04/21/2022 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 19(EDC)                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to instruction in a language other                                                                        
     than English; and establishing limited language                                                                            
     immersion teacher certificates."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:05:26 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, SPONSOR,  relayed that it was                                                                    
the third  legislature to  hear the  bill. He  asserted that                                                                    
the bill  spoke to  a growing  demand for  emergent language                                                                    
programs  in Alaska  schools, both  in  world languages  and                                                                    
Alaska Native languages. He cited  that the Anchorage School                                                                    
District  (ASD)  and  the Matanuska-Susitna  Borough  School                                                                    
District  had  extremely  popular and  successful  immersion                                                                    
language programs  that had  been nationally  recognized. He                                                                    
commented  on  the  growing   interest  in  Native  language                                                                    
immersion programs all over the state.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins   shared  that  one   of  the                                                                    
limiting  factors to  starting  immersion language  programs                                                                    
had been the inability to  attract and recruit teachers that                                                                    
were fluent  in the  target language.  He summarized  that a                                                                    
language  immersion  program   was  an  elementary  language                                                                    
program that immersed students while  teachers taught in the                                                                    
target  language for  a majority  of the  day. The  students                                                                    
advanced in the language year  by year and the ratio between                                                                    
the target language and English  was reduced and by the time                                                                    
the student left the program they would be fully fluent.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins  spoke  to the  challenge  of                                                                    
finding teachers.  He shared that programs  had been seeking                                                                    
greater  flexibility to  attract  teachers,  and that  there                                                                    
were many  unique circumstances that arose  around immersion                                                                    
language programs.  He noted  that world  language immersion                                                                    
programs often sought to recruit  a teacher from the country                                                                    
of the  target language.  He used the  example of  a teacher                                                                    
from Japan that  taught in Anchorage in  contrast with fully                                                                    
fluent Alaska Native language speakers from rural Alaska.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:08:42 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins  continued  his  remarks.  He                                                                    
characterized the bill  as a calibrated approach  to try and                                                                    
provide flexibility  to school  districts seeking  to create                                                                    
the immersion programs.  The goal was to  provide more tools                                                                    
to  attract  and  retain  teachers   to  make  the  programs                                                                    
reality, while still having state  and local sideboards that                                                                    
approved teachers and  promulgated regulations. He mentioned                                                                    
conversations  with the  Department of  Education and  Early                                                                    
Development  (DEED). He  specified  that it  was the  bills                                                                     
intent   that   the   department   interpret   dual-language                                                                    
education programs  in the  Lower Kuskokwim  School District                                                                    
(LKSD) be included in the language of the bill.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Senator Hoffman asked where LKSD was located.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins understood  that LKSD  was an                                                                    
exemplar of Alaskan education.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Hoffman  relayed  that  LKSD stood  for  the  Lower                                                                    
Kuskokwim School District.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:10:37 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson asked if the  fiscal note was all-inclusive or                                                                    
if there would be liability to the school districts.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins  informed   that  the  $6,000                                                                    
fiscal note covered only the  cost of regulation writing for                                                                    
the  department. Any  costs associated  with  setting up  an                                                                    
immersion language program would be borne by the district.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson  asked if school districts  were supportive of                                                                    
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins thought  there was  universal                                                                    
support  for the  bill from  the  K-12 education  community,                                                                    
including urban  and rural districts from  across the state.                                                                    
He  could   not  recall  exactly  which   organizations  had                                                                    
supported the  different iterations of the  legislation, but                                                                    
he thought  the Association  of Alaska School  Boards (AASB)                                                                    
and   the    Superintendents   Association    had   positive                                                                    
orientations toward the legislation.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Senator Olson  asked if he  had support letters  from school                                                                    
districts even  thought they were  financial liable  for the                                                                    
programs.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tomkins answered  in the  affirmative                                                                    
and offered  to produce  the list  of school  districts that                                                                    
had  taken   a  formal  position  on   the  legislation.  He                                                                    
addressed the  liability question. He stated  that there was                                                                    
not  any extraordinary  liability that  would be  assumed by                                                                    
school districts, and many  were already operating immersion                                                                    
language programs as they would  any other program. The bill                                                                    
did not  change anything  or create any  additional exposure                                                                    
or liability for school districts.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Bishop  asked  Representative  Kreiss-Tompkins  to                                                                    
repeat the latter part of his answer.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tompkins  reiterated that  there  was                                                                    
nothing  in  the  bill  that   would  create  new  exposure,                                                                    
liability,   responsibility,   or    mandates   for   school                                                                    
districts. The  bill just  gave districts  a new  option for                                                                    
teacher recruitment.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Senator Wilson  asked if teachers  would still have  to meet                                                                    
all other requirements for teaching  under the provisions of                                                                    
the bill.  He mentioned  the requirements for  Alaska Native                                                                    
cultural education and domestic  violence training that were                                                                    
established for certificated teachers.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Representative Kreiss-Tompkins deferred  the question to the                                                                    
Department of Education and  Early Development (DEED)m which                                                                    
was authorized  to write the  regulations to figure  out the                                                                    
sideboards.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:14:30 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SONDRA  MEREDITH, ADMINISTRATOR  FOR TEACHER  CERTIFICATION,                                                                    
DEPARTMENT   OF  EDUCATION   AND   EARLY  DEVELOPMENT   (via                                                                    
teleconference),   asked  Senator   Wilson  to   repeat  his                                                                    
question.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Senator  Wilson  asked  if  the   new  type  of  certificate                                                                    
proposed in  the bill  would require  the same  training and                                                                    
professional  development  courses   currently  required  of                                                                    
teachers.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Ms.   Meredith  stated   that  there   would  be   the  same                                                                    
requirements  around mandatory  training that  all educators                                                                    
were required  to do.  The bill  allowed for  other criteria                                                                    
besides  a   bachelor's  degree  and   testing  requirements                                                                    
currently  required for  regularly  certified teachers.  The                                                                    
board would have to regulate  the alternative. She discussed                                                                    
the Type  M certificate,  which allowed for  requirements to                                                                    
be substituted with various factors.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop  asked if the  state school  board supported                                                                    
the bill.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Kreiss-Tompkins did  not believe  the Alaska                                                                    
Board of Education had taken a position on the bill.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop  clarified that he  asked because  the board                                                                    
would have to  meet and approve the new  type of certificate                                                                    
proposed in the bill.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative    Kreiss-Tompkins    relayed    that    DEED                                                                    
Commissioner  Michael Johnson  had  spoken in  favor of  the                                                                    
legislation  in  prior  hearings.  He  recognized  that  the                                                                    
commissioner  was not  a board  member,  although he  worked                                                                    
with the board.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop asked how long  it would take the department                                                                    
to  make  changes  if  the   board  were  to  make  the  new                                                                    
certificate proposed din the bill.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Meredith  stated   that  considering  the  department's                                                                    
regulatory  process, it  would  take between  six to  twelve                                                                    
months to regulate the certificate.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
9:18:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PEGGY RANKIN, SENIOR  DIRECTOR, TALENT MANAGEMENT, ANCHORAGE                                                                    
SCHOOL DISTRICT  (via teleconference),  spoke in  support of                                                                    
the  bill.  She  noted  that ASD  Superintendent  Dr.  Deena                                                                    
Bishop  had submitted  a letter  in support  of the  bill on                                                                    
April 22,  2021, and had  also testified on the  matter. She                                                                    
commented  that education  had changed  in  the past  twenty                                                                    
years   and  the   bill  proposed   to  provide   additional                                                                    
opportunities for  students. She thought the  bill supported                                                                    
immersion programs.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
9:19:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BRANDON  LOCKE,  DIRECTOR,  WORLD  LANGUAGES  AND  IMMERSION                                                                    
PROGRAMS,  ANCHORAGE SCHOOL  DISTRICT, spoke  in support  of                                                                    
the bill.  He echoed Ms. Rankins   comments. He acknowledged                                                                    
a nationwide  teacher shortage and asserted  that there were                                                                    
even greater challenges in Alaska.  He cited that there were                                                                    
about  8,000  students  in a  world  language  or  immersion                                                                    
program in  ASD. Specifically, there were  2,600 students in                                                                    
K-12  immersion, including  Spanish, Japanese,  Russian, and                                                                    
German.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Locke  cited there  were three  ASD high  school seniors                                                                    
currently employed  by the National Security  Agency working                                                                    
on  Joint   Base  Elmendorf-Richardson  (JBER)   working  as                                                                    
linguist interns.  He mentioned growing programs  in French,                                                                    
Mandarin, and Yupik. He noted  that finding teachers for the                                                                    
programs was next to impossible,  and the district often had                                                                    
to  hire  from  outside   the  country  where  certification                                                                    
processes  were  very  different.  He  cited  challenges  in                                                                    
hiring   foreign  teachers.   He  emphasized   working  with                                                                    
international   teachers  and   supporting   them  to   fill                                                                    
difficult-to-fill  positions in  immersion programs.  He did                                                                    
not see  the bill  as a  way to   open the  floodgates,  but                                                                    
rather  it  would be  up  to  each school  districts   human                                                                    
resources process to hire the  most qualified people for the                                                                    
positions.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
9:23:05 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop OPENED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:23:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Bishop set the bill aside.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
HB  19  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in   committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.