04/07/2008 02:15 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES

             HB 332-PRE-ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DAVIS  announced the consideration  of HB 332.  [Before the                                                               
committee was CSHB 332(FIN)(Title AM).]                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
2:20:04 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE   BRYCE   EDGMON,    Alaska   State   Legislature,                                                               
Dillingham, AK,  provided an overview  of CSHB 332. He  said this                                                               
bill  would allow  Headstart facilities  to qualify  for the  "E"                                                               
rate, the discount rate that  the Universal Services Subsidy Fund                                                               
provided for  K through 12 facilities  nationwide. Pre-elementary                                                               
facilities qualified  from the inception  of the program  in 1998                                                               
to  2004. For  unknown  reasons however,  the Universal  Services                                                               
Board decided  that the  definition of  pre-elementary facilities                                                               
in  Alaska law  was too  vague  for the  Headstart facilities  to                                                               
qualify for the  discounted rate; so for the past  few years they                                                               
had been unable to take advantage  of that rate, which would have                                                               
allowed them to participate in  the federal program at no expense                                                               
of matching dollars.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 332 proposed to add more definition to Title 14 in terms of                                                                
the department's relationship with pre-elementary facilities. A                                                                 
disclaimer had been added to the last part of the bill stating                                                                  
that by doing so, the state was not intentionally or                                                                            
unintentionally impacting the average daily membership count.                                                                   
That was necessary because intensive needs students from age 3                                                                  
to 22 actually could be counted into the ADM; so the last                                                                       
sentence stated that "Except for a child with a disability ...                                                                  
pre-elementary students may not be counted in a school's average                                                                
daily membership under AS 14.17."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Senator Dyson arrived.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:22:34 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS thanked the sponsor  for bringing this important bill                                                               
forward.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COWDERY  moved to  report  committee  substitute for  HB
(FIN)  from  committee  with  individual  recommendations  and                                                               
attached  fiscal   note(s).  There   being  no   objection,  CSHB
(FIN)(Title AM) moved from committee.