Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

04/10/2013 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION


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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+= SB 91 HAZING TELECONFERENCED
Moved CSSB 91(EDC) Out of Committee
*+ SB 89 TAX CREDITS FOR EDUCATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
*+ SB 100 CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM; ALLOTMENTS TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ HB 154 MUSEUM OF THE NORTH TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled
        SB 100-CORRESPONDENCE STUDY PROGRAM; ALLOTMENTS                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:29:15 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the  next order of business would be                                                               
SB 100.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DUNLEAVY, sponsor of SB 100,  pointed out that SB 100 was                                                               
another bill  in a series  of bills (including  SB 89 and  SJR 9)                                                               
that he had put forward,  and their approaches had a relationship                                                               
that he  wanted to explain before  talking about SB 100.  He said                                                               
that  SB 100  is a  companion  bill for  SJR  9. When  SJR 9  was                                                               
introduced,  a lot  of assumptions  were  made that  it was  "the                                                               
voucher bill,"  but the  fact is  that SB 89  is a  voucher bill.                                                               
This  is  when  children  can  attend  a  private  or  religious,                                                               
elementary or secondary, school and  have costs funded by private                                                               
business.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  DUNLEAVY explained  that SJR  9 will  allow the  current                                                               
practice  of  everything  from  the  Governor's  scholarships  to                                                               
private public  partnerships that the department  and many school                                                               
districts  have; and  SB 100  provides that  opportunity for  the                                                               
home  school/correspondence study  programs  that  the state  has                                                               
been using for the past 10-15  years. At one point Galena created                                                               
a statewide  home school  program that  allowed families  who did                                                               
not want to  be part of a "neighborhood school"  to still be part                                                               
of public education. So, the  folks in Galena, and subsequently a                                                               
dozen or  more correspondence homeschool programs,  have students                                                               
in them that  do not attend the neighborhood schools,  but are in                                                               
the public education system.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
He  said  that some  people  make  a delineation  between  public                                                               
schools and  public education. Public  schools are  the buildings                                                               
and  everything that  happens  in them;  public  education is  an                                                               
expanded  concept  that  includes homes  schools,  correspondence                                                               
schools,  charter schools  and, potentially,  cyber schools,  and                                                               
other  methods to  educate kids  to a  public purpose  and public                                                               
outcome.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
He said that SB  100 would be the companion concept  to SJR 9; it                                                               
is only two pages and addresses  a child in a home correspondence                                                               
school  with an  Individual Learning  Plan (ILP)  developed by  a                                                               
public teacher with  the parent. The only difference  is that the                                                               
parent with the teacher can  determine the "how" and an expansion                                                               
of it. "In other words, it's  public money and the public demands                                                               
an  outcome, a  public  purpose." Any  student  enrolled in  this                                                               
program still  has to take  the public assessments and  be taught                                                               
to public standards. The idea in  SB 100 (in conjunction with SJR
9) is the "how."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
He said for  example, a parent could decide his  child would take                                                               
a Latin course at Monroe Catholic  and the teacher could agree to                                                               
that  in   the  ILP.   That  cannot   be  done   currently  under                                                               
constitutional  language. SB  100,  along with  SJR  9, allows  a                                                               
parent  and  a  teacher  to   develop  an  ILP  that  includes  a                                                               
public/private  partnership concept  with a  public outcome.  The                                                               
tax  credit concept  [in  SB  89] is  totally  divorced from  the                                                               
public education concept; those are for  folks that want to go to                                                               
a private  school, that gets  private money through  tax credits,                                                               
and can  have a religious or  some other private outcome.  All of                                                               
SB 100 is  part of public education. Students  who are proficient                                                               
or better in the public  outcomes don't get changed, but students                                                               
who  are not  proficient would  have their  ILP modified  to help                                                               
them  become  proficient. This  is  an  expansion of  the  public                                                               
education  system  using  a public/private  partnership  concept,                                                               
under an ILP developed between a parent and a teacher.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:34:56 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GARDNER commented  that if  there is  a tax  benefit for                                                               
donors, there is an impact  on the state treasury; therefore, the                                                               
state   has  a   financial   investment,   also.  She   requested                                                               
clarification about the language  regarding the state's not being                                                               
able to impose additional requirements.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  DUNLEAVY replied  that  he was  the  administrator of  a                                                               
correspondence   home  school   program.   Many  parents   became                                                               
interested in becoming  a part of a public  education system, but                                                               
did not have enough of a say in their child's curriculum.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
8:38:24 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GARDNER  asked for  an  explanation  of the  purpose  of                                                               
having  a credentialed  teacher  as a  part of  the  team if  the                                                               
teacher is prohibited from using their best judgment.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  DUNLEAVY  called  it  a "third  way"  for  education  in                                                               
Alaska. He explained  that the educational needs  of a proficient                                                               
student  are  being met.  If  the  public/private partnership  is                                                               
adopted  there  will be  another  way  to provide  education  for                                                               
students and expand choices.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
8:41:12 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  GARDNER  voiced   concern  about  credentialed  teachers                                                               
having  to  sign off  on  coursework  that  does not  meet  their                                                               
standards.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  DUNLEAVY clarified  that they  have to  sign off  on the                                                               
ILP.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARDNER  said she was  referring to a new  teacher coming                                                               
in and saying that ILP was not adequate.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said  that was a good question, but  if they are                                                               
proficient  by demonstrated  assessments, his  argument would  be                                                               
why anyone would  want to focus on that and  not support what was                                                               
already working.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARDNER suggested that excellence should be the goal.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR DUNLEAVY replied that he would consider the suggestion.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
8:42:36 AM                                                                                                                    
MIKE  HANLEY, Commissioner,  Department  of  Education and  Early                                                               
Development  (DEED), testified  that  the fiscal  note and  other                                                               
issues still needed to be clarified.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STEVENS held SB 100 in committee.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_BillText_VersionA.PDF SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_BillText_VersionC.PDF SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_FiscalNote1.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_SponsorStatement_VersionC.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_SummaryChanges.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_HB154_MuseumoftheNorth_SupportLetters.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
HB 154
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_BillText_VersionN.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_BillText_VersionU.PDF SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_Sectional_VersionN.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_SponsorStatement.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_Summary of Education Tax Credits.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04102013_SB100_CorrespondenceStudy_BillText_VersionA.PDF SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 100
04102013_SB100_CorrespondenceStudy_ListOfPrograms.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 100
04102013_SB100_CorresponenceStudy_SponsorStatement.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 100
04102013_SB100_CorresponenceStudy_FiscalNote_DEED1.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 100
04102013_SB89_TaxCredits_FiscalNote_REV1.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 89
04052013_SB91_FiscalNote_Corrections1.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 91
04052013_SB91_Hazing_BillText_VersionN.pdf SEDC 4/10/2013 8:00:00 AM
SB 91