03/21/2012 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

           HJR 39-URGING THE STATE TO OPT OUT OF NCLB                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:49:52 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DICK  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 39,  Urging the Governor to direct the                                                               
Department  of Education  and Early  Development  to prepare  and                                                               
submit  a request  for flexibility  under the  federal Elementary                                                               
and Secondary Education Act of 1965  to obtain a waiver of select                                                               
requirements  of the  No Child  Left Behind  Act of  2001 and  to                                                               
direct  the commissioner  of education  and early  development to                                                               
provide  a comprehensive  improvement  plan  that will  guarantee                                                               
that  students  in the  state  will  be adequately  prepared  for                                                               
academic and vocational success.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:50:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  BOB MILLER,  Alaska State  Legislature, presented                                                               
HJR 39,  paraphrasing from  a prepared  statement, which  read as                                                               
follows:                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     I sincerely  hope this committee and  others will allow                                                                    
     due diligence when  considering this critical, national                                                                    
     and statewide issue.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Without doubt,  the United States  enjoys international                                                                    
     recognition  for  having   the  best  universities  and                                                                    
     colleges in  the world. Regardless of  any indicator or                                                                    
     statistic,   America   remains   the  Great   Land   of                                                                    
     Opportunity   in  no   small   part   because  of   our                                                                    
     exceptional  structure of  higher education.   Aspiring                                                                    
     students  from all  over the  world know  the value  of                                                                    
     learning in our  institutions.  With that,  much of the                                                                    
     focus on  K-12 education  must be pointed  at practical                                                                    
     and successful approaches  to college- AND career-ready                                                                    
     requirements within a structured  time and with limited                                                                    
     resources.    Lawmakers and  professionals  responsible                                                                    
     for our children's education  should have a centralized                                                                    
     priority; to  prepare our  children with  the knowledge                                                                    
     and ability  to pursue  a higher  education if  they so                                                                    
     choose,  or to  be  ready to  transition directly  into                                                                    
     careers and/or technical training and trade schools.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska   will  always   have   unique  challenges   and                                                                    
     potential  unlike any  other state.    This includes  a                                                                    
     continuous discussion  on how best to  provide Alaska's                                                                    
     kids  with the  best  and  most comprehensive  learning                                                                    
     opportunities.   Each  impact  potentially shaping  the                                                                    
     personal future  of our  children requires  our deepest                                                                    
     consideration.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     House Joint  Resolution 39  encourages the  Governor to                                                                    
     provide his guidance and leadership  in order to seek a                                                                    
     federal  waiver  and   options  that  will  effectively                                                                    
     relieve the  state from the  problematic No  Child Left                                                                    
     Behind (or  NCLB) law.   The US Secretary  of Education                                                                    
     has   projected  that   nearly  90%   of  the   schools                                                                    
     nationwide will  fail to meet Adequate  Yearly Progress                                                                    
     under the current NCLB mandated  standards.  By the end                                                                    
     of  this  year,  more  than 40  other  states  will  be                                                                    
     granted  waivers with  no  negative  impact on  federal                                                                    
     education  funds, along  with opportunities  to develop                                                                    
     an Alaskan  designed, rigorous and  effective education                                                                    
     system.  Of primary concern  though, if Alaska fails to                                                                    
     apply before  the 2014 deadline,  the state  could face                                                                    
     unnecessary fiscal and administrative difficulties.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     One  particular feature  motivating so  many states  to                                                                    
     apply for a  waiver involves the ability  to design and                                                                    
     implement  what is  known as  "student growth  models."                                                                    
     With this capability,  communities and school districts                                                                    
     will  be   able  to  incorporate   value-added,  socio-                                                                    
     economic  factors  to  customize their  local  academic                                                                    
     curriculum and  performance standards.  As  a provision                                                                    
     related   to   Adequate   Yearly   Progress,   Alaska's                                                                    
     Department of Education and  Early Development would be                                                                    
     allowed to request  a measure of student  growth in its                                                                    
     definition.   This  would be  applied to  the reporting                                                                    
     performance against  the Annual  Measureable Objectives                                                                    
     or  AMO's.   (College-ready and  common core  standards                                                                    
     are  just  two  facets  of a  complex  system  though.)                                                                    
     While standards  are an  integral component,  much more                                                                    
     is  involved in  development of  a powerful,  effective                                                                    
     state instructional system.   For nations with the most                                                                    
     successful educational  systems in the  world, complete                                                                    
     integration  is  the  only   known  approach  that  has                                                                    
     enabled  them to  produce their  leading  results.   As                                                                    
     Marc Tucker,  the president of  the National  Center on                                                                    
     Education  and the  Economy stated  last month,  "if we                                                                    
     want to  have standards  that have an  important effect                                                                    
     on   student  performance,   then  they   have  to   be                                                                    
     operational, not aspirational."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     In  closing,  NCLB was  an  honest  attempt to  address                                                                    
     educational  needs in  America,  but the  extraordinary                                                                    
     dynamics of  teaching and learning continues  to demand                                                                    
     an  unending  refinement  of   approaches.    There  is                                                                    
     widespread  movement  in  almost  every  state  towards                                                                    
     getting relief from  NCLB mandates.  At  the same time,                                                                    
     states are jumping at the  opportunities offered by the                                                                    
     waivers, which  will further empower an  entire network                                                                    
     of  educators.   With  so many  states eagerly  working                                                                    
     towards this  new opportunity, I'm very  confident that                                                                    
     this  valuable prospect  will work  for all  of Alaska.                                                                    
     With the majority of  states aggressively pursuing this                                                                    
     unprecedented  education  reform,  Alaska is  bound  to                                                                    
     benefit  from  the   contribution  of  every  education                                                                    
     leader, including  the members  of this committee.   We                                                                    
     are being  handed a great opportunity  here; the chance                                                                    
     to exit  from a  system that  sets us  up to  fail, the                                                                    
     chance to  dodge the stigma and  financial penalties of                                                                    
     that failure,  as well as increased  federal oversight.                                                                    
     But  most importantly,  the chance  for  us to  design,                                                                    
     create  and  customize  Alaska's  education  system  by                                                                    
     Alaskans  for Alaskans.   Who  knows what  Alaska needs                                                                    
     better than the  people who live, work,  play and learn                                                                    
     here?   I  hope you  will  join me  in supporting  this                                                                    
     resolution                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
9:56:02 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE referred to the resolution, page 3, line 7,                                                                
and asked for clarification of the date specified and the                                                                       
penalties that may be incurred.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER deferred.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
TROY BOUFFARD, Staff, Representative Bob Miller, Alaska State                                                                   
Legislature, responded that the September deadline is the third                                                                 
deadline set by the U.S. Secretary of Education.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:57:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DICK  confirmed that the September  date is one point  in a                                                               
number of rolling deadlines, and  asked about any consequences if                                                               
a waiver is not granted.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER  responded that it is  speculative, but all                                                               
states that have applied have been granted a waiver.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE inquired about any financial penalties.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MILLER reported  that approximately  $430 million                                                               
is  received from  the  federal government,  and  if AYP  (annual                                                               
yearly progress) is not attained, some  of those funds will be in                                                               
jeopardy, and as well as other possible consequences.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:59:06 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON  opined that a positive  outcome of NCLB                                                               
has  been to  cause  each state  to  assess existing  educational                                                               
systems,  discover  shortcomings,  and  strategize  improvements.                                                               
Referring to  the sponsor statement,  she paraphrased  an excerpt                                                               
which  read  [original punctuation  provided]:    "No Child  Left                                                               
Behind does  not account for the  geographic conditions, cultural                                                               
considerations or  economic challenges unique to  Alaska."  Prior                                                               
to NCLB  prompting, she opined,  Alaska didn't do  a particularly                                                               
good job  of addressing these  points.   The federal act  has not                                                               
been  an easy  mandate to  comply with,  and there  will be  some                                                               
relief  in  receiving  a  waiver for  opting  out;  however,  she                                                               
maintained, it  has not  been without  some benefit  for bringing                                                               
focus to bear in areas that  might otherwise have remained in the                                                               
shadows.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
10:01:05 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT  asked why a resolution  is being submitted                                                               
versus a statute.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MILLER  indicated  that   this  is  a  strategic,                                                               
coordinated  effort   being  put  forward  in   conjunction  with                                                               
Alaska's delegation to Washington, D.C.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
[HJR 39 was held over.]