04/06/2004 03:40 PM Senate STA

         SJR 30-AMEND & FUND  NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced SJR 30 to be up for consideration.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
DANA OWEN, staff to Senator Johnny Ellis, sponsor, explained                                                                    
that SJR 30 asks Congress to revisit the No Child Left Behind                                                                   
Act. He read the following sponsor statement:                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
     School  districts  across  Alaska and  the  nation  are                                                                    
     increasingly  discovering  that  the federal  No  Child                                                                    
     Left  Behind  Act  of  2001,   the  most  far  reaching                                                                    
     intrusion  of federal  control  into  education in  the                                                                    
     nation's history, imposes mandates  that are awkward at                                                                    
     best  and counterproductive  at worst.  Moreover, these                                                                    
     federal  mandates are  under funded,  further burdening                                                                    
     already strained budgets.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Much of  the problem  lies in the  act's one-size-fits-                                                                    
     all approach.  Policies that  may appear  workable from                                                                    
     the  vantage  of  Washington,  D.C.,  turn  out  to  be                                                                    
     obstacles to  success in  practice. For  example, under                                                                    
     the  act many  excellent  teachers  would be  prevented                                                                    
     from  teaching  subjects   they  fully  understand.  An                                                                    
     advanced  degree  in  economics or  physics  would  not                                                                    
     qualify   a  teacher   to   teach  basic   mathematics,                                                                    
     presenting a  serious problem  in small  Alaska schools                                                                    
     where a  single person  typically teaches  all sciences                                                                    
     and math.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     Schools  are  also  required  to  demonstrate  adequate                                                                    
     yearly progress  as defined  by the  act, not  just for                                                                    
     the  majority  of  students,   but  for  each  subgroup                                                                    
     defined  in the  act. Under  this provision,  many very                                                                    
     successful  schools  can  find  themselves  labeled  as                                                                    
     failing.  Each  year  of  failure  brings  increasingly                                                                    
     harsh  sanctions  that  would  significantly  drive  up                                                                    
     costs for school districts.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     Passage of  SJR 30  would add  Alaska's voice  to those                                                                    
     nationwide that  are speaking  out about  problems with                                                                    
     the  No Child  Left Behind  Act. States  as diverse  as                                                                    
     Arizona, Vermont,  Hawaii, Virginia and Utah  have seen                                                                    
     legislative  efforts protesting  the burdens  placed on                                                                    
     them by the  act. Some states and  school districts are                                                                    
     even  considering  opting   out  of  federal  oversight                                                                    
     altogether.  While  such  a  drastic  step  would  mean                                                                    
     losing  federal  education  grants  and  perhaps  other                                                                    
     monies, these states and  school districts believe that                                                                    
     the cost  of complying  with the  act would  be greater                                                                    
     than the federal dollars they receive.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     SJR 30  recognizes that Alaska  had taken  strong steps                                                                    
     to improve  school performance  even before  passage of                                                                    
     the  federal law  and asks  that  Congress give  states                                                                    
     more  flexibility  and  greater  financial  support  in                                                                    
     meeting the act's mandates.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  STEDMAN referred  to page  2,  line 25  and asked  which                                                               
changes they'd like to see Congress make.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. OWEN  noted that there are  a number of suggested  changes in                                                               
the  packets,  but they  aren't  endorsing  any specific  changes                                                               
because they recognize that the  complaints regarding the act are                                                               
so strong  and diverse  that it  would be a  huge effort  for the                                                               
Alaska Legislature  to outline specific  changes. It's  better to                                                               
send  the legislation  back  to  the drafters.  It  was a  strong                                                               
bipartisan Congressional  effort that  produced the bill  and the                                                               
original authors are best suited to address changes.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Many states  have outlined suggestions and  the sponsor statement                                                               
highlighted a very few.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEDMAN asked for confirmation  that the resolution would                                                               
go unattached in that case.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. OWEN said that's correct.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GARY  STEVENS  remarked that  it's  problematic  in  small                                                               
communities where  teachers teach  multiple subjects  even though                                                               
they don't  have advanced degrees  in those subjects and  may not                                                               
meet  the requirements.  The  fact  that they  may  be very  fine                                                               
teachers wouldn't be taken into account.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. OWEN agreed that is one of  the main failures of the act. The                                                               
sciences are an  excellent example. Someone may  have an advanced                                                               
degree in physics or economics  but they wouldn't be qualified to                                                               
teach  mathematics. That's  a huge  burden in  small schools,  he                                                               
said.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR GARY  STEVENS repeated that  this is  a problem and  a good                                                               
reason  to ask  for  relief. He  asked for  the  pleasure of  the                                                               
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEDMAN motioned  to move SJR 30 from  committee with the                                                               
attached fiscal note and  individual recommendations. There being                                                               
no objection, it was so ordered.