Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519

04/26/2024 08:00 AM House FINANCE

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
-- Recessed from 1:30 pm 4/25/24--
+ SB 52 EDU INFO;INCREASE BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ HB 139 CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM FUNDING TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled TELECONFERENCED
HOUSE BILL NO. 139                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to funding for correspondence study                                                                       
     programs."                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:49:01 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster explained that the  bill had been introduced                                                                    
well  before the  recent  court decision  on  the topic.  He                                                                    
noted that  he intended  to have  a hearing  on each  of the                                                                    
education bills in the  House Finance Committee's possession                                                                    
in order for  the committee to think about how  it wanted to                                                                    
move  forward and  to be  informed on  all of  the available                                                                    
tools. He  had hoped to  have Legislative Legal  Services to                                                                    
speak  to  the court  decision;  however,  it had  not  been                                                                    
possible to get someone in  time for the current meeting. He                                                                    
asked to hear from the bill sponsor.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JUSTIN  RUFFRIDGE, SPONSOR,  confirmed  that                                                                    
the bill had been introduced  long before any of the [court]                                                                    
decisions were  made. He was  able to offer his  opinion but                                                                    
could not  speak to the  legality of different  court cases.                                                                    
He relayed that HB 139  sought to put correspondence funding                                                                    
on  par  with other  funding  in  Alaska. The  initial  bill                                                                    
sought to add  a special needs factor,  which other students                                                                    
in the state received at  a 1.2 multiplier in the foundation                                                                    
formula.  Correspondence programs  were currently  funded at                                                                    
90 percent  of the  average daily  membership (ADM)  and did                                                                    
not move through the foundation formula.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge   explained  that  the   bill  was                                                                    
intended  to  start  the   conversation  about  whether  the                                                                    
special   needs  factor   should  apply   to  correspondence                                                                    
students.  He  acknowledged  that sometimes  the  title  was                                                                    
confusing, and it  should not be mistaken  for the intensive                                                                    
needs factor,  which was a  special multiplier  for students                                                                    
with  an   individualized  learning  plan  (ILP)   for  very                                                                    
specific   disabilities   or  learning   disabilities   that                                                                    
required them to have additional  funding. He clarified that                                                                    
the  special  needs  factor  applied  to  all  students  for                                                                    
certain  things  like  technical  or  vocational  education,                                                                    
advanced  placement  courses, and  a  host  of other  things                                                                    
including athletics.  He characterized it as  a catchall for                                                                    
all  things  that students  may  need  that were  above  and                                                                    
beyond the  standard educational  platform. He  relayed that                                                                    
HB   139  sought   to  add   a  special   needs  factor   to                                                                    
correspondence  school students  to bring  them on  par with                                                                    
other students in the state.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Edgmon asked the same  question he asked previously                                                                    
to  Senator Tobin  and Representative  McKay. He  noted that                                                                    
correspondence schools  were a  significant part of  SB 140,                                                                    
which had been  vetoed by the governor.  The governor's veto                                                                    
letter had talked about the  need for educational reform and                                                                    
that  the   money  attached  to  the   bill  for  education,                                                                    
including a large chunk for  correspondence schools, did not                                                                    
come  with reform.  He referenced  Senator Tobin's  comments                                                                    
earlier in the meeting on  assessments and the low number of                                                                    
testing   in   correspondence    schools.   He   asked   for                                                                    
Representative Ruffridge's comments on the topic.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge  responded that assessments  were a                                                                    
broad  subject. He  was currently  missing  a discussion  on                                                                    
assessments  with  the  Department of  Education  and  Early                                                                    
Development (DEED) and after he  was finished in the current                                                                    
meeting, he would join the  discussion and would report back                                                                    
to the committee. He found  assessments to be a considerable                                                                    
concern.  He  elaborated  that the  assessments  offered  in                                                                    
Alaska over the past decade  had been unusable. He explained                                                                    
that regardless of the testing  percentage, it was difficult                                                                    
to trust  what was  coming out of  the assessments  given in                                                                    
the state.  For example, the  cut scores for  the assessment                                                                    
given  in the  past school  year were  altered to  allow the                                                                    
numbers  of  students deemed  proficient  to  be higher.  He                                                                    
stated that if  it was possible to manipulate  the scores or                                                                    
change  the test  entirely,  he wondered  if  the amount  of                                                                    
funding  put  towards  supporting assessments  were  rightly                                                                    
spent. He thought the state  needed to offer stability and a                                                                    
necessity of  tracking successes  or failures, which  he did                                                                    
not  believe  was  currently occurring.  He  considered  the                                                                    
question of whether  students should be able to  opt out [of                                                                    
assessments].  He  believed  it  was  an  important  aspect,                                                                    
particularly  for  students in  rural  Alaska.  He spoke  to                                                                    
correspondence schools  in general  and explained  that many                                                                    
students   located   in   remote  areas   who   were   being                                                                    
homeschooled or  were in a correspondence  program typically                                                                    
had to  travel to a  centralized location to test.  He noted                                                                    
the same  was true  for homeschool  students located  on the                                                                    
Railbelt or road system.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:56:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge   continued  to   answer  Co-Chair                                                                    
Edgmon's question.  He detailed  that a  centralized testing                                                                    
was  offered  over  multiple  days  and  all  students  were                                                                    
encouraged to go to take the  test; however, due to the cost                                                                    
of travel, many  parents chose not to  participate. He noted                                                                    
that there  was equality amongst  all students in  the state                                                                    
to be  able to  opt out,  but students  in brick  and mortar                                                                    
schools were more  likely to take the test  because the test                                                                    
was offered  onsite and all  of the resources were  built to                                                                    
get  the   students  to  that  spot,   while  correspondence                                                                    
students, by the  nature of being at home, did  not have the                                                                    
same  opportunity. Potentially  with  special needs  funding                                                                    
there  could  be  some  additional  resources  allocated  to                                                                    
allowing students to travel for testing purposes.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ortiz  appreciated the intent of  the bill to                                                                    
increase  [funding  for   correspondence  schools]  from  90                                                                    
percent  to   100  percent.   He  asked   if  Representative                                                                    
Ruffridge would  agree that the  number had  been originally                                                                    
set at 90  percent with the understanding that  the cost for                                                                    
students to attend  brick and mortar schools  were higher in                                                                    
relationship to facilities and access to activities.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge  replied that  he wanted  to ensure                                                                    
they were  talking about the  same bill. He noted  there had                                                                    
been  a  number   of  correspondence  program  conversations                                                                    
recently. He detailed that SB  140 had included the ADM, the                                                                    
ADM only, and  100 percent of ADM, which  was different than                                                                    
HB 139.  He explained that HB  139 was amended in  the House                                                                    
Education  Committee  to  retain the  0.9  percent  funding,                                                                    
which was reflected in the  current version of the bill. The                                                                    
bill added the special needs factor funding.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ortiz  asked if the  bill would be  an avenue                                                                    
to fix  the problem in  relationship to what  had transpired                                                                    
with the  court decision. He  wondered if the  problem would                                                                    
be solved  by adopting  an amendment to  revert back  to the                                                                    
way funds  were administered  to correspondence  programs in                                                                    
2014.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge answered  there  would  be a  bill                                                                    
introduced  later   in  the  day  sponsored   by  the  House                                                                    
Education  Committee that  would include  statutory language                                                                    
to address the  court decision. He advocated  for an omnibus                                                                    
fix for  education. He believed  a wholesale  discussion was                                                                    
needed. He  shared that he had  been a supporter of  SB 140.                                                                    
He  thought that  having the  pieces  in place  to have  the                                                                    
conversation prior to  the end of session  was important. He                                                                    
advocated strongly  for the  correspondence component  in SB
140.  He stated  that the  shorter answer  to Representative                                                                    
Ortiz's question was, "Yes, hopefully."                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:01:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Galvin  stated  that there  were  population                                                                    
assessments related to  how the state was  doing and student                                                                    
assessments  used by  teachers  that could  be shared  among                                                                    
districts  and  schools.  She  thought  both  seemed  to  be                                                                    
important,  especially  when thinking  about  accountability                                                                    
for public funds.  She referenced Representative Ruffridge's                                                                    
mention  of  how  difficult  it   was  to  travel  [to  take                                                                    
assessments]  for charter  and correspondence  students. She                                                                    
believed  Representative Ruffridge  was suggesting  that the                                                                    
fix would be to raise  the base funding for those particular                                                                    
students. She  wondered if the  he would entertain  the idea                                                                    
of  a  reimbursement  of costs  individuals  incurred  as  a                                                                    
result of  taking the  test. She thought  that route  may be                                                                    
more  acceptable to  people  currently  concerned about  the                                                                    
funding spent  within that segment  of education.  She noted                                                                    
that  apparently there  had been  some  reports that  people                                                                    
were going  to private  school all day  and taking  the full                                                                    
allotment  and using  it for  extras.  On top  of that,  the                                                                    
students were  not taking the testing;  therefore, the state                                                                    
did not  know how the  public dollars were doing  within the                                                                    
public education realm.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge asked  for a  distillation of  the                                                                    
question.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative Galvin  complied. She asked about  opting out                                                                    
of the  testing, getting  correspondence and  charter school                                                                    
students to take the test,  and how the legislature may fund                                                                    
it.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge made  a distinction between charter                                                                    
schools  and  correspondence.  He  believed  charter  school                                                                    
students  tested at  a similar  rate to  those in  brick and                                                                    
mortar  neighborhood schools.  For  the  most part,  charter                                                                    
schools were  brick and  mortar neighborhood  schools, which                                                                    
had a slightly different  operational model including boards                                                                    
run by  parents and with that  could be run separate  of the                                                                    
school   district   in   some   sense.   He   relayed   that                                                                    
correspondence  schools had  a much  lower testing  rate. He                                                                    
stated  there  was  a  long  history  of  ways  to  leverage                                                                    
homeschool students to take  state testing including holding                                                                    
their allotment for the following  year for refusing to take                                                                    
the statewide test. He relayed that  it was a program run in                                                                    
Alaska  for many  years.  He  noted it  was  not  a kind  or                                                                    
particularly stable way of getting  at the issue. He thought                                                                    
the existing method  was a much better  way of administering                                                                    
the program.  He relayed that  correspondence he  had worked                                                                    
with during  his time  in Alaska  went out  of their  way to                                                                    
make  testing available  to  students.  Ultimately, it  came                                                                    
down  to whether  a parent  chose to  take advantage  of the                                                                    
option. The  option was  the same  option afforded  to every                                                                    
parent in the state, which was equally given.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:06:00 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative   Galvin   stated   heard   so   much   about                                                                    
accountability  and accountability  of  public dollars.  She                                                                    
highlighted that  it was very  hard to assess how  the state                                                                    
was doing  with its public dollars  if it did not  have some                                                                    
measure  of how  the state  was doing  population wise.  She                                                                    
thought  it may  be a  component to  consider when  thinking                                                                    
through  how  to  reform  education   to  help  improve  all                                                                    
students.  She believed  an  additional  component would  be                                                                    
improved sharing  among educators on  how the growth  of the                                                                    
state's students was  going. She understood that  all of the                                                                    
things required resources.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Cronk remarked  that  the  lawsuit had  been                                                                    
backed by  the National Education Association  in support of                                                                    
the state's brick  and mortar schools. He  remarked that the                                                                    
state  could not  use public  funds for  private school.  He                                                                    
shared that he  had been a teacher for 25  years. He thought                                                                    
public  school  districts   had  violated  the  constitution                                                                    
because  they  had  paid  for  private  school  classes.  He                                                                    
elaborated  that his  school district  used to  pay Bringham                                                                    
Young University to teach classes.  He thought it was ironic                                                                    
a  lawsuit was  filed against  correspondence kids,  yet the                                                                    
school  districts had  paid for  private school  classes for                                                                    
students. He  did not believe there  was a quick fix  to the                                                                    
situation at hand. He asked who  was to say that McGraw Hill                                                                    
was  not  a  private  company  that  the  state  was  buying                                                                    
curriculum from. He  thought it was a much  bigger issue now                                                                    
that  a  judge had  ruled  "this  was" unconstitutional.  He                                                                    
asked who  would determine which curriculum  company was not                                                                    
private. He reiterated his comments  about a district paying                                                                    
for  classes at  the private  Bringham Young  University. He                                                                    
thought it was an obvious violation of the constitution.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge answered that  he had received some                                                                    
clarity when looking at some  of the correspondence programs                                                                    
aligned with private schools in  Alaska offering payment for                                                                    
their  tuition   for  children  to  attend   private  school                                                                    
essentially full-time. He believed  it was not the intention                                                                    
of  the correspondence  program  allotment.  He thought  the                                                                    
judge's decision required clarity in  some cases in terms of                                                                    
how far it reached. He had  looked up some of the minutes of                                                                    
the  constitutional convention  and  believed the  intention                                                                    
was  that  students  attending a  private  school  full-time                                                                    
should not have  state funds going to pay  their tuition. He                                                                    
thought it  was a  little less  clear for  classes, tutoring                                                                    
services,   and  curriculums.   He  thought   there  was   a                                                                    
possibility  the legislature  could work  on a  fix of  some                                                                    
sort going forward. He believed  it would be challenging and                                                                    
that  there would  be some  uncertainty working  through the                                                                    
situation. He did  not want to be afraid of  having the hard                                                                    
conversations. Part  of the conversation was  addressing how                                                                    
to  fund correspondence  schools because  they were  part of                                                                    
the public education system in  Alaska. He believed allowing                                                                    
parents to have the opportunity  to educate students at home                                                                    
was envied  by other  states. He  was supremely  grateful to                                                                    
his  homeschooling opportunity  as a  child and  thanked his                                                                    
mother for her sacrifice.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative Cronk  estimated that  his district  had over                                                                    
half  the correspondence  students. He  stated the  argument                                                                    
had been  that using  funds for  classes at  private schools                                                                    
was not  appropriate. However,  public school  districts had                                                                    
been doing  so since he  was a  teacher. He found  it ironic                                                                    
that  it was  possible  to  pick and  choose  what to  fight                                                                    
against.   He   supported   correspondence.  He   found   it                                                                    
frustrating to see  one entity picking on  another, when the                                                                    
practice had been going on for years.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:12:48 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Hannan  asked   for  verification  that  the                                                                    
provisions  pertaining to  the  special  needs factor  would                                                                    
apply  to  every  child enrolled  in  correspondence  versus                                                                    
students identified with special needs.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge clarified  that the  special needs                                                                    
factor already  applied to every  student attending  a brick                                                                    
and  mortar school.  He detailed  that it  was a  20 percent                                                                    
multiplier  to the  ADM. He  relayed that  there was  a very                                                                    
specific  difference   between  intensive  needs,   which  a                                                                    
student  needed  to  apply for,  and  special  needs,  which                                                                    
applied to  every student. He believed  special needs should                                                                    
apply to all students.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Representative Hannan stated that  every school needed to be                                                                    
prepared by  law to comply  with the  federal law to  have a                                                                    
certified  special  education   teacher  for  students  with                                                                    
individualized  education  plans  (IEP). She  reasoned  that                                                                    
sometimes it  was not cost  effective because there  was the                                                                    
[special needs]  factor and a  lot of kids. She  stated that                                                                    
generally in  correspondence there  was a smaller  number of                                                                    
kids in  a unit. She  explained that even though  the Galena                                                                    
School District would receive the  funding, there may not be                                                                    
any  kids  in  Kenai   that  needed  the  special  education                                                                    
services.  She asked  for  verification that  Representative                                                                    
Ruffridge  wanted   the  factor  to  be   applied  to  every                                                                    
correspondent  student whether  any  services  needed to  be                                                                    
delivered or not.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge  believed they were  conflating two                                                                    
separate issues. He clarified  that the special needs factor                                                                    
was  a  catchall for  a  large  number of  things  including                                                                    
advanced placement classes,  technical vocational education,                                                                    
and other  things. He  noted that  statute clearly  laid out                                                                    
the  large  list of  services  that  applied. He  encouraged                                                                    
legislators to  visit a correspondence program  because they                                                                    
offered some  of the things  that Representative  Hannan was                                                                    
concerned about.  He highlighted  one program in  Juneau. He                                                                    
elaborated that  some of the  things were offered at  a very                                                                    
high  level and  provided  some  coverage for  occupational,                                                                    
physical, or  other needs without  any additional  funds. He                                                                    
stated  they  were doing  an  incredible  job of  using  the                                                                    
limited resources  available to  provide even  the intensive                                                                    
needs  services  in  some  cases.   Most  of  the  certified                                                                    
teachers  available to  students within  homeschool programs                                                                    
had  years  of  teaching and  homeschooling  experience.  He                                                                    
elaborated that  they were helping  parents learn how  to be                                                                    
good  teachers   at  home.   He  remarked   the  legislature                                                                    
supported  the  Parents  as  Teachers  program  through  the                                                                    
budget process, but  the program actually had  nothing to do                                                                    
with  homeschooling. He  thought the  homeschooling programs                                                                    
provided a  large amount of  support to parents  and offered                                                                    
special needs and other intensive  needs services at home or                                                                    
through the  program, currently without  additional funding.                                                                    
He disagreed with the idea  that the services were not being                                                                    
offered within correspondence programs.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative Hannan  remarked that  there were  three home                                                                    
school centers  in Juneau: Idea, Raven,  and Homebridge. She                                                                    
noted that she had visited all three.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:17:59 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stapp  remarked   on  the  conversation  and                                                                    
stated that  there was an  attempt at a  narrative regarding                                                                    
accountability around homeschool kids.  He thought there was                                                                    
a misconception by  many members of the  committee about how                                                                    
correspondence programs  worked. He  asked how many  kids in                                                                    
Alaska were  currently in  correspondence schools.  He asked                                                                    
for the total  number of students enrolled  in public school                                                                    
in Alaska.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge  answered  that  about  22,000  to                                                                    
23,000  students were  enrolled in  correspondence programs.                                                                    
There  were about  100,000 students  enrolled  in brick  and                                                                    
mortar  schools.   He  stated  there  a   total  of  128,000                                                                    
students.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stapp estimated  that  22,000  was about  24                                                                    
percent of  the total. He  if it was reasonable  to conclude                                                                    
that if  14 percent  of the 22,000  were testing,  there was                                                                    
not accountability for  the kids not testing.  He noted that                                                                    
the  vast majority  of the  kids in  the school  system were                                                                    
testing and there were reliable  numbers for how kids tested                                                                    
and  scored. He  considered comments  that a  fraction of  a                                                                    
fraction of a total  population did not have accountability.                                                                    
He found it  to be ironic that individuals did  not see that                                                                    
the problem was that the majority  of the kids in the school                                                                    
system  were testing  poorly.  He  asked if  it  was a  fair                                                                    
assessment.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge   answered  that   assessments  in                                                                    
general  as   a  singular  measure  of   accountability  was                                                                    
probably the  wrong thing.  He relayed that  in the  case of                                                                    
some of the  court decisions he thought in  some cases there                                                                    
was  very blatant  signaling about  what  was happening  and                                                                    
likely  DEED  or the  state  board  should have  taken  some                                                                    
action to  make sure it was  clear what was not  allowed. He                                                                    
thought  that was  accountability.  He  did not  necessarily                                                                    
know that  accountability had a  single answer.  He remarked                                                                    
that  because Alaska  could not  pick a  test or  score that                                                                    
mattered,  he  thought  it  was   a  very  poor  measure  of                                                                    
accountability.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stapp asked  if correspondence  schools were                                                                    
operated by public schools.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge responded affirmatively.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stapp stated  that numerous committee members                                                                    
had talked  about local  control. He  asked if  local school                                                                    
districts had  the ability  to change  the structure  of how                                                                    
they  want to  administer  their  homeschool programs,  even                                                                    
changing  if they  wanted to  give an  allotment or  not. He                                                                    
asked  for verification  that nothing  compelled them  to do                                                                    
so.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge answered  affirmatively. He relayed                                                                    
that each  district decided the  allotment amount.  He noted                                                                    
it was incredibly varied.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stapp  thought it was  fair to say  that when                                                                    
people  talked about  local  and  accountability, they  were                                                                    
looking for  a statewide solution for  correspondence school                                                                    
testing;  however, local  school districts  already had  the                                                                    
ability  to  impose  accountability  metrics  themselves  by                                                                    
changing  the  structure   of  their  individual  homeschool                                                                    
programs because they were public schools.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge  replied affirmatively.  He relayed                                                                    
that  in   his  experience,  local  districts   were  highly                                                                    
supportive of their  correspondence programs because parents                                                                    
wanted  the option.  He elaborated  that because  there many                                                                    
options  for correspondence  programs throughout  the state,                                                                    
there was a bit of a  push-pull competition going on for who                                                                    
could take the  best care of a student. He  noted there were                                                                    
three [correspondence  programs] in Juneau and  each one had                                                                    
a connection  to a specific  district. Parents  could choose                                                                    
which one fit  the needs of a certain group  of people; they                                                                    
may find a  home in one and not find  the supports they need                                                                    
in another.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:23:09 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stapp agreed. He  considered how changing the                                                                    
spend  multiplier  for  correspondence  students  worked  in                                                                    
conjunction with the court case.  He asked if correspondence                                                                    
school  funding  was  basically discretionary  spending  for                                                                    
districts.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge responded affirmatively.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stapp stated that  the court case even struck                                                                    
down  the 1997  statute  regarding ILPs  and allotments.  He                                                                    
asked  what  would happen  with  the  increased funding  for                                                                    
correspondence schools if it  was determined that allotments                                                                    
and ILPs were not legal.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge answered that  the funding would go                                                                    
to the school district.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Stapp   asked  if  the  district   could  do                                                                    
whatever   it  wanted   with  the   funds  because   it  was                                                                    
discretionary spending.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge agreed.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative    Josephson    appreciated    Representative                                                                    
Ruffridge's nuanced  answer to  Representative Cronk  on his                                                                    
understanding of  the NEA  backed case.  He agreed  that the                                                                    
state constitution did  not intend for the state  to fire up                                                                    
number two  pencil factories because  it could  not purchase                                                                    
them from  a vendor. He  did not  believe that was  what the                                                                    
constitution  intended.  He   addressed  the  accountability                                                                    
component  of the  meeting  conversation.  He recalled  that                                                                    
when  he  worked  as  a public  school  teacher  in  western                                                                    
Alaska, he had taken the GRE  with a proctor in rural Alaska                                                                    
when preparing  to go to law  school. He asked if  a similar                                                                    
system could be designed.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Representative Ruffridge  remarked that he thought  a number                                                                    
two pencil factory  and factories in general  in Alaska were                                                                    
a good idea. He agreed that  a proctored exam could be done.                                                                    
He was not certain what the  options were in terms of online                                                                    
availability  and  connectivity   issues  could  occur.  The                                                                    
legislature had  worked to address connectivity  issues with                                                                    
broadband assistance  grants and  other solutions.  He noted                                                                    
that the tests  offered in person were  proctored. There was                                                                    
significant  staffing  and  building rental  that  currently                                                                    
occurred  in order  to administer  tests for  correspondence                                                                    
programs.  He thought  it  was an  opportunity  to ask  some                                                                    
questions about the  idea and he thought it was  a good line                                                                    
of thinking to do so going forward.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
9:26:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnson remarked  that accountability  and testing                                                                    
was  not really  a part  of  the bill.  She appreciated  the                                                                    
bill.   She  remarked   on  the   idea  of   separating  out                                                                    
correspondence programs  and providing less  funding because                                                                    
they were  not located in  a brick and mortar  building. She                                                                    
highlighted  that  the  students  still  had  to  be  housed                                                                    
somewhere. She would  love to have the  same conversation on                                                                    
accountability  related  to  the  entire  education  funding                                                                    
instead  of doing  things piecemeal.  She noted  they had  a                                                                    
problem  in   Alaska  with  getting  kids   up  to  national                                                                    
standards.  She  stated  it  did  not  start  and  end  with                                                                    
correspondence students.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ruffridge  thought  the answer  when  asking                                                                    
about accountability in neighborhood  schools was to look at                                                                    
all of the information districts  were providing back to the                                                                    
state in  terms of where the  money went, how it  was spent,                                                                    
who was testing, how they  were testing, etcetera. He stated                                                                    
that correspondence  programs were run by  districts and all                                                                    
of the same things  provided to neighborhood schools related                                                                    
to   accountability   for   funds   were   offered   through                                                                    
correspondence   programs    as   well.   He    noted   that                                                                    
Representative Stapp had an  interesting line of questioning                                                                    
about  whether correspondence  programs  were district  run,                                                                    
district allocated,  and district accountable  programs. The                                                                    
answer  was yes.  He found  separating the  programs out  as                                                                    
"other" was  odd to  him. He  supported an  omnibus approach                                                                    
for education. He thought education  should be considered on                                                                    
a wholesale level including  asking how neighborhood schools                                                                    
and  neighborhood  schools  were  doing  and  if  they  were                                                                    
getting the needed resources. He  stated that the concept in                                                                    
the bill was  one component of the  "three headed question."                                                                    
He thought  it was important  to remember that  the programs                                                                    
were  all district  run,  district  allocated, and  district                                                                    
accountable and were ultimately accountable to DEED.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:30:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Edgmon  appreciated  the comment.  He  highlighted                                                                    
there were 19 remaining days  in session. He fully supported                                                                    
a comprehensive discussion on a  holistic level as outlined.                                                                    
He hoped work could be done  over the coming interim to prep                                                                    
legislators  for   the  following  session.  He   hoped  the                                                                    
governor  could  be involved  in  the  larger discussion  as                                                                    
well.  He   believed  there  was   support  to  do   so  for                                                                    
correspondence,  charter   school,  and  brick   and  mortar                                                                    
programs. He  appreciated the commentary  and Representative                                                                    
Ruffridge's ability to respond  to questions from all angles                                                                    
including the lawsuit with the correspondence programs.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
HB  139  was  HEARD  and   HELD  in  committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster  reviewed the schedule for  the next meeting                                                                    
to take place immediately.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
SB 52 Public Testimony Rec'd by 051124.pdf HFIN 4/26/2024 8:00:00 AM
SB 52