04/28/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

                HB 183-EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
8:12:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT announced  that  the next  order of  business                                                               
would be  HOUSE BILL NO.  183, "An Act relating  to district-wide                                                               
early education programs; and providing for an effective date."                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:12:38 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDI STORY,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  presented  HB  183  to  the  committee.    She  briefly                                                               
remarked  the   importance  of  pre-kindergarten   education  and                                                               
welcomed   invited   testifiers   to  speak   on   the   proposed                                                               
legislation.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:14:11 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOSHUA  COUGHRAN, Superintendent,  Skagway School  District, gave                                                               
invited testimony on HB  183.  He said that he  wanted to see the                                                               
opposite of  a "top down  approach" to public education  and said                                                               
that  the Skagway  School District  (SSD)  is a  good example  of                                                               
that.   He  explained how  the pre-kindergarten  programs in  his                                                               
school district positively benefit its  students and said that he                                                               
is "fortunate  to live in  a community" that supports  and allows                                                               
for pre-kindergarten  education as  a common opportunity  for all                                                               
students.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:18:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT asked  Mr. Coughran  if  his school  district                                                               
administered full day pre-kindergarten instruction.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. COUGHRAN answered that pre-kindergarten  education in the SSD                                                               
district was delivered in a half day format.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:19:25 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY  asked Mr.  Coughran to  elaborate further  on his                                                               
school district's budgeting for  its pre-kindergarten program and                                                               
asked what about the Alaska Reads Act of 2022 makes pre-                                                                        
kindergarten education "tedious."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. COUGHRAN answered that the SSD  put in an application for the                                                               
25  Average Daily  Membership (ADM)  funding after  learning from                                                               
the  Department of  Education and  Early Development  (DEED) that                                                               
some deal  of the funding it  had been utilizing was  illegal and                                                               
explained  that  the SSD  does  not  have  a federal  head  start                                                               
program, which  has made the  implementation of the  Alaska Reads                                                               
Act policies difficult.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:24:08 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked  Mr. Coughran how the  SSD has been                                                               
able to fund its pre-kindergarten program for the past 20 years.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR.   COUGHRAN  answered   that   his   school  district's   pre-                                                               
kindergarten  program was  fully  funded by  the Municipality  of                                                               
Skagway  until 2024.   He  emphasized how  the SSD  was put  in a                                                               
difficult position by changes to  how special revenue funding was                                                               
to be utilized.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:28:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ELAM  asked how  the  SSD  distributed staff  and                                                               
class time to its pre-kindergarten program.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  COUGHRAN explained  that  the SSD  is  a single-site  school                                                               
district and  said that  it has  never gone over  12 or  13 total                                                               
students in a graduating class.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:31:11 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT  asked Mr.  Coughran how  long the  SSD has                                                               
hosted  its pre-kindergarten  program  and asked  if  there is  a                                                               
waitlist for the program.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. COUGHRAN explained that the  SSD has offered pre-kindergarten                                                               
curriculum for over  20 years and said that there  is no waitlist                                                               
for it.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:37:59 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID asked Mr.  Coughran for his estimation of                                                               
how  many  hours  were  spent  on  the  creation  of  his  school                                                               
districts pre-kindergarten funding application.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. COUGHRAN replied that it  took probably 200 hours between him                                                               
and his Alaska Reads Act coordinator.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
8:40:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked about  the landscape of daycare and                                                               
early childcare in Skagway.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  COUGHRAN  said that  the  daycare  situation in  Skagway  is                                                               
"pretty  bleak" and  explained that  the seasonal  nature of  the                                                               
Skagway's  populous  has a  great  impact  on  the needs  of  the                                                               
community.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
8:44:19 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CYNDY   FRY,  Special   Education  Director,   Petersburg  School                                                               
District, gave  invited testimony  on HB  183.   She read  from a                                                               
prepared  statement on  behalf of  Heather Kahn,  which described                                                               
her experience working  in special education and  how that career                                                               
brought her  home to the  Petersburg School District (PSG).   The                                                               
statement  detailed the  17 head  start  programs that  currently                                                               
exist in  Alaska and  outlined how the  PSG benefits  from Alaska                                                               
Reads Act grants.   The statement emphasized the need  for a full                                                               
ADM of  preschool students  in Alaska and  detailed how  an early                                                               
learning  program  would  address physical  wellbeing,  social  &                                                               
emotional development, different  approaches to learning, general                                                               
knowledge &  cognition, communication, language, and  literacy in                                                               
Alaska's early education students.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
8:50:`49 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DIBERT  asked about  the early  learning landscape                                                               
in Petersburg.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  FRY answered  that Petersburg  needs a  more holistic  early                                                               
learning program  and said that  the PSG is  "extremely thankful"                                                               
that its early learning programs were available to its students.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
8:54:37 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  EISCHEID asked  why  the  application for  Alaska                                                               
Reads Act funding  is so arduous and asked if  there could be any                                                               
way  to  reduce  the  amount  of man  hours  spend  writing  that                                                               
application.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:55:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DEBORAH  RIDDLE, Operations  Manager,  Division  of Innovation  &                                                               
Education   Excellence,   Department   of   Education   &   Early                                                               
Development,  answered  committee  questions  on  HB  183.    She                                                               
explained   that  new   legislation   passed   in  the   previous                                                               
legislative  session   mandated  a  new  set   of  accountability                                                               
standards and said that administrative  staff within the DEED has                                                               
been working to assist school  districts in creating Alaska Reads                                                               
Act grant applications.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
8:59:55 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
BECKY   MOREN,  Early   Learning  Administrator,   Department  of                                                               
Education &  Early Development,  answered committee  questions on                                                               
HB 183.   She explained that the policy proposal  of HB 183 would                                                               
change  two standards  of grant  application in  the next  fiscal                                                               
year.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:01:44 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  STORY  asked  Ms.  Moren  to  further  detail  the  two                                                               
proposed changes in HB 183.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MOREN answered  that legislation  before  the committee  put                                                               
forward  two  proposed  changes  to  the  dual  language  learner                                                               
standard  and  the  early   childhood  mental  health  consultant                                                               
standard.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:06:07 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  HIMSCHOOT asked  how many  school  districts in  Alaska                                                               
have received  early education  funding or  are on  a conditional                                                               
funding  status and  asked  how  a school  might  start an  early                                                               
education  program if  it is  to hear  the results  of its  grant                                                               
application on September of the given year.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. MORAN  explained that the  Alaska Reads  Act grant is  a one-                                                               
time   application  that   stands  for   three  years   once  the                                                               
application  approved.   She answered  that  12 school  districts                                                               
have  requested   application  forms   and  explained   that  the                                                               
September 1 notification date of  early education funding for the                                                               
same year is statutory.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:14:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SCHWANKE asked Ms.  Moren to describe the existing                                                               
accountability  standards in  place related  to Alaska  Reads Act                                                               
Funding  and asked  if early  education program  grants would  be                                                               
"discontinued if they were not successful".                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MOREN answered  that value  and  criteria of  accountability                                                               
practices  lie within  academic testing  standards and  explained                                                               
that early education  program grants would stay in  place as long                                                               
as legislation determines so.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
9:19:58 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. RIDDLE  added "when we  talk about accountability,  there's a                                                               
lot  of accountability"  and explained  how the  grant applicants                                                               
work  to meet  the standards  of accountability  outlined by  the                                                               
early education  program grant, such  as monthly  meetings, early                                                               
learning progress data, and check-ins with the DEED.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:23:31 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY  gave wrap-up comments  on HB 183 and  thanked the                                                               
committee for hearing the proposed legislation.