04/09/2014 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

                 SB 184-JURY SERVICE EXEMPTION                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
2:32:59 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SB 184. "An Act                                                                    
relating to the exemption from jury service for certain                                                                         
teachers." This was the first hearing.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:33:05 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR BERTA GARDNER, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,                                                                
sponsor of SB 184, introduced the legislation speaking to the                                                                   
following sponsor statement: [Original punctuation provided.]                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     SB 184  directs the  Department of Education  and Early                                                                    
     Development  to   develop  regulations   defining  "low                                                                    
     performing   schools"  for   purposes   of  jury   duty                                                                    
     exemption for teachers.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Current statute  exempts from jury duty  those teachers                                                                    
     working  in  schools  that do  not  meet  the  Adequate                                                                    
     Yearly  Progress  (AYP)  under  No  Child  Left  Behind                                                                    
     (NCLB).  This provision  effectively  defines the  term                                                                    
     "low performing" as  not "meeting AYP." In  May of 2013                                                                    
     when  the State  of Alaska  received an  exemption from                                                                    
     NCLB  we invalidated  our operating  definition of  low                                                                    
     performing.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     In 2004, Representative Mary  Kapsner introduced HB 353                                                                    
     which  created the  jury duty  exemption based  on AYP.                                                                    
     While   jury  duty   is  a   privilege   and  duty   of                                                                    
     citizenship,  a  higher  duty  is  to  the  welfare  of                                                                    
     children.  A teacher  chosen for  jury duty  on a  long                                                                    
     term trial might  be gone from a  classroom for several                                                                    
     months. The idea of HB  353 was to provide stability to                                                                    
     underperforming classrooms.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Currently,  the state  rates schools  using the  5 star                                                                    
     Alaska School  Performance Index. The  measurement tool                                                                    
     takes   in  consideration   such   factors  as   school                                                                    
     achievement,  progress,  attendance,  graduation  rate.                                                                    
     While the Department  could use this 5  star system, we                                                                    
     believe it  makes sense to  allow them  flexibility for                                                                    
     determining the performance measure  and to not have to                                                                    
     seek a statute change for the jury duty issue any time                                                                     
     a performance metric is changed.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARDNER said she was not aware of any opposition to the                                                                 
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:36:51 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL stated he would hold SB 184 for further                                                                           
consideration.