Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
03/23/2011 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Superintendent, Cordova School District | |
| HB198 | |
| HB199 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 198 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 199 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 198-SPEC. EDUC. SERVICE AGENCY FUNDING/SUNSET
CHAIR DICK announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 198, "An Act relating to the special education
service agency."
8:29:53 AM
SHEILA PETERSON, Staff, Representative Alan Dick, Alaska State
Legislature, introduced HB 198, paraphrasing from the sponsor
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
House Bill 198 removes a sunset requirement and
increases state funding to the Special Education
Service Agency (SESA), a not-for-profit organization
established in statute in 1986. SESA is governed by
the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special
Education and its own independent board of directors.
The Special Education Service Agency assists local
school districts to provide needed special education
services. Sometimes districts cannot fully serve
students that have low-incidence disabilities with
their existing personnel and resources. SESA has a
pool of educators trained to give support to teachers
and administrators who work daily with students who
are deaf, deaf-blind, mentally retarded, hearing
impaired, blind and visually impaired, orthopedically
disabled, health-impaired in other ways, and severely
emotionally disturbed . . . (AS 14.30.630 (b)(1)).
The Special Education Service Agency receives state
support based on a funding formula adopted in 1998.
Each year the Department of Education and Early
Development allocates to SESA not less than $15.75
times the number of students statewide. Although
local school districts have received an increase in
state funding since 1998, SESA has not. Under HB 198,
the multiplier increases as the base student
allocation increases. Currently the computation (.4
percent of $5,680) equals $22.72 which approximates
the impact of inflation from 1998 to 2011.
The Special Education Service Agency is set to expire
on June 30, 2013. During previous performance audits,
both the Department of Education and the Legislative
Auditor recommended removing SESA from the sunset
process. House Bill 198 repeals the sunset
requirement and thus allows SESA to plan long-term.
Thank you for your support of this legislation.
8:33:06 AM
MS. PETERSON stated that the Governor's Council on Disabilities
& Special Education would become the oversight committee should
the sunset audit requirement be removed.
8:33:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, citing the lack of a fiscal note,
asked what would be the increase over the years, and what the
plan was for the extra funding.
MS. PETERSON read from the handout, "Benefit of Increased
Funding," [Included in members' packets] and stated that:
A benefit of increase would be to enhance the district
services; to provide more distance delivery and online
[courses]; increase staff, so they could meet with
more individual students; and then increase training
for regular and special ed teachers.
She estimated that the current state funding was $2-$3 million
under the current formula for $15.75.
8:35:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON directed attention to Recommendation No. 1
in the December 18, 2003 Audit Report [Included in members'
packets] which suggested that "SESA should transition to
videoconferencing as the norm for the delivery of its service."
He asked whether that recommendation had been implemented.
8:36:28 AM
MS. PETERSON offered her belief that there was work in that
direction. She deferred to Ms. Nagarkar and Ms. Davidson for
clarification.
8:37:05 AM
NANCY NAGARKAR, Executive Director, Special Education Services
Agency (SESA), said that the agency currently received $2.021
million and, in response to Representative Seaton, she stated
that there was a lot of videoconferencing, although some school
districts did not have the equipment. She explained that Skype
was also used, noting that both of these were "value added."
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON pointed out that this House Education
Standing Committee meeting was not videoconferenced. He
explained that the committee might be "behind the curve, as
well," noting that it would be helpful to see the testifiers.
8:39:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked how many additional staff would
be hired, and how much revenue that would generate.
8:39:51 AM
MS. NAGARKAR offered her belief that at least eight experienced
staff would be hired. She said that the revenue estimate would
depend on the child count, and she deferred for an actual
estimate.
8:41:24 AM
ERIC GEBHART, Superintendent, Nenana City School District, Vice
Chair, Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education,
stated his support for HB 198, and said that almost half of
SESA's funding was derived from grants, and that the additional
revenue from HB 198 would ensure that the mission of SESA could
be met. He pointed out that SESA was interested in increasing
the technology; however, due to the special nature of
disabilities, a physical presence was often required. He
emphasized the importance of removing the sunset clause in order
to negotiate long term leases and offer assurances to the staff.
8:45:02 AM
PAT DAVIDSON, Legislative Auditor, Legislative Audit Division,
said that four reviews had been conducted on SESA over the past
20 years, and that the majority of recommendations had been for
operational issues and service delivery, which included the
teleconferencing currently being discussed. She relayed that
the teleconferencing recommendation had sprung from the
expansion of tele-medicine. She pointed to the audit review of
1995, and stated that the recommendation had been to extend SESA
for 10 years or to remove SESA from the sunset process. She
acknowledged that the sunset process allowed for a periodic
evaluation; however, she pointed out that an audit could be
requested through the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.
8:47:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked if the legislative audit was
supportive of the recommendation to expand videoconferencing.
8:48:02 AM
MS. DAVIDSON replied that, with changing technology, it would be
necessary to have a follow up audit for an accurate response.
8:49:08 AM
ELIZABETH SWEENEY NUDELMAN, Director, School Finance and
Facilities Section, Department of Education and Early
Development (EED), addressed the EED fiscal note. She reported
that HB 198 would increase the SESA funding by $901,000, as it
would change the allocation from $15.75 multiplied by the
statewide average daily membership (ADM) to .4 percent of the
base student allowance (BSA) multiplied by the ADM. She opined
that the SESA increase would be included each time there was a
BSA increase. She noted that the BSA increase was "directly
attributed to the school districts for their public school
funding formula" and that each BSA increase would require a new
SESA fiscal note from EED. She pointed out that, alternatively,
the increase could be placed in statute. She stated that EED
was in support of an extension for the sunset provision.
8:51:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked what time frame was suggested for
the sunset extension.
MS. NUDELMAN replied that EED supported an extension for as long
term as was allowed by the Legislative Audit Division.
8:52:06 AM
CHAIR DICK, referring to the graph titled "While School
Districts have had their Base Student Allocation increased... ,"
[Included in members' packets] pointed out that SESA funding had
remained flat for the past 10 years, while CPI (Consumer Price
Index) and BSA had increased, which indicated a necessity to "be
linked with something sensitive to the cost."
8:52:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked what SESA would do with the extra
funding.
8:52:54 AM
CHAIR DICK directed attention to the "Benefit of Increased
Funding:" [Included in members' packets]
8:53:37 AM
MS. NAGARKAR, in response to Representative Feige, relayed that
additional specialists would be hired to provide increased
services to students; travel costs and distance delivery would
be funded; and on-line courses for additional training to
regular teachers, special education teachers, and
paraprofessionals throughout Alaska would be offered.
8:54:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked if SESA received the e-rate
subsidy.
MS. NAGARKAR replied that it had been awarded.
8:54:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON, directing attention to another
recommendation, asked if SESA had investigated the necessity to
file tax returns and pay excise taxes.
8:55:07 AM
MS. NAGARKAR replied that SESA had done this.
8:55:14 AM
BRUCE JOHNSON, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School
Administrators, stated his support for HB 198. He said that
some Alaska school districts hired school psychologists from the
Lower 48, but that this was not possible for the smaller school
districts. He opined that SESA was a good use of resources, and
an essential service, required by state and federal law, for
young people. He stated that SESA was a valued organization and
service.
8:57:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked if there had been an increase in
the number of special education students since SESA had started.
8:58:32 AM
LUCIENNE SMITH, Special Education Services Agency (SESA),
replied that the SESA caseload had increased by 39 percent since
FY2001.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON suggested that this large increase
should be reported early in testimony during subsequent
hearings.
CHAIR DICK announced that public testimony would remain open.
[HB 198 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 198 Sponsor Statement.doc |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 198 |
| SESA Funding Comparison Chart.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 198 |
| SESA Responsibilities.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 198 |
| HB 198 Fiscal Note.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 198 |
| SESA Statutes.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 198 |
| Statutes for Residential Educ Programs.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| HB 199 Fiscal Note - Copy.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| White Paper by J. Covey.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| HB 199 Sponsor Statement - Copy.doc |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| Margie Brown Compass Piece - Copy.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| Nenana PowerPoint.ppt |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |
| Galena City School District Part 1 - Copy.pdf |
HEDC 3/23/2011 8:00:00 AM |
HB 199 |