended by sec. 10 of this Act, 02 AS 14.17.420(d), enacted by sec. 11 of this Act, AS 14.30.773, enacted by sec. 13 of this Act, 03 and AS 43.20.149, enacted by sec. 15 of this Act, take effect only if SB 113 or a substantially 04 similar bill that effectuates the sales factor, as determined under AS 43.19 (Multistate Tax 05 Compact), as the apportionment factor for highly digitized businesses is passed by the Thirty- 06 Fourth Alaska State Legislature and enacted into law. 07 * Sec. 20. If secs. 10, 11, 13, and 15 of this Act take effect, they take effect 181 days 08 after the effective date of the section of SB 113 or a substantially similar bill that effectuates 09 the sales factor, as determined under AS 43.19 (Multistate Tax Compact), as the 10 apportionment factor for highly digitized businesses. 11 * Sec. 21. Section 1 of this Act takes effect July 1, 2026. 12 * Sec. 22. Except as provided in secs. 20 and 21 of this Act, this Act, takes effect July 1, 13 2025.