Legislature(2019 - 2020)BUTROVICH 205
03/21/2019 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB30 | |
| SB6 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 30 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 30-COLLEGE CREDIT FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
9:00:56 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced the consideration of SB 30 and his
intention to take up the Committee Substitute (CS) for SB 30,
work order 31-LS0052\K. He solicited a motion.
9:01:36 AM
SENATOR BIRCH moved to adopt the CS for SB 30, version K, as the
working document.
9:01:45 AM
CHAIR STEVENS objected for purposes of discussion and asked Mr.
Lamkin to explain the changes in version K.
9:01:54 AM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, explained that SB 30 is an effort
to recognize the accomplishments of 47 other states that have
established collaboration between secondary and postsecondary
schools. The goal is to encourage students to finish their
formal education. Statistics from the U.S. Department of
Education show that in Alaska, of 100 freshmen, just 76 finish
high school. Of those 100 freshmen, only 33 enter college and
just 22 remain enrolled for their sophomore year. SB 30 will
help these poor statistics by establishing a hybrid Middle
College Program in Alaska, which is proven to help students
finish high school and launch, if not finish, some type of post-
secondary education, including vocational technical training.
MR. LAMKIN said that the traditional sense of middle college
includes students going to a university campus. That clearly
will not work for Alaska. Another model is early college high
school. This bill crafts a hybrid between those two, where the
university can come to the high school campus rather than the
other way around. The bill sets goals and focuses on the
outcomes, not the process. The goals are flexible for districts
and responsive to the needs of those communities. The idea is to
avoid creating barriers. Evaluation is key as well. The bill
sets up some basic parameters and attempts to maximize
flexibility between school districts and the University of
Alaska.
9:05:05 AM
SENATOR COSTELLO joined the committee.
MR. LAMKIN said he would present the CS in the same manner as a
sectional:
Section 1 of the CSSB 30 on page 2, lines 8-11. "Alaska" was added to
create the phrase "Alaska middle college program" to emphasize that
this is a distinct, Alaska hybrid middle college program.
On page 2, lines 8-11 add the "rate of subsequent enrollment" to the
report summary that is given to the legislature. Subsequent
enrollment refers to how many students complete the dual-credit
program and pursue postsecondary education. The second piece of data
added is the number of students who complete the program and must
complete remedial courses in college.
CHAIR STEVENS clarified that this requires the State Board of
Education to make the report to the legislature. The information
on enrollment and remediation rates would be available through
the board's work with the university, but it is the state board
who is responsible for the report.
MR. LAMKIN confirmed that the intention is that the state board
would be responsible for issuing the report and the expectation
is that they would collaborate with the university.
MR. LAMKIN reviewed Section 2:
Subsection (a) is intended to reduce barriers. Making the program
accessible to students is important to the program's success.
Line 16 says a student "shall" earn both high school and college
credit. That is needed to make it clear that a student who completes
a dual credit course will get university credit along with high
school credit.
Lines 18 and 19 make it clear that the credits are transferable
between various campuses throughout the system.
SENATOR BIRCH asked if there had been any dialog with the Board
of Regents and university in this effort.
MR. LAMKIN answered that he had not had any direct conversations
with the Board of Regents. Most of his work and communication
had been with the university administration, in particular with
Dr. Paul Layer, the Vice President for Academics, Students, and
Research, who will testify.
CHAIR STEVENS added that there will also be careful coordination
between the district and university. He asked Mr. Lamkin to
explain what type of classes would be offered.
MR. LAMKIN said the intention is that these would be core
courses applicable to a high school diploma that in turn can be
applied toward general education requirements at the university
level.
9:10:14 AM
SENATOR HUGHES joined the committee.
9:10:23 AM
SENATOR COSTELLO said she is very supportive of district efforts
to accommodate all students, including those ready for classes
through a middle college program. She noted that when Mr. Lamkin
came to her office, they spoke about school districts that
currently don't have a middle college program and how this bill
would take effect. She asked if districts could talk about how
this would affect their budget or how they foresee putting
something in place if they don't have a program now. She also
asked if there is adequate Internet access for districts that
might offer online classes.
CHAIR STEVENS said adequate Internet is an important issue that
needs work, but all districts are not equal. Some simply do not
have adequate bandwidth to offer online courses.
9:12:40 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said she was very pleased to say that students in
her area have the middle college opportunity. She said she
wanted the record to include discussion of whether online
courses taken in a rural area without a campus would be
comparable to courses taken in person on a campus. She said she
doesn't want the state to have to provide funding to bring
students to campus and house them but wonders if there is
information to show that the two delivery systems are equitable.
MR. LAMKIN replied that subsection (b) in Section 2 addresses
that question.
Subsection (b), page 2, lines 20-23. The intent is a not one
size fits all. It is intended that every district enter into an
agreement with the university. Each district will identify what
it can and can't do. Some districts may find they do not have
any eligible students. Their agreement could state that they
have no one eligible for the program. Other districts may have
one student and offer one class. That could be their middle
college program.
MR. LAMKIN said the bill compels districts and universities to
address and collaborate on things like inadequate Internet.
There are efforts now to improve broadband. Presumably over
time, broadband will grow and provide better opportunities for
all students. SB 30 is carefully worded so the state is not put
in a position that requires flying students to campuses to
attend class. He said he is interested in reaching out to the
attorney general's office to confirm that. He has been assured
by Legislative Legal that the bill is crafted so that it does
not trigger litigation on the basis of equity.
CHAIR STEVENS said it's an important question. He added that
many students take classes online through the university today
in places like Sitka, Ketchikan, Kodiak, and Kenai. He said it's
happening right now but he would admit that it is not equitable.
Taking a class in front of a professor is a better form of
education than taking it online. Equity is an important issue
but it can't be solved in this bill. He emphasized that there is
no intention to fly students in to take these classes.
SENATOR HUGHES said many young people feel that if the course is
interactive and live, they feel as though they are in the room
and able to get to know the professor and classmates. She
related a story to show that the generation coming up might
consider online courses equitable. She noted the committee heard
the bill about broadband funding and she has a bill that would
set up a statewide virtual education system. She said she
supports this concept because students should be given access.
She suggested that if the university were to partner with DEED
to set up a virtual education system and make the university
courses that are suitable for middle college available, it would
take the burden off districts. If the "shall" language in the
bill was maintained, it would already be set up and students
could be sent to the menu to select classes. She said that might
be a solution for districts that are concerned about not being
ready or have hesitation about the "shall" language. She
acknowledged that other bills would need to pass for that to
happen, but it would complement and dovetail nicely with the
middle college concept.
CHAIR STEVENS said he knows she's right and commented on the
enormous strides in technology.
MR. LAMKIN added that Dr. Layer will speak about an online
portal that will complement what Senator Hughes is describing
and the purpose of the bill.
9:20:11 AM
SENATOR BEGICH said the changes in Section 2 addresses most of
his concerns about a forced relationship that might exist
between school districts and the university. The idea of the two
entities negotiating and entering into an agreement is a unique
and careful crafting of an answer to that question.
9:20:52 AM
CHAIR STEVENS highlighted that a district could negotiate to
offer just one class if that suited their purpose.
MR. LAMKIN continued to review Section 2 of the committee
substitute.
Subsection (c), page 2, lines 24-28, addresses eligibility and
access. It is important that it be open not just to grades 11
and 12, but to grades 9 and 10 as well. In prior hearings it was
mentioned that there could be gifted students who should be
given the opportunity to do college work while in high school.
Subsection (d) on the bottom of page 2 going to page 3 is about
awareness. One pitfall is that parents and students don't know
these dual credit programs exist. This section requires that
school districts provide information about the program when
students are signing up for classes.
Lines 10-12 on page 3 address making it clear that there are
specific academic and social responsibilities and consequences
of failing. The costs and the benefits of enrolling in the
program should be clear.
Subsection (e) goes into the financing of the program. Students
are not required to pay. Lines 14-20 on page 3 speak to the
agreements between the districts and university about what they
can do and how to go about paying for it. The bill leaves it up
to parties involved to sort it out
Subsection (f) on the bottom of the page 3 speaks to the quality
of the program. A key component of middle colleges is that both
the district and the university acknowledge and agree that the
program itself and the courses taught are of high quality. They
agree on the content and curriculum and the quality of
instruction given at the high school level.
Subsection (g) on page 4 puts a cap on the numbers. Twelve
credits is a full-time load. Students should not be burdened
with more than 12 credits in a semester. The conversation to
date has been about a student leaving high school with a diploma
and possibly 60 credits toward an associate degree.
SENATOR HUGHES said she would prefer no cap, but she wouldn't
hold up the bill for that reason. Occasionally there are
students who can handle a higher course load. In some cases it
saves the school district money if students take more credits
through the middle college. She suggested the committee consider
removing subsection (g).
CHAIR STEVENS said Paul Layer from the university may have more
information about that.
MR. LAMKIN added that the cap is only on this program; students
could take more classes on their own. Research shows a possible
abuse of the system is a student lingering in high school to
take advantage of free or cheap college tuition.
SENATOR HUGHES said student lingering is a good point. She asked
if a student were to pay for additional courses, would those
courses still apply for high school credit.
MR. LAMKIN responded that he would imagine the student would
have two high school diplomas at that point, which would be a
very unusual situation. That would be a super student.
9:28:27 AM
SENATOR BEGICH said he too questioned the cap but the point
about students lingering was convincing.
SENATOR COSTELLO said that she would like to get on the record a
response about how these types of courses will appear on student
transcripts.
MR. LAMKIN said that is a question for the districts. He
suspects that every district has its own method.
SENATOR BEGICH pointed out that Section 2 on page 2 says that
the way that credits are reported will be in the agreement
between each school district and the university.
MR. LAMKIN continued the review of the committee substitute:
Section 2, page 4, lines 3-11 have no change from the original
bill. That holds harmless school districts with funding for
their enrollments and ADM [average daily membership]. It also
provides that the parties can share transcript information.
Section 3, lines 13-25, syncs the University of Alaska statutes
with this program, making it clear that the university and
districts will form agreements and the university will evaluate
and review courses.
Section 4 provides for an effective date of July 1, 2020.
CHAIR STEVENS thanked Mr. Lamkin for the extensive work he's
done, including talking to various agencies to find out what
models are working in other states.
9:32:55 AM
PAUL LAYER, Ph.D., Vice President for Academics, Students and
Research, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, said the
Board of Regents has a dual enrollment policy P10.05.015 that
says, "Dual enrollment refers to enrollment at the university by
a student who is simultaneously enrolled in a K-12 (or
homeschool) for which the student may receive credit at both the
K-12 and postsecondary levels. The university encourages dual
enrollment. No additional restrictions on dual enrollment beyond
those applicable to all students, or to avoid violations of law
or ensure informed consent by a parent or legal guardian
(including financial obligations), shall be allowed." He said
the university and Board of Regents encourage this kind of
collaboration. They also have regulation regarding minors being
involved in classes.
DR. LAYER said that regarding the question about equity, in
areas where a university center or university is nearby, the
options will be wider. For online courses, student learning
outcomes or objectives are the same throughout the system. A lot
of students today prefer online option versus the face-to-face
option. He explained that the university has developed a portal,
which is going to be a one-stop shop for students to show what
is available, both face-to-face and online. From the
university's standpoint, students would be taking a university
class and it would be shown on the university record as a
college class. They He said the university already has some very
successful programs and partnerships. The university would like
to see this option for parents and students throughout the state
and is working toward this with districts right now.
SENATOR BIRCH asked how the costs associated with the program
are allocated and shared between the participating school
district and the university.
DR. LAYER replied that the university has agreements with
Anchorage School District and Mat-Su School District and those
districts use their student allocations to pay tuition at
University of Alaska rates. The rates are low enough currently
that it is affordable for districts to pay the university
tuition, student fees, and transportation costs. The university
views these students as regular students; there is nothing
unusual about their funding pattern. The university may want to
look at that as it looks at options for other districts.
Subsection (e) says students enrolled in the program may not be
required to pay tuition or other associated costs. That is an
agreement the university would have to make with the district
and they are developing templates for that right now.
SENATOR BIRCH asked if the university allows students to audit
classes on a space-available basis.
DR. LAYER confirmed that the university provides a mechanism for
students to audit classes on a space-available basis. The
student does not receive credit for the class.
9:40:09 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked if he had any comments about the proposed
cap of 12 credits per semester and 60 credits total per student.
DR. LAYER replied the university does not see the need to limit
student access to their courses. If they are qualified, they are
welcome. He noted that some students in the Anchorage and Mat-Su
middle colleges take 15 credits and sometimes more working
toward their baccalaureate degrees. He acknowledged that he had
not thought about it from the district perspective of students
exceeding what is needed for a high school diploma and that
might be worth consideration.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if he sees the bill as a way to improve the
problem of many students needing remedial classes when they
enter the university.
DR. LAYER answered yes; students who participate in the program
must meet the standards for college-level math and writing so
they won't need remedial services. In essence, it puts pressure
on the students and parents and schools to make sure those
students are college ready. The Mat-Su program has existed long
enough that the university is seeing this in the students who
have graduated high school and are entering the university as
full, degree-seeking students.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if this would not affect any existing
agreements with colleges outside of Alaska. She cited the
example of students who are not in high school yet that are
taking online language classes from Middlebury College.
CHAIR STEVENS answered no.
9:43:57 AM
DR. LAYER said UA would like parents and districts to think
first about the university when they're considering college
credit for students, but nothing in the bill precludes any
existing agreements. Students who meet UA standards and have
parent permission are welcome to come to the university.
SENATOR COSTELLO said the Anchorage School District has several
language immersion programs in Japanese, Spanish, Russian, and
German and those students want to take four years of language in
high school. The bill will allow those language learners to
advance further than what is currently provided in the high
school setting.
CHAIR STEVENS asked the Department of Education and Early
Development representative if the committee substitute affects
the fiscal note.
9:45:53 AM
DEBORAH RIDDLE, Division Operations Manager, Student Learning
Division, Department of Education and Early Development (DEED),
Juneau, Alaska, said the committee substitute does not change
the fiscal note.
9:46:13 AM
CHAIR STEVENS opened public testimony.
POSIE BOGGS, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, said she
fully supports SB 30. She shared that she graduated from high
school one year early in 1975 because she took college courses
every summer. If the Internet and strong broadband had been
available, she could have graduated even earlier. She said it
took a lot of strong self-advocacy on her part and her father's
part to get the high school to accept those credits. She fully
supports the ability of high school students to take college
classes and to make a smooth way for high schools to accept
those credits.
9:49:00 AM
CHAIR STEVENS closed public testimony.
SENATOR COSTELLO said the second paragraph on page 2 of the
analysis of the fiscal note says that to be eligible, the
student must have completed 10th grade. Her understanding is
that the current version doesn't limit this to 11th and 12th
graders.
CHAIR STEVENS replied that is correct and that is on the record.
9:50:02 AM
CHAIR STEVENS removed his objection and solicited a motion.
9:50:17 AM
SENATOR BIRCH moved to report CSSB 30, [Version 31-LS0052\K],
from committee with individual recommendations and accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 30(EDC) moved from
the Senate Education Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01_SB06_PreKfunding_BillText_VersionM.PDF |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 02_SB06_PreKfunding_Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 03_SB06_PreKfunding_Sectional_VersionM.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 04_SB06_PreKfunding_FiscalNote01_DEED_Foundation.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 05_SB06_PreKfunding_FiscalNote02_DEED_EarlyLearning.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 06_SB06_PreKfunding_FiscalNote03_DEED_PreK_Grants.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 07_SB06_PreKfunding_FiscalNote04_Capitalization.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| 08_SB06_PreKfunding_Research_DEED_ELP Report_FY18.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 6 |
| SB030_MiddleColleges_BillText_VersionK.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 30 |
| SB030_MiddleColleges_BillText_VersionK_markup.pdf |
SEDC 3/21/2019 9:00:00 AM |
SB 30 |