04/09/2021 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

         HB 19-LIMITED TEACHER CERTIFICATES; LANGUAGES                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:26:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY announced  that the final order  of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE BILL  NO.  19, "An  Act relating  to  instruction in  a                                                               
language other  than English;  and establishing  limited language                                                               
immersion teacher certificates."                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:26:34 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS,  Alaska   State  Legislature,  as                                                               
prime sponsor,  introduced HB  19.   He shared  that this  is the                                                               
third  legislature  he has  carried  a  version of  the  proposed                                                               
legislation in, noting that the  first version passed 40-0 in the                                                               
House, but  did not make  it through  the Senate, and  during the                                                               
Thirty-first   Alaska  State   Legislature,  COVID-19   truncated                                                               
session.    He  called  HB  19 an  important  piece  of  proposed                                                               
legislation and the actionable thing  the legislature could do to                                                               
support Alaska  Native language revitalization for  the districts                                                               
and  communities that  are seeking  to create  immersion language                                                               
programs.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:28:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LINDSAY  BURKE,  Staff,   Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins,  Alaska                                                               
State Legislature,  presented HB  19 on behalf  of Representative                                                               
Kreiss-Tomkins,  prime sponsor.   She  explained that  high-level                                                               
immersion programs are an education  model used widely across the                                                               
country and increasingly in Alaska.   In these programs, at least                                                               
50 percent  of the  learning is conducted  in a  target language,                                                               
such as Spanish,  German, or Yup'ik.  She shared  that there is a                                                               
limited pool of  fully certified teachers who  have the necessary                                                               
language abilities,  but there are  many fluent speakers  who are                                                               
suited for  the program  but do not  have the  full certification                                                               
for reasons  such as  limited English  ability, advanced  age, or                                                               
familial  responsibility.   The proposed  legislation would  ease                                                               
that burden  by amending the state's  limited teacher certificate                                                               
program and allowing certificates to  be issued at the request of                                                               
the school  district for  teachers with  a specific  subject area                                                               
expertise, in  which there  are few  fully certified  and trained                                                               
teachers.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS. BURK said HB 19 would  authorize the State Board of Education                                                               
and  Early   Development  to  create   a  new  type   of  limited                                                               
certificate,  specific  to  teaching   in  a  language  immersion                                                               
program.  The board would  be authorized to author regulations to                                                               
ensure the  certificate holder demonstrates  instructional skills                                                               
in subject  matter or expertise  sufficient to assure  the public                                                               
that the  person is competent as  a teacher, she said.   Under HB
, the  board would  be empowered to  write the  regulations and                                                               
create the certificate,  but would not be required to  do so, and                                                               
the school districts would retain  local control whether to apply                                                               
for a  certificate on behalf  of a  teacher, she explained.   She                                                               
informed the committee  that a limited certificate  would be good                                                               
for a one-year  probationary period, with an  option for renewal,                                                               
pending  the  school  district's   affirmation  of  the  holder's                                                               
educational skills  and subject matter expertise.   She concluded                                                               
that HB 19 was drafted to  address the specific need faced by the                                                               
language immersion program and to strengthen the program.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:31:23 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REID MAGDANZ, Alaska Native  Languages Advocate, provided invited                                                               
testimony in  support of HB  19.   He provided the  committee his                                                               
personal background to give context  to his testimony.  He shared                                                               
that his  parents moved  to Alaska  from California  and Nebraska                                                               
and raised him  in Kotzebue, where he graduated  from high school                                                               
in 2008.   He  said he  left Alaska for  college but  returned in                                                               
2014  to  work as  legislative  staff  to Representative  Kreiss-                                                               
Tompkins.  After five years  with the legislature, he returned to                                                               
Kotzebue where  he is  now an  educator and  construction worker.                                                               
Mr. Magdanz  shared that  he is learning  Inupiaq and  is talking                                                               
with people around  the state about the education  system and the                                                               
early stages of an effort  to help schools better serve students,                                                               
especially in rural Alaska.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAGDANZ  said his  comments on  HB 19  are reflective  of his                                                               
experience, particularly in Alaska  schools and working on Alaska                                                               
Native language revitalization for the  past six years.  He noted                                                               
that he speaks  primarily from the Rural Alaska  perspective.  He                                                               
stated that  HB 19 would address  what he understood as  the most                                                               
important barrier to academic success  for rural Alaska students.                                                               
He said rural  Alaska students, often Alaska  Native students, go                                                               
to  schools with  teachers and  administrators that  do not  look                                                               
like them,  behave like them, and  have not lived like  them, and                                                               
then  must learn  from curriculums  divorced from  the place  and                                                               
reality  in which  those students  live.   He shared  an anecdote                                                               
about a  teacher in Kotzebue  whose curriculum instructed  her to                                                               
teach about  subways, even though  snow machines would  have been                                                               
more applicable  and easier to  understand for the students.   He                                                               
opined it  was no  wonder that  students become  disinterested in                                                               
school  and  learning, which  he  shared  he  saw happen  to  his                                                               
classmates  as he  grew  up in  Kotzebue.   He  noted that  rural                                                               
Alaska  also  has  some Alaska  Native  teachers  and  non-Native                                                               
teachers who have lived in rural Alaska for a long time.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:35:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. MAGDANZ  challenged the committee  to consider what  could be                                                               
done  to  make school  more  relevant  and improve  the  academic                                                               
success  of rural  Alaska students.   He  asserted that  bringing                                                               
Native  language  and  Native  culture   to  the  center  of  the                                                               
educational experience can make a  real difference.  He suggested                                                               
that not  only do  students, both  Native and  non-Native, become                                                               
more grounded in  who they are, but they also  do better in math,                                                               
science,  writing, and  reading.   He said  there are  decades of                                                               
research  reinforcing this,  and he  referenced the  Alaska Rural                                                               
Systemic Initiative  (AKRSI), and  the writings of  Ray Barnhardt                                                               
and  Angayuqaq  Oscar   Kawagley.    He  opined   that  the  best                                                               
preparation   for  education   is   a  life   in  the   students'                                                               
communities, not  a university teacher  program in the  Lower 48.                                                               
He argued that HB 19 provides  a path for school districts to get                                                               
those  teachers   into  the  classrooms  within   the  regulatory                                                               
parameters established by  DEED and the State  Board of Education                                                               
and Early Development.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  MAGDANZ concluded  his testimony  with  an anecdote  sharing                                                               
that Kotzebue  has an Inupiaq  immersion school run by  the local                                                               
tribal  government.   He said  it has  been in  operation for  23                                                               
years and  teaches children  ages 3-7,  and to  his understanding                                                               
did not  have any  state certified  teachers, because  there were                                                               
none  that spoke  the  language.   He  said  when these  students                                                               
transfer  to public  school,  they often  lead  their classes  in                                                               
academic  performance.   Although  he  admitted  it was  a  small                                                               
sample, he said it was a promise of what HB 19 could deliver.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:38:34 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MICHAEL JOHNSON, Commissioner, Department  of Education and Early                                                               
Development, provided invited testimony in  support of HB 19.  He                                                               
stated that the cornerstone of  an education starts with learning                                                               
language, including  learning to  read, and that  students thrive                                                               
when their learning, culture, and  conscience are integrated.  He                                                               
argued that  HB 19 gives  needed flexibility to  school districts                                                               
to  hire more  teachers who  are qualified  to teach  in language                                                               
immersion  programs,  which  can better  integrate  culture  into                                                               
classrooms.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON  said HB  19 aligned with  the goals  of the                                                               
Alaska Education  Challenge, and said  it fit well with  the goal                                                               
to have  all students  read at  grade level by  the end  of third                                                               
grade.  He  stated that a comprehensive reading  policy in Alaska                                                               
that  improves  student  outcomes  will  include  more  immersion                                                               
schools, and  therefore be dependent on  more immersion teachers.                                                               
He  said the  proposed  legislation meets  the  goal to  increase                                                               
career,  technical, and  culturally  relevant  education to  meet                                                               
workforce  needs.   He  argued  that  the economic  wellbeing  of                                                               
Alaska  students and  the  state can  be  improved with  language                                                               
revitalization programs.   He continued  that HB 19 fit  the goal                                                               
to close  the achievement gap  by ensuring  equitable educational                                                               
rigor  and resources,  because more  teachers qualified  to teach                                                               
immersion  programs would  help close  the achievement  gap.   He                                                               
said  the  proposed  legislation  would also  meet  the  goal  of                                                               
attracting and  recruiting effective  educators.  He  shared that                                                               
there is  research that language revitalization  can help improve                                                               
the safety and wellbeing of  students as they become more engaged                                                               
in their education and goals.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DEED's goal  is to provide an excellent                                                               
education  for  every student,  every  single  day.   With  fewer                                                               
individuals  entering  Alaska  teacher preparation  programs  and                                                               
applying  for  teaching  jobs, more  than  two-thirds  of  Alaska                                                               
teachers come from  out of state, and he said  more Alaskans were                                                               
needed  in  the classroom.    He  said the  proposed  legislation                                                               
provides  quantity  by  establishing an  additional  pathway  for                                                               
local  school   boards  to   recognize  emerging   teachers  with                                                               
expertise  in  a  language  other   than  English,  and  that  it                                                               
addresses quality by allowing the  local school boards to request                                                               
the issuance of a limited  language immersion teacher certificate                                                               
that  is  only  valid  in  a  language  immersion  program.    He                                                               
explained that by  establishing the length of  the certificate to                                                               
only one  year, the local board  retains the option to  extend or                                                               
renew the certificate.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:42:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND referred to language  on page 2 of HB 19,                                                               
lines 24-30.   She  asked why  a language that  is not  an Alaska                                                               
Native language can  be certified for a cumulative  period not to                                                               
exceed  four  years,  while  an Alaska  Native  language  may  be                                                               
certified for a cumulative period that may exceed four years.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS replied  the previous  legislative                                                               
body  had  a  concern  that   districts  would  use  the  limited                                                               
certificate  ad  infinitum and  felt  that  a maximum  length  of                                                               
renewal would  be appropriate,  so it  was incorporated  into the                                                               
bill.   He offered his  opinion that  it was unlikely  that there                                                               
would be  ad infinitum  renewals of  rural language  teachers who                                                               
are on  the limited  teacher certificate, and  it was  likely one                                                               
would eventually seek normal certification.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:44:56 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  PRAX asked  why  certificate  renewal would  have                                                               
restrictions and commented it would  make sense to keep a teacher                                                               
involved as  long as the  teacher is  interested and not  put any                                                               
obstacles before him/her.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied  that Representative Prax's                                                               
question aligned with his own thinking,  but he said he defers to                                                               
committee  process   in  how  best  to   structure  the  proposed                                                               
legislation.   He commented that if  it is the will  of committee                                                               
to  remove that  section, which  is how  the bill  was originally                                                               
drafted, he would be amenable as  his broader goal is to pass the                                                               
proposed  legislation.   He  said he  would  agree with  whatever                                                               
compromise worked with the appropriate parties.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked for clarification  about how to get the                                                               
limited certificate and offered  his understanding that a teacher                                                               
would  have to  demonstrate  competence in  teaching  as well  as                                                               
speaking the given language.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS replied  that  there are  multiple                                                               
layers of review.   He said the local school  district must first                                                               
affirmatively approve of the teacher.   From there, he explained,                                                               
the referral  goes to DEED,  which will write the  regulations to                                                               
provide proper reviews  on teaching ability, and  only then would                                                               
a teacher get a certificate for one year.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that  he could understand initially                                                               
limiting the certificate to a year,  but if it was successful, he                                                               
wouldn't want to leave an obstacle in place.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:48:02 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND  shared her  connection to  languages and                                                               
explained  that she  spoke Greek  as a  child.   She opined  that                                                               
Alaska Native  languages are  dying out, and  it is  important to                                                               
connect  with  Native speakers.    She  commented that  she  also                                                               
wanted to  hear about how  it was  going in the  school districts                                                               
that had been offering Native language immersion for decades.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS   suggested  that   during  public                                                               
testimony there would  be many points of  perspective from across                                                               
the state.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:50:24 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ZULKOSKY  referred to  the  language  on page  2,                                                               
lines 24-30, of  HB 19 and asked if it  would be appropriate "for                                                               
that  to  be   considered  for  removal  and   inclusion  in  the                                                               
regulatory process."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON replied  he would need time  to consider the                                                               
proposed  action but  would notify  her office.   In  general, he                                                               
said, the more specific the legislature  is, the easier it is for                                                               
DEED  to implement  the  proposed legislation  as  intended.   He                                                               
commented that  all of  DEED's regulations  go through  the state                                                               
board and receive  public comment, and so  the regulatory process                                                               
at  the   department  does  provide  an   opportunity  to  refine                                                               
legislative intent.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY  asked representative  Kreiss-Tompkins if                                                               
it  was more  advantageous for  the  language to  be stripped  or                                                               
perhaps made broader to allow  for a better relationship with the                                                               
department, which  is setting the  regulations and  standards for                                                               
certification.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KREISS-TOMKINS   reiterated  that   the  original                                                               
version of  the bill did not  include the language, which  he saw                                                               
as  the  policy ideal.    He  commented that  preserving  maximum                                                               
latitude for  local districts and  the state board to  manage the                                                               
teacher certificate  program is  ideal.   He said  that if  it is                                                               
necessary   that  the   State  Board   of  Education   and  Early                                                               
Development create  a cap on  how many years a  certification can                                                               
be renewed,  he is  sure it  would do  so.   He restated  that he                                                               
would defer to the will of the committee.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ZULKOSKY responded  to Representative  Drummond's                                                               
earlier  comments and  said that  her district  has had  a Yup'ik                                                               
immersion program charter school for  about 30 years.  She shared                                                               
that many  graduates have followed pursuits  such as engineering,                                                               
have  gone to  Ivy League  universities, and  have given  back to                                                               
their communities.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:54:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK asked Commissioner  Johnson what DEED's goal                                                               
was regarding the proposed legislation.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER JOHNSON  replied that more successful  students [was                                                               
the  goal].    He  shared  his  belief  that  education  that  is                                                               
integrated with  culture, including  language, helps  students to                                                               
be more successful. He referred  to how [the Alaska Native Tribal                                                               
Health  Consortium] has  helped Alaska  through the  pandemic and                                                               
argued that  tribes are  well equipped and  well able  to provide                                                               
for the wellbeing of the community.   He said he found this to be                                                               
an opportunity  to have another  component of that  in education.                                                               
He asserted  that more  immersion programs would  help at  a high                                                               
level.   He  also shared  that there  is evidence  that immersion                                                               
programs  result   in  more  students  reading   proficiently  in                                                               
multiple languages.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
9:57:40 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY announced HB 19 was held over.