Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
02/13/2008 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB241 | |
| SB107 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 241 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 239 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 241-UNIV. REPORT: TEACHER TRAINING/RETENTION
CHAIR DAVIS announced the consideration of SB 241. [The
committee was considering CSSB 241(SED).]
1:34:39 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said SB 241 represents a recommendation from the
Joint Legislative Education Funding Task Force (JLEFTF). This
bill requests that the University of Alaska Board Of Regents
come into closer dialogue with the legislature. This bill
specifically asks the Board of Regents to sit down on an annual
basis and talk with the legislature whether it's with the health
and social services committee or the special education committee
and talk about what's going on with teacher education in the
state. There are enormous needs for teachers in Alaska and
there's a desire to produce as many teachers as possible
locally. The bill requires the regents to present a report to
th
the proper committee on the 30 legislative day of each session
on an annual basis until 2013. After that it would be required
every other year.
He said the question arose about whether it was proper or even
necessary to put it into statute, but there was a concern that
it might be forgotten, especially with different legislators.
1:37:07 PM
SENATOR DYSON joined the meeting.
SENATOR ELTON said that one of the things discussed is the
quality of entering students at the University of Alaska. He
asked Senator Stevens how it came to be narrowed down to teacher
preparation. He said it would be important to also have a report
of the types of high school students that were entering and what
kind of challenges are faced by those students.
SENATOR STEVENS said that was beyond the purview of this task
force. They were specifically focusing on teacher preparation.
He agreed that Senator Elton's concern should be addressed. He
said that wasn't something that needs to be known on an annual
basis while teacher training does need to be addressed annually.
1:39:08 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said another request of the task force was to
establish a standing committee on education that could be a
forum for university oversight.
SENATOR COWDERY asked how the bill will be different from what
the university already has. He also asked if other incentive
methods for retaining teachers like bonuses had been discussed.
SENATOR STEVENS said this was specifically a recommendation by
Senator Wilken who thought the university had plenty of programs
to help train teachers but legislators were never brought into
the picture in a systematic way to know what was going on.
Therefore, this bill only deals with the university's workforce
development in education and the hiring and training of
teachers. It does not go beyond that. The whole purpose of this
bill is to bring the legislature up to date on an annual basis
on what the university is doing in its responsibility to train
teachers in Alaska.
1:42:31 PM
PAT PITNEY, Vice President, Budget and Planning, University of
Alaska Anchorage (UAA), Anchorage, AK presented an overview of
programs. There are Schools of Education in Anchorage, Juneau
and Fairbanks. Each school provides programs for their region
for on-campus and off-campus needs ranging from baccalaureate
programs to master's programs. There was a large transition in
teacher education in the early 2000s that shifted away from
baccalaureate degree teacher certification to master's degree
certification. It has since eased back into additional
baccalaureate programs. This has presented a significant change
in teacher preparation.
She said the number of graduates produced in Alaska isn't
sufficient to meet all the openings, especially in special
education, math and science, primarily in the rural communities.
In addition to teacher preparation programs there are other
activities that the university participates in including the
Future Teachers of Alaska which gets younger students interested
in teaching as a career; and the Native Educators Student
Association at UAS that encourages more Native students into the
teaching profession. Other successful programs are the Alaska
Teacher Placement Program and the Teacher Mentoring Program in
partnership with the Department of Education, which reaches 400
new teachers each year, placing master teachers with new
teachers. It has proven very effective in keeping teachers in
the profession by providing early support and mentoring.
MS. PITNEY said there has been significant research on Alaska
teacher supply and demand through the Institute of Economic
Research (ISER). It has answered questions like how many
teachers are needed in the state and in what areas, and how the
university and other teacher training is filling those needs.
Alaska Teacher Placement is particularly instrumental in that
area.
She said there is a four-page summary document in the bill
packet describing these programs. It is important to have
teachers working in Alaska trained here, and the university is
comfortable with the legislature's proposal to have this report
be in statute.
1:48:16 PM
CYNTHIA HENRY, Member, Board of Regents, University of Alaska,
and Chair of Academic Student Services Committee, Fairbanks, AK,
said she appreciated Senator Steven's summary of the bill. She
said the Board of Regents would agree that there's no mission of
the state university more important than training teachers for
local schools, and closing the gap is a laudable goal. Having
teachers who graduated from the University of Alaska talking to
their students about the university encourages those same
students to pursue their postsecondary education at Alaska's
universities. She said the Board of Regents has not considered
retention of teachers in much depth. She agreed that the mentor
program has a huge influence in this area. She supports the
regents' assignment to meet with legislators on this topic once
a year with the goal of a readable report.
1:53:43 PM
SENATOR THOMAS said there are many areas regarding the
university that interest legislators, but this is one of the
more important ones because it deals with K through 12.
1:57:28 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said it had been helpful to hear about the wide
variety of things the university is involved in. The university
and the legislature are in agreement regarding the need for this
forum. It's not just about what the regents are doing. It will
inform the legislature how it can best help as well.
1:58:57 PM
SENATOR THOMAS moved to report committee substitute for SB 241
from committee with individual recommendations and accompanying
fiscal note(s). Hearing no objections, CSSB 241(SED) moved out
of committee.
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