Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/10/2014 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB107 | |
| SB139 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 107 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 139 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 139-EDUCATION: FUNDING/TAX CREDITS/PROGRAMS
8:14:24 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the next order of business would be
SB 139.
TIM LAMKIN, Staff, Senator Gary Stevens, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, said this was the second hearing of
SB 139. He indicated he will address the policy sections of the
bill and financial components would be taken up at a later date.
The first section involves challenging courses for credit by
proving mastery. This policy issue was addressed in HB 190,
sponsored by Representative Seaton, and was passed from the
Senate Education Committee.
CHAIR STEVENS commented on the need for two separate bills on
topics that are part of the Governor's omnibus bill. He pointed
out that the committee has already dealt with the exit exam [SB
111] and challenging credits [HB 190]. The outcome of SB 139 is
unknown; therefore it is important to have individual-topic
bills in order to move forward on those issues, if necessary.
MR. LAMKIN continued to highlight sections of the bill the
department and sponsor discussed. He noted that Section 2
requires a college and career ready assessment. The bill
provides districts with the choice between the ACE or SAT and
WorkKeys, which is difference than SB 111.
He explained that the assessment has three benefits: it provides
data for policymakers, it provides parents and students with an
understanding of potential aptitudes, and it generates revenue.
He said students who do not plan to go to college or advance in
a career may not take tests seriously, skewing data and aptitude
information. The only guaranteed benefit would then be revenue
for the testing companies. He said that Sections 3, 4, and 5,
also address the repeal of the exit exam.
He explained that Section 6 sets out the charter school
application and appeal process if the application is denied. An
appeal first goes to the commissioner for a recommendation, and
if he or she agrees with the appeal, then it is passed on to the
state board of education for a final say. He asked the committee
to consider whether the commissioner's decision, for or against,
should be sent on to the board for a final decision.
8:19:10 AM
CHAIR STEVENS requested further discussion of students'
challenging a course for credit. He noted that HB 190 on that
subject did pass out of committee.
SENATOR GARDNER voiced concerns about the lack of sideboards on
which courses could be challenged. She pointed out that in her
district lab classes cannot be challenged.
CHAIR STEVENS added that performing arts courses were discussed
previously as additional courses that should not be challenged.
He requested the commissioner's opinion.
SENATOR GARDNER noted that the Governor's proposal is more
constrained than HB 190.
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development, Juneau, Alaska, agreed with Senator Gardner's
recognition of the burden of designing assessments for
experiential classes. The language in the Governor's bill does
speak to the requirement of districts to provide the opportunity
to earn credits for specific courses: mathematics, language
arts, science, social studies, and world languages. It adds
sideboards, recognizing the difficulty of assessing an
experiential class.
SENATOR GARDNER remarked that she is not as concerned about the
difficulty for the district to provide an assessment as she is
about what it means to the student to get credit for a course.
8:21:45 AM
CHAIR STEVENS turned to Section 2 of the bill and inquired about
the benefits and costs of this assessment change.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY clarified if nothing were to take place or
if this section were not to pass, all students would continue to
be required to take WorkKeys. The goal of this section is to
give college-bound students the choice to take the ACT or SAT,
instead of WorkKeys.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if students could take both tests.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the bill provides that the state would
pay for one test, but the students could take both and pay for
one. Currently, to qualify for the Alaska Performance
Scholarship, a student has to pay for the ACT or the SAT. Under
SB 139, the test would be free.
SENATOR GARDNER said she has heard WorkKeys is dated.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that employers in Alaska have not
said that. More and more employers are using WorkKeys as an
entry level understanding of a student's skills. Some teachers
and students have commented that the test is not relevant.
8:25:32 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked how students should decide which test to
take.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said certain schools require one or the
other test. The bill does not require a district to give both
the ACT and the SAT; it only requires it to provide a college-
bound assessment or WorkKeys. A parent and student could choose
which test to take.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked which test is needed for the Alaska
Scholars Program.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY clarified that the top 10 percent of
graduating students qualifies for the University of Alaska
Scholars Program; it does not require taking the SAT or the ACT.
They typically use the Accuplacer, but it is not required.
SENATOR HUGGINS suggested providing an assessment test in order
to prevent the need for remediation in college.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY offered that the provisions in the bill may
not be the tool to address that concern. He said the department
works directly with the University of Alaska and an Alaska
Commission on Post-Secondary Education (ACPE) grant to put
together a longitudinal data system in order connect K-12 data
to the workforce and to the university. The purpose of the data
is to determine remediation needs. The vision of the Governor's
bill is to move from accountability measure in the exit exam to
an informational assessment of value to students.
8:31:25 AM
CHAIR STEVENS transitioned to the exit exam, noting that the
committee passed SB 111 on that topic. He asked Commission
Hanley to comment.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stressed the importance of the transitional
language that all three exit exam bills currently have. This
provision is for adults who have graduated with a Certificate of
Achievement but have not passed the exit exam. For moral and
legal reasons, the provision allows them to re-test for 3 years
after the exit exam is removed.
CHAIR STEVENS voiced concern about the cost of that provision.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY agreed that there is some cost. He indicated
that last year about 300 adults returned to take the test; 50
percent earned their diploma. The cost is a function of the
current contract which will end in 2015. He predicted the cost
could be as high as $1.3 million out of $2.7 million, but the
department is currently negotiating the contract.
CHAIR STEVENS asked how soon the actual cost will be available.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said he is hoping the department will know
this week.
8:34:43 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS referred to two locations where students go to
work on their diploma, Camp Challenge and the Job Corps. He
inquired what the department does to support those programs.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that the department does work with
Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA) with the
Military and Youth Academy's Camp Challenge. The goal there is
to offer a type of diploma or to return students to public
schools to graduate. The Jobs Program is similar. Those students
are working toward a GED, but also toward returning to public
schools.
CHAIR STEVENS turned to Sections 6 and 7; charter school
application and appeals process. He reviewed the appeal process.
He questioned forcing a district to accept a charter school when
they do not want it.
8:38:09 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY stated that the more important part of the
process is the integrity that will be implemented at the local
level. Section 6 (b) states that "a local school board approving
or denying the application for a charter school must be in
writing and must include all relevant findings of fact and
conclusions of law." It says a district must have a valid reason
for denying or approving an application and it needs to be
public. He opined if that is in place, there won't be many
appeals and it would be difficult to overturn the district's
decision.
He indicated that, currently, the problem is when school
districts counsel charter school applicants not to apply.
Currently, all denials and approvals will go through the state
board for final approval and that will remain the same. The bill
adds a provision that a denial go before the commissioner prior
to going to the state board. He noted that there is no history
of denials going to the state board to date.
8:40:26 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked if the commissioner denies a request,
whether that's the end of the process.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY clarified that both approvals and denials go
to the state board.
SENATOR GARDNER inquired what problem the bill is fixing if
there is no history of denials and the goal is accountability at
the district level. She questioned why include anything other
than accountability in the bill.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY observed that having the process in places
provides integrity; applicants know they have an avenue for
review.
SENATOR GARDNER gave an example of an impractical, informal
charter proposal that is problematic and unlikely to go forward.
She asked if it was appropriate for a district to counsel the
group against moving forward.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said yes. A district could highlight
problematic issues based on findings of fact and conclusions of
law; however, a parent group could still propose it.
8:43:10 AM
CHAIR STEVENS summarized that no charter schools have been
denied and it is unknown if charter schools have been encouraged
not to apply.
SENATOR HUGGINS disagreed. He opined that charter schools are
the ultimate in parental involvement and districts should not
deny them just because they don't think their idea is ready yet.
Some districts say they can't afford a new charter school and
there are caps in some areas. Also, some districts are not in
favor of charter schools.
He said the role of the Academic Policy Committee (APC) to run
the school is unclear in some districts. He stated support for
modernizing charter schools because they are the model for
school choice.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY agreed with Senator Huggins' comments. He
opined that the law does not go far enough. He stressed the
importance of engaging parents and he expressed support for SB
139. He said other states have independent boards that hear
charter school applications and have alternative authorized
charter schools. He said Alaska's Charter School Law is ranked
very low compared to other states. He said he does not fear
parents and groups that want to coalesce around a mission to
help children. He spoke in support of innovation in education
and cautioned that public education will lose more parents to
other options. He termed charter schools as mission schools and
he encouraged support of them.
8:48:55 AM
CHAIR STEVENS inquired whether this topic is in other bills.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that Representative Gattis has
another bill that deals with charter schools, but it is
significantly different in that it requires an authorizer that
is not a local school board.
CHAIR STEVENS pointed out that there has been a lot of
discussion about this issue, but not much objection to it. It
will provide a clear reason why a charter school is denied or
accepted.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said that input from all players is important;
however, there needs to be a balance of practitioners' and
policymakers' views with students' and parents' views. He noted
a parent trigger law in California giving parents a say in
education matters. There are many reform movements across U.S.
due to parent involvement.
8:52:38 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if there are still federal or state
startup grants for charter schools for things like school
furniture.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said they no longer exist.
8:54:12 AM
CHAIR STEVENS requested information on boarding school stipends.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY related that there are two components; the
department will open a boarding school application period
annually, and the room and board stipend will be raised to
reduce the gap between actual cost and current funding.
SENATOR STEDMAN asked for backup data for justifying the cost
increase. He brought up the inequity between the per-pupil
monthly stipend for room and board currently at $820 for the
Southeast Region and at $800 for the Southcentral Region, with a
proposed increase to $1230 for Southeast and $1200 for
Southcentral. He maintained that the cost of living in Southeast
was closer to parity several decades ago. He said he would be
shocked if costs in Southeast were remotely close to
Southcentral's costs today.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that the department did not break
down the geographic differentials. The department looked at
several schools' actual costs. He offered to look into the
request.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if that stipend was raised recently.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said Senator Coghill sponsored SB 47 last
year which proposed the actual numbers in SB 139. At the time it
would have tripled the stipend, but the legislature settled on
doubling it.
SENATOR GARDNER posed a rhetorical question on the idea of an
increase in the number of boarding schools and the stipend for
additional students and "addressing the gap" between the actual
cost and the current funding. She noted the same criteria did
not apply to the Base Student Allocation (BSA.)
CHAIR STEVENS agreed it was a rhetorical question.
8:59:10 AM
SENATOR STEDMAN restated a request for data to justify the
reason for numeric changes regarding costs. He noted the
variations in cost comparisons by region, depending on which
area within a region is used.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said he would do his best to compare Mt.
Edgecombe to other residential schools.
CHAIR STEVENS wished to discuss the BSA at another meeting.
CHAIR STEVENS opened public testimony.
9:00:46 AM
MIKE COONS, representing himself, Palmer, Alaska, testified
against aspects of SB 139. He noted the Governor finally got rid
of Common Core and the need to collect data. He referred to
Section 2 and spoke against taking tests for the purpose of
data. He opposed the expense of funding any exit tests.
9:03:46 AM
SENATOR GARDNER explained that the proposal is that the exams
would not be for high stakes, only for information.
MR. COONS shared his personal story and maintained there is no
need for the tests.
9:05:05 AM
MARK SUMERVILLE, Board Member, Copper River School Board, Kenny
Lake, Alaska, testified in support of SB 139. He said he has no
concerns about the sections in bill. He said he was concerned if
an increase in the BSA is in lieu of additional funding provided
to schools in the past few years for fuel and transportation.
He pointed out that his district's enrollment has dropped by 32
percent over the last ten years. Last year's significant
enrollment drop put the district into a hold harmless status.
There will be a $200,000 deficit next year which translates to
loss of teachers or combining elementary classes. Additional
funding is appreciated; however, the district is not a supporter
of blanket increases in the BSA.
He said he agrees with looking at innovative education ideas and
opportunities. The district is applying for a planning grant for
a virtual school and a residency program in the Alaska Bible
School's vacant campus.
9:07:47 AM
CHAIR STEVENS thanked Mr. Sumerville for his service on the
school board. He inquired if fuel and transportation were no
longer funded in the Copper River District and the district only
received the BSA increase, whether the district's funds would be
increased.
MR. SUMERVILLE said the BSA increase would not make up the
difference.
CHAIR STEVENS summarized that if the BSA remains as it is and
the district does not receive additional funds, it will be a
difficult time for the district.
SAMUEL SINAU, Student, Copper River School, Kenny Lake, Alaska,
testified on SB 139. He said he believes the planning grant will
be beneficial to the school by providing more opportunities for
students in the bush.
CHAIR STEVENS asked for Mr. Sinau's thoughts on the exit exam,
WorkKeys, and the SAT or ACT.
MR. SINAU believed students should have a standard test in order
to qualify for graduation to prepare for what they want to do
later on.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if Mr. Sinau was in favor of getting rid of
the exit exam.
MR. SINAE said he was. He noted that some students felt the test
should be more challenging, except for students with
disabilities.
MR. SUMERVILLE agreed with removing the exit exam and replacing
it with options set out in the bill. He pointed out that
currently most of the students pass the exit exam in their
sophomore year.
9:12:06 AM
KEVIN SHIPLEY, Superintendent, Kake School District, Kake,
Alaska, testified on SB 139. He commented about the importance
of considering how testing students out of classes affects a
district's current accountability system. He suggested looking
at the intended and unintended consequences. For example, if a
district is letting students test out of English I, and they are
going to be held accountable for the exit exam, the test needs
to be rigorous enough to ensure success on the exit exam. He
said he is not opposed to testing out and he will put policies
in place to make it possible.
He stressed that there needs to be consistency in testing across
the state. It will cost money for local districts to create an
accountability test. The state could choose to let the districts
know tests the department is approving. He said he is not
opposed to students taking the ACT, SAT, or WorkKeys, if the
state wants to pay for it. He stressed the importance of tying
accountability to tests; however he was against tying
accountability to any of the three tests because they do not
align to Kake's curriculum or to state standards. He inquired if
there would be a new exit exam aligned to state standards.
He spoke in favor of public, private partnerships as long as
there is local control. He questioned who would be accountable
for a charter school if a school board is overruled. He
questioned how the new charter school provisions will affect the
system currently in place. School superintendents are happy to
try creative and innovative things. Their goal it to do what it
takes to make students successful. He said 100 percent of
students in Kake passed the exit exam last year. In everything
it does, the district must meet the accountability standards the
state sets up. He questioned if the state was ready to commit to
a system and keep it in place long term.
9:17:36 AM
SENATOR STEDMAN asked how many of Kake's 9th grade students
graduate.
SUPERINTENDENT SHIPLEY said 100 percent of the five-year cohort
graduated last year and 100 percent will graduate this year. In
the last five years, two students did not graduate, but they
received GEDs. He shared a story to indicate that the district
does not give up on students.
9:19:00 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked if Common Core Standards are gone now that
Alaska has the Alaska Academic State Standards. He stated that
no matter what happens to SB 139, Alaska will still have an
accountability test based on the standards, in addition to the
tests mentioned in the bill.
COMISSIONER HANLEY reported that in June of 2012 the State Board
of Education adopted a new set of Alaska Academic Standards that
are similar, but more rigorous than the Common Core Standards.
The focus has shifted from graduation to preparation. Now there
are measures in grades 3-10 and next year there will be measures
in grades 3-11, a system of feedback for students.
SENATOR GARDNER inquired why the department changed from Smarter
Balanced assessments and much it costs.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY offered to provide that information.
9:22:07 AM
BRANDI BOCATCH, Student, Dillingham High School, Dillingham,
Alaska, testified on SB 139. She spoke in opposition to the exit
exam and in favor of WorkKeys and ACT/SAT.
CHAIR STEVENS said he has heard that once kids passed the exit
exam in their sophomore year, they weren't serious about the
rest of their school career.
MS. BOCATCH agreed.
9:23:33 AM
PETER HOEPFNER, Board President, Cordova School Board, Cordova,
Alaska, testified on SB 139. He pointed out that the BSA does
not have an inflation component to it and it should be in the
formula as a way of protecting schools. He agreed with appealing
the exit exam and with the transition language in the bill that
would allow students who have failed the exam to have time to
retake it.
CHAIR STEVENS held SB 139 in committee.
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