Legislature(2025 - 2026)
2025-03-10 House Journal
Full Journal pdf2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0333 HB 69 The following was before the House with Amendment No. 11 (page 331) moved and pending: The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 11 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) Second Reading Amendment No. 11 YEAS: 19 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0334 And so, Amendment No. 11 was not adopted. The Speaker stated that, without objection, Amendment No. 12 would be moved to the bottom of the amendments. Amendment No. 13 was offered by Representative Coulombe: Page 1, line 1, following "schools;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to procurement of Internet services plans;" Page 3, following line 5: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 5. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: Sec. 14.03.128. Procurement of Internet services plan. (a) Each school district shall adopt procedures to govern the procurement of an Internet services plan for the school district. The procedures must require the school district to (1) use competitive bidding once every two years to procure the Internet services plan; (2) complete the competitive bidding process not later than six months after beginning the process; (3) present a copy of the bids and information relating to the bids to the public not later than 45 days after the school district receives all the bids; (4) present the school district's decision on the bids, along with a copy of the bids and information relating to the bids, at the school district's next school board meeting or 45 days after the school district receives all the bids, whichever is later; (5) accept the bid that provides, for the lowest cost, the same amount or more megabits of download a second compared to the school district's current Internet services plan. (b) In this section, "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 15" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0335 Page 10, line 3: Delete "Sections 5 - 9" Insert "Sections 6 - 10" Page 10, line 4: Delete "secs. 5 - 9" Insert "secs. 6 - 10" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "18" Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 13" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 16" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 22 - 24" Representative Coulombe moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 13 be adopted. Representative Gray objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 13 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) Second Reading Amendment No. 13 YEAS: 20 NAYS: 20 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Gray, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0336 Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 13 was not adopted. Amendment No. 14 was offered by Representative Vance: Page 1, line 2, following "programs;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to school district audits and budgets;" Page 6, following line 29: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 13. AS 14.14 is amended by adding a new section to read: Sec. 14.14.040. School district budget. Each school district shall, not later than July 15 of each year, (1) submit the district's budget for the current fiscal year to the department; (2) publish a certified copy of the budget prominently on the district's publicly available Internet website; the budget must be accessible through a link on the district's Internet website home page; and (3) post a certified copy of the budget in a conspicuous, publicly accessible place at the principal administrative office of the district. * Sec. 14. AS 14.14.050(a) is amended to read: (a) The school board in each school district shall, before October 1 of each year, provide for an audit of all school accounts for the school year ending the preceding June 30. To make the audit the school board shall contract with a public accountant who has no personal interest, direct or indirect, in the fiscal affairs of the district. A [ONE] certified copy of the audit shall be filed with the commissioner [AND ONE CERTIFIED COPY SHALL BE POSTED IN A PUBLIC PLACE AT THE PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT]. * Sec. 15. AS 14.14.050(b) is amended to read: (b) The audit shall conform in form to requirements established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall withhold all payments of state funds after November 15 to a school district that fails to satisfy the requirements of this 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0337 section and AS 14.14.040 [FILE A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE AUDIT WITH THE DEPARTMENT]. * Sec. 16. AS 14.14.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (e) Each school district shall, not later than November 15 of each year, (1) publish a certified copy of the audit prominently on the district's publicly available Internet website; the audit must be accessible through a link on the district's Internet website home page; and (2) post a certified copy of the audit in a conspicuous, publicly accessible place at the principal administrative office of the district." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 18" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "21" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 19" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 25 - 27" Representative Vance moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 14 be adopted. Representative Himschoot objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 14 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0338 CSHB 69(RLS) Second Reading Amendment No. 14 YEAS: 18 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 1 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes Absent: Rauscher And so, Amendment No. 14 was not adopted. Amendment No. 15 was offered by Representative Vance: Page 1, line 2 (title amendment): Delete "an annual report for" Page 1, line 3, following "allocation;": Insert "relating to minimum expenditure for instruction;" Page 5, following line 29: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 11. AS 14.03.310(a) is amended to read: (a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, the department or a district that provides a correspondence study program shall [MAY] provide an annual student allotment to a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in the correspondence study program for the purpose of meeting instructional expenses for the student enrolled in the program as provided in this section." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, following line 1: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 15. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0339 Sec. 14.17.530. Minimum expenditure for instruction. (a) In each fiscal year, a district shall budget for and (1) spend on instructional expenses for a student enrolled in the district and not enrolled in a correspondence study program provided by the district an amount equal to at least 70 percent of the public school funding generated by the student under AS 14.17.410 for that fiscal year; and (2) provide to a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a correspondence study program provided by the district an annual student allotment required under AS 14.03.310(a) that equals at least 70 percent of the funding generated by the student under AS 14.17.430 for that fiscal year. (b) The commissioner shall reject a district budget that does not comply with (a) of this section and, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this section, shall withhold payments of state aid from that district, beginning with the payment for the second full month after rejection and continuing until the school board of the district revises the district budget to comply with (a) of this section. (c) The commissioner shall review the annual audit of each district for compliance with the expenditure requirements of (a) of this section and calculate the amount of any deficiency. If the commissioner determines that a district does not meet those requirements, the commissioner shall advise the district of the determination and deduct the amount of the deficiency from state aid paid to the district for the current fiscal year. A deduction in state aid required under this subsection begins with the payment for the second full month after the determination, unless a waiver has been granted by the board under (d) of this section. (d) A district that the commissioner determines to be out of compliance with the requirements of this section may, within 20 days after the commissioner's determination, request from the board a waiver from the deduction in state aid payments under (b) or (c) of this section. The request must be in writing and must provide an explanation of the reasons for which the district is unable to comply with the requirements of this section. The district shall also submit the request to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee. The Legislative Budget and Audit Committee shall review the district's request and forward its recommendations on the request to the board. 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0340 (e) The commissioner shall submit an annual report on actions taken by the commissioner or the board under this section to the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee by April 15 of each year. (f) In this section, (1) "correspondence study program provided by the district" includes a statewide correspondence study program provided by a district; (2) "instructional expenses" means expenditures for teachers, instructional materials, and student support services." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 16" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "19" Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 13" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 17" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 23 - 25" Representative Vance moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 15 be adopted. There was objection. Representative Vance moved and asked unanimous consent to withdraw Amendment No. 15. There being no objection, it was so ordered. 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0341 The Speaker stated that, without objection, Amendments Nos. 16 and 17 would be moved to the bottom of the amendments. Amendment No. 18 was offered by Representative Underwood: Page 1, lines 8 - 12: Delete all material. Page 1, line 10: Delete "Sec. 2" Insert "Section 1" Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 2, line 8: Delete "sec. 2" Insert "sec. 1" Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 13" Page 10, line 3: Delete "Sections 5 - 9" Insert "Sections 4 - 8" Page 10, line 4: Delete "secs. 5 - 9" Insert "secs. 4 - 8" Page 10, line 5: Delete "Sections 3 and 17" Insert "Sections 2 and 16" Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 11" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 14" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0342 Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 20 - 22" Representative Underwood moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 18 be adopted. Objection was heard and withdrawn. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 18 was adopted. Amendment No. 19 was not offered. Amendment No. 20 was offered by Representative Rauscher: Page 1, line 5, following "Funding;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to a demonstration state-nonprofit education compact; relating to state-nonprofit education compact schools;" Page 9, following line 23: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 19. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read: DEMONSTRATION STATE-NONPROFIT EDUCATION COMPACT. (a) The state Board of Education and Early Development shall negotiate a demonstration state-nonprofit education compact with nonprofit organizations in the state to establish demonstration state- nonprofit education compact schools. The demonstration state- nonprofit education compact may be for a term of not more than 10 years and may not include more than one demonstration state- nonprofit education compact school in each borough or recognized census area. (b) A governing body of a nonprofit may initiate the negotiation described in (a) of this section by submitting to the board, on or before December 31, 2025, a resolution that requests negotiation under (a) of this section and that identifies the additional organizations, if any, that will participate in the negotiation on behalf of or in conjunction with the nonprofit. (c) Not later than March 31, 2026, the board shall meet with the governing bodies of the nonprofit organizations that submitted a 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0343 resolution under (b) of this section and any additional organization identified in the resolution by the nonprofit organization and negotiate the terms of the demonstration state-nonprofit education compact. For each school district that will have a demonstration state-nonprofit education compact school located within the school district's boundaries, the board shall consult with (1) the governing body of the school district; and (2) a representative of the collective bargaining unit that represents the teachers of the school district. (d) Not later than January 31, 2027, the board shall submit a report containing recommendations to the legislature relating to the demonstration state-nonprofit education compact and demonstration state-nonprofit education compact schools. The board may include in the report proposed legislation relating to the demonstration state- nonprofit education compact and demonstration state-nonprofit education compact schools. The board shall submit the report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available. The board shall consult with the nonprofits and any additional organizations that will be a party to the demonstration state-nonprofit education compact before submitting the report required under this subsection. (e) In this section, (1) "board" means the state Board of Education and Early Development; (2) "nonprofit organization" means an entity that is exempt from federal taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) (Internal Revenue Code)." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, line 5: Delete "and 17" Insert ", 17, and 19" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 22 - 24" Representative Rauscher moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 20 be adopted. 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0344 There was objection. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 20 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 20 YEAS: 17 NAYS: 23 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Ruffridge, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 20 was not adopted. Amendment No. 21 was not offered. Amendment No. 22 was offered by Representative Saddler: Page 1, lines 1 - 4 (title amendment): Delete "relating to education; relating to open enrollment in public schools; relating to charter schools; relating to an annual report for correspondence study programs; relating to the base student allocation; relating to reading proficiency incentive grants; relating to wireless telecommunications devices in public schools;" Page 1, lines 5 - 6: Delete "relating to a report on regulation of school districts; and providing for an effective date" Page 1, line 8, through page 8, line 19: Delete all material. Page 8, line 20: Delete "Sec. 18" Insert "Section 1" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0345 Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 9, line 24, through page 10, line 9: Delete all material. Representative Saddler moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 22 be adopted. There was objection. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 22 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 22 YEAS: 12 NAYS: 27 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 1 Yeas: Allard, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Nelson, Rauscher, Saddler, Schwanke, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Bynum, Carrick, Costello, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Prax, Ruffridge, Schrage, Stapp, Story, Stutes Absent: Moore And so, Amendment No. 22 was not adopted. Amendment No. 23 was offered by Representative Costello: Page 1, line 4, following "schools;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to the duty of the legislature to pass a public education appropriation bill; relating to the duty of the governor to prepare a public education appropriation bill;" Page 6, following line 29: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 13. AS 14.11.019 is amended to read: Sec. 14.11.019. Grant appropriations. Within the appropriation bill authorizing capital expenditures submitted to 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0346 the legislature under AS 37.07.020(a)(4) [AS 37.07.020(a)(3)], the governor shall include an appropriation for grants in the succeeding fiscal year as determined by the six-year capital improvement project grant schedule prepared under AS 14.11.013. * Sec. 14. AS 14.11.100(c) is amended to read: (c) The school construction account is established. Funds to carry out the provisions of this section shall be included within the appropriation bill authorizing capital expenditures submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020(a)(4) [AS 37.07.020(a)(3)] and may be appropriated annually by the legislature to the account. If amounts in the account are insufficient for the purpose of providing the share to which a borough or city is entitled under this section, those funds that are available shall be distributed pro rata among the eligible municipalities, except that the legislature may direct that additional debt service on refunding bonds that exceeds the total debt service on the refunded bonds be disregarded in whole or in part." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 16" Page 8, following line 18: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 19. AS 24.20.140(a) is amended to read: (a) Appropriations for carrying out AS 24.20.010 - 24.20.140 shall be set out in the appropriation bill authorizing operating expenditures submitted to the legislature under AS 37.07.020(a)(3) [AS 37.07.020(a)(2)] or other bills as may be necessary. The council may direct the executive director to transfer amounts from one appropriation to another if the transfer is considered necessary to accomplish the work of the council. The council may not exceed the total amount of the authorized appropriation. All expenditures of the council are subject to an independent audit that shall be made annually. * Sec. 20. AS 37.07.014 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (g) An appropriation bill authorizing state operating 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0347 expenditures for public school funding provided under AS 14.09 and AS 14.17 for the succeeding fiscal year must be passed by the legislature by March 15. In this subsection, "passed by the legislature" has the meaning given in AS 01.10.070. * Sec. 21. AS 37.07.020(a) is amended to read: (a) The governor shall prepare a budget for the succeeding fiscal year that must cover all estimated receipts, including all grants, loans, and money received from the federal government and all proposed expenditures of the state government. The budget shall be organized so that the proposed expenditures for each agency are presented separately. The budget must be accompanied by the information required under AS 37.07.050 and by the following separate bills: (1) an appropriation bill authorizing the operating and capital expenditures of the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program under AS 37.14.003(a); (2) an appropriation bill authorizing state operating expenditures for public school funding provided under AS 14.09 and AS 14.17; (3) an appropriation bill authorizing state operating expenditures other than those included in the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program or included under (2) of this subsection; (4) [; (3)] an appropriation bill authorizing capital expenditures other than those included in the state's integrated comprehensive mental health program; and (5) [(4)] a bill or bills covering recommendations, if any, in the budget for new or additional revenue. The budget for the succeeding fiscal year and each of the bills shall become public information on December 15 at which time the governor shall submit copies to the legislature and make copies available to the public. The bills, identical in content to the copies released on December 15, shall be delivered to the rules committee of each house before the fourth legislative day of the next regular session for introduction." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "22" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0348 Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 17" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 26 - 28" Representative Costello moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 23 be adopted. Representative Josephson objected. Representative Himschoot moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 23 be tabled. Objection was heard and withdrawn. There being no further objection, Amendment No. 23 was tabled. Amendment No. 24 was not offered. Amendment No. 25 was offered by Representatives Costello and Allard: Page 3, following line 5: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 5. AS 14.03.250(a) is amended to read: (a) A local school board shall prescribe an application procedure for the establishment of a charter school in that school district. The application procedure must allow an application to be submitted at any time during the school year and must include provisions for an academic policy committee consisting of parents of students attending the school, teachers, and school employees and a proposed form for a contract between a charter school and the local school board, setting out the contract elements required under AS 14.03.255(c)." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0349 Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 15" Page 10, line 3: Delete "Sections 5 - 9" Insert "Sections 5 - 10" Page 10, line 4: Delete "secs. 5 - 9" Insert "secs. 5 - 10" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "18" Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 13" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 16" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 22 - 24" Representative Allard moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 25 be adopted. Representative Himschoot objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 25 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 25 YEAS: 19 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0350 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 25 was not adopted. Amendment No. 26 was offered by Representative Johnson: Page 4, line 20, through page 5, line 8: Delete all material. Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 13" Page 10, line 3: Delete "Sections 5 - 9" Insert "Sections 5 - 8" Page 10, line 4: Delete "secs. 5 - 9" Insert "secs. 5 - 8" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "16" Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 11" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 14" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0351 Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 20 - 22" Representative Johnson moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 26 be adopted. There was objection. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 26 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 26 YEAS: 19 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 26 was not adopted. Amendment No. 27 was offered by Representative Stapp: Page 7, following line 1: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 14. AS 14.17.470 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (b) On July 1, 2025, the department shall increase the base student allocation in effect on June 30, 2025, by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, plus an additional $1,000. (c) On July 1, 2026, the department shall increase the base 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0352 student allocation in effect on June 30, 2026, by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, plus an additional $404. (d) On July 1, 2027, the department shall increase the base student allocation in effect on June 30, 2027, by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, plus an additional $404. (e) Beginning July 1, 2028, the department shall, on July 1 of each year, increase the base student allocation in effect on June 30 of the previous fiscal year by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 15" Page 10, following line 4: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 22. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read: CONDITIONAL EFFECT; BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION. (a) Section 13 of this Act takes effect only if sec. 14 of this Act does not take effect. (b) Section 14 of this Act takes effect only if a bill that is anticipated to raise sufficient new revenue to fund the increase to the base student allocation described in sec. 14 of this Act is passed by the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature and enacted into law before July 1, 2025." 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0353 Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "18" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 16" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 23 - 25" Representative Stapp moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 27 be adopted. Representative Josephson objected. Representative Fields, citing Sections 100 and 101 of Mason's Manual, rose to a point of order, regarding the germaneness of the debate. The Speaker cautioned members to confine remarks to the amendment. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 27 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 27 YEAS: 5 NAYS: 35 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, McCabe, Nelson, Ruffridge, Stapp Nays: Burke, Bynum, Carrick, Costello, Coulombe, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Elam, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Johnson, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Moore, Prax, Rauscher, Saddler, Schrage, Schwanke, Story, Stutes, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0354 And so, Amendment No. 27 was not adopted. Amendment No. 28 was not offered. Amendment No. 29 was offered by Representative Bynum: Page 1, line 2, following "programs;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to technical readiness and career training education in public schools; relating to grants to school districts for technical readiness and career training;" Page 1, line 10, following "INTENT.": Insert "(a)" Page 1, following line 12: Insert a new subsection to read: "(b) It is the intent of the legislature that the Alaska technical readiness and career training system will serve as the foundation of a statewide framework for comprehensive career and technical education by providing dedicated and direct funding to school districts to offer high quality, hands-on learning opportunities for students in grades six through 12, through the incentivized integration of technical readiness, career training, and work-based learning alongside traditional academic curricula and programs." Page 6, following line 29: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 13. AS 14.17.420(a) is amended to read: (a) As a component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special needs and secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding and may be eligible for intensive services funding as follows: (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, and bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding for each special education student 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0355 who needs and receives intensive services and is enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each [SUCH] student, intensive services funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by 13; (3) in addition to the special needs and intensive services funding available under (1) and (2) of this subsection, secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding is available to assist districts in providing vocational and technical instruction to students who are enrolled in a secondary school; a secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor of 1.0175 [1.015] shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); in this paragraph, "vocational and technical instruction" excludes costs associated with (A) administrative expenses; and (B) instruction in general literacy, mathematics, and job readiness skills." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, following line 1: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 15. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: Sec. 14.17.530. Minimum expenditure for technical, career, and work-based instruction. A district shall budget for and spend at least 80 percent of the funds obtained for vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3) on directly offering and supporting technical readiness, career training, and work-based learning opportunities for students in grades six through 12." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 16" Page 7, following line 22: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 18. AS 14.30 is amended by adding new sections to read: 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0356 Article 17. Career and Technical Education. Sec. 14.30.810. Alaska technical readiness and career training system. (a) The Alaska technical readiness and career training system is established in the department to help develop and expand technical readiness and career training programs across districts and to support the ongoing maintenance of the programs. (b) A technical readiness and career training program developed under this section may include classroom instruction, laboratory-based technical education, industry-aligned certification programs, hands-on training, apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, and other work-based learning opportunities. Each program must (1) be structured, competency-based, and designed to provide students with career pathways, stackable credentials, and public and private credit articulation opportunities; (2) be developed in collaboration with partners in the private sector, labor organizations, tribal entities, postsecondary educational institutions, private training providers, and municipal governments to ensure the program is aligned with current and future workforce needs; (3) integrate technical readiness and work-based learning by providing students with (A) foundational academic knowledge; (B) industry-recognized technical skills; and (C) practical competencies necessary for successful entry into the workforce, apprenticeships, technical training programs, or postsecondary educational institutions. Sec. 14.30.820. Technical readiness and career training system coordinator. A technical readiness and career training system coordinator is established in the department to oversee the Alaska technical readiness and career training system established in the department. The coordinator shall (1) develop and maintain a repository of career and technical education resources in the department, including resources relating to curricula, best practices, and industry-aligned training modules; (2) support districts with developing, implementing, and maintaining technical readiness and career training programs; (3) facilitate partnerships between districts, industry 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0357 partners, labor organizations, tribal entities, private training programs, and postsecondary institutions to support technical readiness and career training programs; (4) regularly evaluate the effect of career and technical education on student outcomes and workforce readiness; (5) provide recommendations for program improvements; (6) collect and analyze data on technical readiness and career training program enrollment and completion rates and the number of career and technical education students who are placed in apprenticeships, obtained employment, and attended postsecondary educational institutions; and (7) create and maintain a model agreement for districts and partner entities to use as provided under AS 14.30.830(a). Sec. 14.30.830. Technical readiness and career training in our neighborhood program. (a) A district may enter into an agreement with a partner entity to allow high school students to earn school credit for participation in technical readiness, career training education, and work-based learning opportunities provided by the partner entity. To take effect, an agreement must be ratified by the school board and approved by the technical readiness and career training system coordinator. A district and partner entity may use the model agreement created and maintained by the coordinator under AS 14.30.820(7) or develop another agreement to establish the terms of participation. A district shall allow school credits earned under an agreement to apply toward meeting the requirements for a certificate of graduation from high school. (b) Subject to appropriation, each school year, a district is eligible to receive a grant in an amount equal to the base student allocation set out in AS 14.17.470 multiplied by .0375 for each half-unit of credit earned by a student through an agreement with a partner entity, for up to a maximum of two and one-half units of credit for each student. (c) On or before the 10th legislative day of each regular session of the legislature, the department shall submit a report on education offered under this section, including, for the previous school year, the total amount awarded to each district under (b) of this section, the number of students in each grade level for whom each district received funding under (b) of this section, and the 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0358 names of partner entities that have entered into agreements with districts authorized under (a) of this section. The department shall deliver a copy of the report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available. Sec. 14.30.840. Definitions. In AS 14.30.810 - 14.30.840, (1) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.900; (2) "partner entity" means an in-state postsecondary educational institution, tribal entity, labor organization, business, nonprofit, or municipal government with which a district has entered into an agreement under AS 14.30.830." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "20" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 17" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 24 - 26" Representative Bynum moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 29 be adopted. There was objection. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 29 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 29 YEAS: 19 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0359 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 29 was not adopted. Amendment No. 30 was not offered. Amendment No. 31 was offered by Representative Tomaszewski: Page 1, line 1, following "education;" (title amendment): Insert "relating to education funding;" Page 5, following line 29: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 11. AS 14.07.030(a) is amended to read: (a) The department may (1) establish, maintain, govern, operate, discontinue, and combine area, regional, and special schools; (2) enter into contractual agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or with a school district to share boarding costs of secondary school students; (3) provide for citizenship night schools when and where expedient; (4) provide for the sale or other disposition of abandoned or obsolete buildings and other state-owned school property; (5) prescribe a classification for items of expense of school districts; (6) acquire and transfer personal property, acquire real property, and transfer real property to federal agencies, state agencies, or to political subdivisions; (7) enter into contractual agreements with school districts to provide more efficient or economical education services; reasonable fees may be charged by the department to cover the costs of providing services under an agreement, including costs for professional services, reproduction or printing, and mailing and distribution of educational materials; 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0360 (8) provide for the issuance of elementary and secondary diplomas to persons not in school who have completed the equivalent of an 8th or 12th grade education, respectively, in accordance with standards established by the department; (9) apply for, accept, and spend endowments, grants, and other private money available to the state for educational purposes in accordance with AS 37.07 (Executive Budget Act); (10) set student tuition and fees for educational and extracurricular programs and services provided and schools operated by the department under the provisions of (1) of this section and AS 14.07.020(a)(9), (11), and (12); (11) charge fees to cover the costs of care and handling with respect to the acquisition, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of donated foods; (12) establish and collect fees for the rental of school facilities and for other programs and services provided by the schools; (13) develop a model curriculum and provide technical assistance for early childhood education programs; (14) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, intervene in a school district to improve instructional practices under standards established by the department in regulation, including directing the (A) employees identified by the department to exercise supervisory authority for instructional practices in the district or in a specified school; (B) use of appropriations under this title for distribution to a district; (15) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, redirect public school funding under AS 14.17 appropriated for distribution to a school district, after providing notice to the district and an opportunity for the district to respond, (A) when necessary to contract for services to improve instructional practices in the district; (B) when the district has failed to take an action required by the department to improve instructional practices in the district; if funding is redirected under this subparagraph, the department shall provide the redirected funding to the district when the department has determined that the required action is satisfactorily completed; or 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0361 (C) in accordance with AS 14.07.070(a) [AS 14.07.070], when the district has failed to comply with the school laws of the state or with the regulations adopted by the department. * Sec. 12. AS 14.07.070 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: (b) If the legislature appropriates to the general fund for a fiscal year money from the constitutional budget reserve fund (art. IX, sec. 17, Constitution of the State of Alaska) or an amount from the earnings reserve account (AS 37.13.145) that, when combined with the transfer under AS 37.13.145(b), exceeds the amount available for appropriation under AS 37.13.140(b) for the fiscal year, the department shall reduce the funding the state provides to districts under AS 14.17 for the fiscal year by the amount appropriated from the constitutional budget reserve fund and the amount appropriated from the earnings reserve account that, when combined with the transfer under AS 37.13.145(b), exceeds the amount available for appropriation under AS 37.13.140(b) for the fiscal year. To apply the reduction, the department shall reduce pro rata each district's basic need by the necessary percentage as determined by the department. If the basic need of each district is reduced under this subsection, the department shall also reduce state funding for centralized correspondence study and the state boarding school by the same percentage. In this subsection, "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 6, following line 29: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 15. AS 14.17.430 is amended to read: Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided in AS 14.07.070(b) and AS 14.17.400(b), funding for the state centralized correspondence study program or a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a statewide correspondence study program, includes an allocation from the public education fund in an amount calculated by multiplying the ADM of the correspondence program by 90 percent. 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0362 * Sec. 16. AS 14.17.440(a) is amended to read: (a) Except as provided in AS 14.07.070(b) and AS 14.17.400(b), funding for state boarding schools established under AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public education fund in an amount calculated by (1) determining the ADM of state boarding schools by applying the school size factor to the student count as described in AS 14.17.450; (2) multiplying the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the special needs factor in AS 14.17.420(a)(1) and the secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(3) and multiplying that product by the base student allocation; and (3) multiplying the product determined under (2) of this subsection by the district cost factor that is applicable to calculation of the state aid for the adjacent school district under AS 14.17.460." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, following line 1: Insert new bill sections to read: "* Sec. 18. AS 14.17.480(b) is amended to read: (b) For purposes of the reduction required under AS 14.07.070(b) and AS 14.17.400(b), funding authorized under (a) of this section is treated the same as the state share of public school funding under AS 14.17.410. * Sec. 19. AS 14.18.090(b) is amended to read: (b) After a finding by the board that a district or regional educational attendance area has not complied with AS 14.18.020 - 14.18.070, and that the measures taken under (a) of this section have been ineffective, the board shall withhold state funds in accordance with AS 14.07.070(a) [AS 14.07.070]." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 7, line 13: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 20" Page 10, line 5: Delete "17" Insert "23" 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0363 Page 10, line 6: Delete "Section 12" Insert "Section 14" Page 10, line 8: Delete "Section 15" Insert "Section 21" Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 27 - 29" Representative Tomaszewski moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 31 be adopted. There was objection. Representative Stutes, citing Section 101 of Mason'Manual, rose to a point of order. The Speaker stated that the point was well taken. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 31 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 31 YEAS: 19 NAYS: 21 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Schwanke, Stapp, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 31 was not adopted. Amendment No. 32 was offered by Representatives McCabe and Rauscher: 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0364 Page 9, following line 31: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 20. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to read: PLAN FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATION. (a) The Department of Education and Early Development shall develop a school district consolidation plan that, by July 1, 2027, reduces the total number of school districts in the state to 30. The consolidation plan must (1) evaluate school districts for merger based on geographic proximity, student enrollment data, administrative cost savings, and fiscal viability; (2) ensure consolidated districts maintain effective administration and equitable access to educational services, considering maximum allowable geographic size and student population as determined by the department; (3) include a phased implementation schedule, with not fewer than five public hearings held in affected districts before finalizing consolidations; (4) prioritize preservation of educational quality and access for students in rural and remote areas, including regional educational attendance areas. (b) The Department of Education and Early Development, in conjunction with the Department of Law, shall develop proposed legislation to implement the school district consolidation plan. The proposed legislation must address any changes proposed by the plan that require the force of law. (c) The Department of Education and Early Development shall submit the school district consolidation plan, including a copy of the proposed legislation to implement the plan, to the senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives on or before January 15, 2026, and notify the legislature that the plan is available. If the governor supports the school consolidation plan, the governor shall deliver a bill, identical in content to the copy of proposed legislation delivered on January 15, 2026, to the rules committee of each house before the fourth legislative day of the Second Regular Session of the Thirty-Fourth Alaska State Legislature for introduction. (d) If a bill consolidating school districts is passed by the Thirty- Fourth Alaska State Legislature and enacted into law, the Department of Education and Early Development shall prepare an annual progress 2025-03-10 House Journal Page 0365 report on school district consolidation each year until consolidation is complete, submit the report to the senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives on or before January 15 of each year, and notify the legislature that the report is available." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, following line 4: Insert a new bill section to read: "* Sec. 22. Section 20 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c)." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 10, line 9: Delete "secs. 21 - 23" Insert "secs. 22 - 25" Representative McCabe moved and asked unanimous consent that Amendment No. 32 be adopted. Representative Himschoot objected. The question being: "Shall Amendment No. 32 be adopted?" The roll was taken with the following result: CSHB 69(RLS) am Second Reading Amendment No. 32 YEAS: 17 NAYS: 23 EXCUSED: 0 ABSENT: 0 Yeas: Allard, Bynum, Costello, Coulombe, Elam, Johnson, McCabe, Moore, Nelson, Prax, Rauscher, Ruffridge, Saddler, Tilton, Tomaszewski, Underwood, Vance Nays: Burke, Carrick, Dibert, Edgmon, Eischeid, Fields, Foster, Galvin, Gray, Hall, Hannan, Himschoot, Holland, Jimmie, Josephson, Kopp, Mears, Mina, Schrage, Schwanke, Stapp, Story, Stutes And so, Amendment No. 32 was not adopted. The Speaker stated that, without objection, the House would recess to 6:00 p.m.; and so, the House recessed at 5:19 p.m.