SB 1001: "An Act relating to public school enrollment; relating to authorization of charter schools; establishing an after-school literacy grant program; and authorizing lump sum payments for certain teachers as retention and recruitment incentives."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 1001 01 "An Act relating to public school enrollment; relating to authorization of charter 02 schools; establishing an after-school literacy grant program; and authorizing lump sum 03 payments for certain teachers as retention and recruitment incentives." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.03.080(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Subject to AS 14.14.110 and 14.14.120, a [A] child of school age is 07 entitled to attend public school without payment of tuition during the school term 08 (1) in the school district in which the child is a resident; and 09 (2) except as provided in (i) of this section, upon application to a 10 school district, at a school selected by the child's parent in or outside the school 11 district in which the child is a resident subject to 12 (A) capacity limitations of the selected school; 13 (B) a school district's lottery policy for determining 14 enrollment;
01 (C) regulations that the department shall adopt to 02 (i) require a school district to accept students upon 03 application throughout the school year as capacity becomes 04 available; 05 (ii) require a school district to report to the 06 department and publish on the school district's Internet website 07 annually student enrollment data at each school, including capacity 08 and vacancies for each grade; the number of applications, 09 acceptances, and denials; and the reasons for any denial; 10 (iii) compensate a school district at the end of a 11 school year to account for a year-end ADM that is greater than the 12 district's student count data provided under AS 14.17.600; 13 (iv) establish a procedure for appealing a school 14 district's denial of an enrollment application; and 15 (v) establish an enrollment procedure for accepting 16 students by lottery [SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF 17 AS 14.14.110 AND 14.14.120]. 18 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.080 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 19 (i) Nothing in (a)(2) of this section applies to a correspondence study program 20 under AS 14.03.300. 21 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 22 Sec. 14.03.254. Application for charter school to the board. (a) The state 23 Board of Education and Early Development shall prescribe by regulation a procedure 24 for the establishment of a charter school in any school district in the state by 25 application to the state board. 26 (b) The state Board of Education and Early Development shall issue a written 27 decision on an application for a charter school within 45 days after acceptance of the 28 application. If the state board approves a charter school application, the local school 29 board shall operate the charter school as provided in AS 14.03.255 - 14.03.290. 30 * Sec. 4. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) The department shall
01 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state 02 except the University of Alaska; 03 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, 04 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school 05 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement 06 of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to 07 develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college 08 preparatory courses; 09 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school 10 governing bodies and personnel; 11 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public 12 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is 13 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; 14 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Family and 15 Community Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held 16 in juvenile detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are 17 defined in AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment; 18 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards 19 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the 20 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular 21 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, 22 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of 23 the members of each house; 24 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire 25 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe 26 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of 27 physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for 28 private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; 29 (8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that 30 receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by 31 a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education
01 program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the 02 board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if 03 the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under 04 AS 14.07.165(a)(5); 05 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary 06 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional 07 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any 08 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; 09 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet 10 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this 11 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be 12 licensed; 13 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and 14 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public 15 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the 16 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school 17 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans" 18 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption 19 and costs, and final contract documents; 20 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational 21 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who 22 are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor 23 unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that 24 will lead to employment opportunities; 25 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11; 26 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a 27 school bus driver training course; 28 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary 29 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent 30 behavior; 31 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance,
01 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional 02 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include 03 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies 04 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; 05 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in 06 AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three 07 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent 08 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language 09 arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and 10 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for 11 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; 12 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over 13 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or 14 redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15); 15 (18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and 16 intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described 17 in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; 18 (19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to 19 review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department 20 and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410, 14.03.420, 21 AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel 22 (A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, 23 the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and 24 reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs 25 focused on cultural education within the department; 26 (B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native 27 languages and other non-English languages; 28 (C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and 29 include teachers of grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, 30 parents of students in grades kindergarten through three, stakeholders from 31 Indigenouse language immersion programs, representatives from early
01 education stakeholder groups, and researchers of best practices for improving 02 literacy performance, including best practices for instruction of Indigenouse 03 students and students whose first language is not English; 04 (20) adopt regulations to implement and administer the literacy 05 grant program under AS 14.14.116, including regulations that establish 06 standards for grant application and award, and the measuring of the efficacy of 07 tutoring services provided by a grant recipient. 08 * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.170(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) The board may 10 (1) appoint unpaid advisory commissions; 11 (2) require school boards or school personnel to submit to the 12 department, in the form the board may require, the district budget or any information 13 or reports that are reasonably necessary to assist the department in carrying out its 14 functions; 15 (3) authorize the establishment of a charter school to operate as 16 provided in AS 14.03.255 - 14.03.290 in any school district in the state; the board 17 may delegate the authority to authorize establishment of a charter school to a 18 board committee, political subdivision of the state, or state agency, including the 19 University of Alaska; delegation under this paragraph is limited to approving or 20 denying an application for a charter school and is subject to the review and 21 appeal processes applicable to a local school board under AS 14.03.250 and 22 14.03.253. 23 * Sec. 6. AS 14.14 is amended by adding a new section to read: 24 Sec. 14.14.116. After-school literacy grant program. (a) There is established 25 in the department an after-school literacy grant program to provide grants to school 26 districts for literacy tutoring services for students. Literacy tutoring services funded 27 under this section must be provided outside of regular instructional hours as defined 28 by the school district. 29 (b) A grant may be used for costs directly associated with establishing and 30 maintaining literacy tutoring services, including costs for 31 (1) stipends or salaries for qualified tutors;
01 (2) the development or purchase of curriculum and instructional 02 materials; and 03 (3) student assessment and program evaluation tools. 04 (c) A school district seeking a grant shall submit an application to the 05 department on a form and in a manner prescribed by the department in regulation. The 06 department shall award grants on a competitive basis, subject to appropriation. 07 (d) A grant recipient shall provide a report to the department on the efficacy of 08 the tutoring services. The report must be submitted in a format and at a time required 09 by the department and include data consistent with standards established in regulation 10 under AS 14.07.020(a)(20). 11 (e) The total amount of grants awarded under this section may not exceed 12 $10,000,000 in a fiscal year. 13 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 LUMP SUM PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN TEACHERS. (a) Subject to appropriation 16 for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2027, June 30, 2028, and June 30, 2029, a certificated full 17 time teacher occupying a position requiring teaching on a regular basis during the normal 18 work period for each day or week at a classroom teaching assignment in a public elementary 19 or secondary school, excluding a person teaching as an assistant or graduate assistant or 20 teaching on a substitute, temporary, or per diem basis, is entitled to receive a lump sum 21 payment as a retention and recruitment incentive on or within a reasonable period after July 1, 22 2026, July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2028, if the teacher was employed in a full-time classroom 23 teaching position for the entirety of the school term for the school year immediately preceding 24 the date of payment and complies with the application requirements of (c) of this section. The 25 Department of Education and Early Development shall reduce the retention and recruitment 26 incentive by the amount necessary to pay mandatory employee and employer deductions, 27 including a deduction required under AS 14.25. 28 (b) Subject to the application and certification requirements in (c) of this section, the 29 Department of Education and Early Development shall pay the retention and recruitment 30 incentive identified in (a) of this section as grants to school districts as follows: 31 (1) $3,000 for each eligible certificated full-time teacher teaching in the
01 following districts: 02 (A) Anchorage School District; 03 (B) Fairbanks North Star Borough School District; 04 (C) Juneau Borough School District; 05 (D) Kenai Peninsula Borough School District; 06 (E) Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District; 07 (2) $8,000 for each eligible certificated full-time teacher teaching in the 08 following districts: 09 (A) Alaska Gateway School District; 10 (B) Aleutian Region School District; 11 (C) Aleutians East Borough School District; 12 (D) Annette Island School District; 13 (E) Chugach School District; 14 (F) Copper River School District; 15 (G) Cordova City School District; 16 (H) Delta/Greely School District; 17 (I) Denali Borough School District; 18 (J) Galena City School District; 19 (K) Haines Borough School District; 20 (L) Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District; 21 (M) Kodiak Island Borough School District; 22 (N) Mount Edgecumbe; 23 (O) Nenana City School District; 24 (P) Nome Public Schools; 25 (Q) Petersburg Borough School District; 26 (R) Saint Mary's School District; 27 (S) Sitka School District; 28 (T) Skagway School District; 29 (U) Unalaska City School District; 30 (V) Valdez City School District; 31 (W) Wrangell Public School District;
01 (X) Yakutat School District; 02 (3) $13,000 for each eligible certificated full-time teacher teaching in the 03 following districts: 04 (A) Bering Strait School District; 05 (B) Bristol Bay Borough School District; 06 (C) Chatham School District; 07 (D) Craig City School District; 08 (E) Dillingham City School District; 09 (F) Hoonah City School District; 10 (G) Hydaburg City School District; 11 (H) Iditarod Area School District; 12 (I) Kake City School District; 13 (J) Kashunamiut School District; 14 (K) Klawock City School District; 15 (L) Kuspuk School District; 16 (M) Lake and Peninsula Borough School District; 17 (N) Lower Kuskokwim School District; 18 (O) Lower Yukon School District; 19 (P) North Slope Borough School District; 20 (Q) Northwest Arctic Borough School District; 21 (R) Pelican City School District; 22 (S) Pribilof School District; 23 (T) Southeast Island School District; 24 (U) Southwest Region School District; 25 (V) Yukon Flats School District; 26 (W) Yukon-Koyukuk School District; 27 (X) Yupiit School District. 28 (c) To be eligible for the retention and recruitment incentive identified in (a) of this 29 section, a certificated full-time teacher must apply during each eligible calendar year to the 30 Department of Education and Early Development on a date not later than the final day the 31 teacher's school is in session for the school term. The teacher shall apply for the payment
01 under this section on a form designated by the commissioner of education and early 02 development. For each teacher who applies, the school district or regional educational 03 attendance area shall certify the teacher's eligibility for payment under (a) of this section to 04 the Department of Education and Early Development. 05 (d) A payment made under this section is considered compensation for the purposes 06 of AS 14.25. 07 (e) The Department of Education and Early Development may adopt regulations 08 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.