Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/24/2023 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB56 | |
| Presentation(s): School District Fund Balances | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 56 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 56-AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY
3:32:22 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 56
"An Act relating to the Alaska performance scholarship program."
CHAIR TOBIN stated there is a committee substitute for SB 56.
3:32:34 PM
CHAIR TOBIN solicited a motion.
3:32:36 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to adopt the committee substitute
(CS) for SB 56, work order 33-LS0350\B, as the working document.
3:32:48 PM
CHAIR TOBIN objected for purposes of discussion.
3:33:08 PM
SENATOR FORREST DUNBAR, District J, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SB 56, stated that the House made
substantial changes to HB 31, the companion bill to SB 56.
Therefore, he would present the underlying bill and the changes
the House made that he agrees with.
SENATOR DUNBAR stated that the Alaska Performance Scholarship
has been a key tool for keeping young, talented Alaskans living
in the state. According to an analysis by the Alaska Commission
on Postsecondary Education (ACPE), APS influenced 68 percent of
eligible students to attend school in the state. Two years after
graduation, 94 percent of APS recipients stayed in Alaska,
compared to 82 percent of non-recipients. Eight years after
graduation, 70 percent of APS recipients remained in the state,
compared to 63 percent of non-recipients.
SENATOR DUNBAR said SB 56 speaks directly to the problem of
working-age population decline in Alaska. Recent years have
shown a sharp decline in eligibility uptake of the scholarship.
A study by the McDowell Group identified barriers such as
logistical difficulty in taking college entrance exams in rural
areas, a lack of awareness of the program, and delayed
notification of the award to students. SB 56 addresses these
concerns and implements recommendations from ACPE. He said the
intended outcomes of SB 56 are to have more students using APS
to attend Alaskan schools and remain living in the state. SB 56
would:
Increase the award amount to keep it up to date with
inflation.
Allow a student's GPA or the score of a college entrance
exam to qualify, instead of requiring both.
Expand eligibility to include Career and Technology
Education (CTE) courses.
Extend the time to use the scholarship from six to eight
years after graduation.
Establish an earlier eligibility notification deadline so
students have more time to choose Alaska's schools.
SENATOR DUNBAR shared an anecdotal story illustrating how
earlier notification of the award would make it possible for
students to know they had received it before accepting offers
from out-of-state colleges. He stated that APS funding would
continue to come from the Alaska Higher Education Investment
Fund, not the Undesignated General Fund (UGF). APS recipients
are required to complete a rigorous high school curriculum,
attain a certain grade point average, and receive a minimum test
score on a qualifying exam. He opined that APS offers students a
reason to excel and ensures they are prepared for postsecondary
education. Once enrolled in a higher education program, students
must continue meeting eligibility requirements, further
incentivizing them to succeed in coursework.
3:36:25 PM
ALLIANA SALANGUIT, Staff, Senator Dunbar, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau Alaska, provided the following sectional
analysis for SB 56:
[Original punctuation provided.]
SECTIONAL ANALYSIS
SB 56: AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY
Version B
Updated 4.24.2023
Section 1: Amends AS 14.43.820(a)(2) Alaska
performance scholarship program; eligibility, by
allowing a student to qualify for the Alaska
Performance Scholarship (APS) 18 months prior to
graduating from an Alaska state high school instead of
6 months.
Amends AS 14.43.820(a) to allow Career and Technical
Education (CTE) courses to count towards APS
eligibility in three ways:
• AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(A): Replace one year of social
studies with one year of CTE coursework (within
Math & Science Track)
• AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(B)(ii): Replace two years of
world language with two years of CTE coursework,
one year of which is sequentially more rigorous,
within a career cluster.
• AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(C): Replace one year of social
studies with one year of CTE coursework (within
Social Studies & Language Track)
Deletes AS 14.43.820 (a)(5), removing the college
entrance exam requirement from the Alaska Performance
Scholarship. Additional language in Section 4 allows
for a GPA or a college entrance examination to qualify
instead of requiring both.
Section 2: Adds language to AS 14.43.820(g) defining
"career cluster" as a group of jobs and industries
that are related by skills or products and renumbering
the subsection accordingly.
Section 3: Adds the following new subsections to AS
14.43.820:
• AS 14.43.820 (h) requiring districts to inform
students in 9th or 10th grade about the Alaska
Performance Scholarship.
• AS 14.43.820 (i)(j)(k) requiring students be
notified of their APS eligibility progress by
December 31st of their junior year. Award
recipients must be notified of their award and
level by August 15th of each year. Any
communications with students regarding the APS must
include information about the ability to increase
the scholarship amount outlined in AS 14.43.825(g)-
(i).
• AS 14.43.820 (l)(m) establishing that an applicant
must be enrolled in any remaining course
requirements, must have a qualifying GPA, and once
graduating from high school, be enrolled in a
qualifying postsecondary institution to receive the
award. The applicant's GPA upon graduation will be
used to conclude the final award amount. The award
would be revoked if requirements were ultimately
not met.
Section 4: Amends AS 14.43.25(a) by increasing all
award levels and allowing for a GPA or minimum score
on a college entrance examination to qualify. The
qualifying GPA or minimum score and new award level
are as follows:
• Level 1: 3.5 GPA or above or a very high minimum
score, $7,000 (increased from $4,755)
• Level 2: 3.0 GPA or above or a high minimum score,
$5,250 (increased from $3,566)
• Level 3: 2.5 GPA or above or a moderately high
score, $3,500 (increased from $2,378)
Section 5: Amends AS 14.43.25(b) by increasing the
number of years a student can use the scholarship
after graduating high school from six to eight years.
Section 6: Adds a new subsection to AS 14.43.825
requiring postsecondary institutions to review award
recipients' grade point averages each time they
complete two semesters. If a recipient's postsecondary
institution grade point average qualifies for a higher
level award as outlined in AS 14.43.25(a), their award
amount will be adjusted accordingly
3:41:16 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked whether any schools in Alaska do not use grade
point average (GPA) to measure student achievement.
SENATOR DUNBAR responded that he was unsure and suggested that
someone from the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education or
the University of Alaska System might answer the question.
CHAIR TOBIN said Section 6 might need flexibility to provide for
schools that may use a different grading scale.
3:41:57 PM
CHAIR TOBIN removed her objection; finding no further objection
the CS for SB 56, work order 33-LS0350\B, was adopted.
CHAIR TOBIN announced the committee would hear invited
testimony.
3:42:37 PM
SANA EFIRD, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on
Postsecondary Education, Juneau, Alaska, expressed her belief
that certain homeschool programs in Alaska may not employ GPA
tracking for student achievement. Nevertheless, the department
has established a method to convert homeschool students'
achievements into a format that complies with APS regulations
when a GPA is not available.
MS. EFIRD said the mission of ACPE is to provide access and
success for Alaskan students and adults in their postsecondary
endeavors. APS plays a significant role in providing students
with financial access to post-secondary programs. In 2011, the
legislature enacted APS. Since its inception, almost 12,000
students have received $100 million in scholarships. The
legislature enacted the program to inspire and prepare high
school students for success. The four primary objectives of APS
when enacted were:
Incentivize Alaskan students to excel in high school.
Prepare Alaskan students for college and career training.
Help Alaskan students succeed and complete postsecondary
programs.
Keep high achieving Alaskan graduates in Alaska's
workforce.
MS. EFIRD said ACPE, by statute, must provide the legislature
with an outcomes report. The report for 2022 contains a summary
showing APS is delivering on its objectives and goals:
The APS offers an incentive for Alaska students to excel in
high school. Over 70 percent of students that take the APS
curriculum and meet eligibility receive better grades, 60
percent take challenging courses, and 57 percent seek
academic advising, a key factor for success in post-
secondary education.
The APS curriculum prepares students for college and career
training. Only 5 percent of APS recipients require
developmental coursework as they enter postsecondary
education programs, compared to over 30 percent of non-
recipients.
The APS helps students persist and complete college. APS
students succeed at higher rates than non-recipients at the
University of Alaska.
The APS retains skilled Alaskans in Alaska. APS recipients
have higher Alaska residency rates than non-residency
rates, and after several years, they continue to remain in
Alaska at higher rates.
3:47:45 PM
MS. EFIRD stated that through surveys and data ACPE could show
that APS delivers on its objectives. However, there has been a
decline in usage of APS since 2016. Therefore, in 2020 ACPE
commissioned McKinely Research Group (formerly known as
McDowell) to perform an evaluation and review of the scholarship
program. The ten-year lookback made several recommendations to
improve the usage of the program. At 17 percent, the Class of
2022 has the lowest number of students eligible for the award
and use of the award. Therefore, ACPE has been working with
legislators to enact recommendations made in the review report
to expand eligibility to a wider range of students. SB 56
includes recommendations from the McKinley report to open APS to
more students.
3:50:32 PM
SARA PERMAN, State Government Relations Manager, University of
Alaska System, Anchorage, Alaska, said the university supports
the Alaska Performance Scholarship created in 2011 with the
intention of combating "brain drain," from the state. The Alaska
Commission on Postsecondary Education implemented the
scholarship program and Alaska experienced an increase in the
number of students that utilized the scholarship, went to
postsecondary education schools in Alaska, and joined Alaska's
workforce. Approximately 80 percent of University of Alaska
graduates join Alaska's workforce. While the University approves
of all measures in SB 56, it is particularly supportive of
earlier award notice, as it allows students to know of the award
before their senior year begins, giving them time to assess the
offer against other offers. It also supports the removal of the
standardized testing requirement that disproportionately affects
students from rural Alaska. In 2021 when schools temporarily
lifted the requirement, eligibility increased from 23 percent in
2019 to 37 percent in 2021. The university also favors allowing
career and technology credit use of the scholarship, which
expands eligibility. Adjusting the award amount to account for
inflation also makes postsecondary education more accessible for
students.
3:53:50 PM
CHAIR TOBIN held SB 56 in committee.