Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/23/2022 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB174 | |
| SB34 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 34 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 34-STATE-TRIBAL EDUCATION COMPACT SCHOOLS
9:22:40 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting announced the consideration
of SENATE BILL NO. 34 "An Act providing for the establishment of
public schools through state-tribal compacts."
9:23:14 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND opened public testimony on SB 34.
9:23:52 AM
RICHARD PETERSON (Chalyee Eesh), President, Central Council
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Juneau, Alaska,
acknowledged he was on the lands of the Tlingit-ani Aukwan and
Takukwan people. He stated that the Tlingit and Haida tribe is
the largest in Alaska, with over 33,000 enrolled tribal
citizens. He defined compacting as a government-to-government
agreement to administer programs, trust relationships upheld by
the US Supreme Court, and recognizes tribes' inherent authority
to serve its citizens. Tlingit and Haida has executed compacts
with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including sophisticated
programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
In 2017 Tlingit and Haida signed a historical tribal child
welfare compact between the state and Alaskan tribes. It also
delivers early care, learning services, and language immersion
to its Head Start programs. While Head Start is not delivered
through a compact, it is an education program that demonstrates
a tribal government's ability to provide culturally relevant
place-based education through indigenous languages.
MR. PETERSON said that the State of Alaska supports local
control, including education tribal compacting, which epitomizes
local control. Tribal compacting has the potential to enhance
education delivery. The details of the program will determine
its potential for success. Eighteen percent of Alaska's children
are Native, and their educational opportunities should be
enhanced. Educational outcomes may improve by partnering with
the state through compacting. No one is more invested in the
success of Native students than their tribe. He stated that
tribal governments understand compacting and are ready to work
with the state to design a system that improves educational
outcomes.
9:27:11 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND closed public testimony on SB 34.
9:27:56 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if a tribal compact school would be
obligated to follow a state education program like SB 111. If
not, would adherence need to be specified in an agreement with
the commissioner, and would it be necessary for the legislature
to direct the commissioner through statute. She stated that
although she recognizes the autonomy of tribal schools, certain
educational elements must be ensured, especially if public funds
are being provided.
9:29:11 AM
JOEL ISAAK, Project Coordinator State-Tribal Education
Compacting, Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED), Kenai, Alaska, replied that SB 34 would address SB 111
and other legislation where funding was to school districts. A
benefit of SB 34 would be that any future legislation addressing
local education agencies (LEAs) or school districts would align
with how current statutes are written. It simplifies while still
honoring the autonomy and flexibility of compacting. Additional
legislation would not be required since compact schools would be
set up as districts. He noted that the commissioner does not
have the authority to waive federal law, so compact schools
would be required to abide by all federal legislation passed.
9:31:36 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if state legislation required schools to
have a reading intervention program would tribal compact schools
be obligated to offer the program, or would the commissioner and
tribal organization have to negotiate an agreement.
MR. ISAAK replied that a compact school would have to follow
state law. If there were a change to federal or state law,
compacting would provide the mechanism for negotiation. In the
example of SB 111, if a school were to accept funds, it would
need to follow the requirements of the legislation, such as
having a reading specialist.
9:33:26 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said that base student allocation (BSA) funding
is not tied to any specific program. She asked if tribal compact
schools would have to follow all education statutes if they
received BSA funds or would adhering to statutes only apply to
specifically funded programs. For example, the civics education
bill has no funding, so if passed would tribal schools have to
meet its requirements.
MR. ISAAK replied that the short answer would be yes. The long
answer would be that there are obligatory requirements tied to
state funds that school districts must meet, such as graduation
requirements. Tribal compact schools would also need to meet
obligatory requirements. These requirements are tied together
even though they do not receive specific funding; civics
education is an example. In contrast, there are optional
programs with separate funding streams. If a tribal compact
school chose to engage in an optional funding stream, it would
need to follow the legal obligations of the program, such as
reporting and assessments.
9:36:24 AM
SENATOR STEVENS stated that tribal compacting has many complex
issues to address. He apologized for SB 34 not being perfect. He
mentioned that Dr. Larry Ledoux, former commissioner of
education, suggested trying to connect tribal compacting with
charter schools.
CHAIR HOLLAND asked if there were any issues with the existing
charter school program that would make establishing state-tribal
compact schools necessary.
9:37:57 AM
TIM LAMKIN, Staff to Senator Stevens, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, stated he is acquainted with charter school
statutes and believes that the idea would be worth further
consideration with some modifications.
9:38:22 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE arrived.
9:38:34 AM
SENATOR BEGICH stated that many issues need to be addressed,
such as the election of school boards. SB 34 could create over
200 individual boards based on what Mr. Isaak described. Alaska
laws are clear that school boards have an election process that
determines how school boards are administered. SB 34 does not
explain how jurisdiction would be handled or whom parents would
have as an elected body to represent them. Employee rights,
collective bargaining, and retirement are other elements not
addressed in the simplicity of SB 34. Establishing tribal
schools as charter schools could solve the issues that have not
been addressed. He said that charter schools could be a solution
to the process the committee is trying to create if state law
applies to negotiated compacts.
9:40:56 AM
MR. LAMKIN replied that such provisions are silent in the bill.
He opined that charter schools might address many issues as they
are broadly understood and embraced.
9:41:21 AM
SENATOR BEGICH asked if any statutes would prohibit moving
forward with a system of charter schools to address tribal
immersion.
9:41:54 AM
MR. LAMKIN replied that he was not aware of any. He opined that
existing charter schools could theoretically be copied and
renamed as a new program under AS 14.16. He said the name State
Tribal Education Charter Schools would bring better
understanding to the goal. Existing law has charter schools
under local school boards. However, it might be more appropriate
for tribal compacting charter schools to work directly with the
State Board of Education. Local control and autonomy are at the
heart of tribal compacting. He deferred to AFN on local control,
checks and balances, and accountability measures.
9:43:08 AM
JULIE KITKA, President, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage,
Alaska, stated she likes that Senator Stevens and his staff are
looking at ways to have authority to do a demonstration project.
She stated that analyzing the possibility of doing a
demonstration project at the state level left doubt as to
whether there was existing legal authority to do it. She said
that proponents of compacting did not feel a lot needed to be
done to authorize a demonstration because it is not a redoing of
education. Proponents of compacting are only trying to get
authorization to do a demonstration project that will hopefully
allow some grafting of new federal financial support for items
like teacher preparation and curriculum development. Huge
changes to state law are not being sought. She is willing to
work within the context of charter schools if that is where
affirmative authorization is given. She said she is seeking
affirmation from the legislature that it wants to explore the
innovation of compacting by authorizing a demonstration project
that can be revisited. If conflicts arose, compacting would
provide a resolution process. Compacting is viewed as a
cooperative effort between tribal organizations and the state to
work through and test out an innovative approach to education
that offers more local control. It is not adversarial. She
stated that the charter school idea was intriguing.
9:45:35 AM
ED KING, Staff to Senator Holland, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, stated that charter school programs allow for
the waiver of local laws, curriculum, and day-in-session
requirements. Charter programs have no other authority to waive
state laws. He suggested the committee identify state laws not
allowed by charter schools that proponents of tribal compacting
are looking to engage in. It is potentially feasible to provide
explicit authority to the charter school program. If state laws
needed to be waived, they would need to be specifically
addressed.
9:46:28 AM
SENATOR STEVENS stated the committee seeks to support
compacting, and the discussion on charter schools has been
valuable. The charter school approach answers some questions
from Senator Begich, such as employee rights and school boards.
The benefit of this approach would be that new school boards
would not need to be created. The Alaska State School Board
could potentially be over compact charter schools. He stated his
appreciation for the latitude given to SB 34 as it needs to be
developed purposefully. It is important to let tribal
communities know that the committee is trying to solve the
problems associated with compacting. Piggybacking with charter
schools could be a reasonable solution.
9:47:35 AM
SENATOR BEGICH concluded that charter schools would provide a
template for tribal compact schools based on the comments in
this meeting. Working with AFN and others, charter school law
should be examined to identify barriers to tribal immersion
learning. It is a demonstration project, not a wholesale
education system change. It could lead to a substantial change
in the system if it works, just as the charter school program
did prove successful and was expanded. He stated that it seems
like an approach he would want to follow, although he needs to
learn more.
9:49:11 AM
SENATOR HUGHES stated that exploring charter schools to avoid
creating 200 school boards seems like a good idea. She is not
familiar with charter school statutes and requested that a
presentation be put together on how charter schools operate. She
stated her belief that some charter schools have a board in
addition to having a local school board. She said part of the
tribal school concept is to have the autonomy to create a
structure that works best for students. She asked if Alaska's
charter school laws would be able to accept leveraged funds as a
tribal organization.
9:50:41 AM
MR. LAMKIN replied that nothing precludes federal funds from
passing through local school boards to charter schools. He
stated that he has not worked directly with charter schools and
is unaware of any inhibition to receiving federal grants.
9:51:00 AM
MR. KING stated he asked the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)the
same question regarding Title VI schools and will report the
answer to the committee after meeting with BIE on Friday.
CHAIR HOLLAND asked if tribal compact schools would require
fully certified teachers and whether charter schools require
full certification. He stated this might drive the direction SB
34 takes.
9:51:57 AM
MR. LAMKIN replied that charter schools are public schools
subject to the state's certification and licensing process. What
will be included in SB 34 has not been determined.
SENATOR STEVENS stated his belief that the next step should be
to have the Department of Education and Early Development
discuss charter schools and how they might be integrated with
tribal compacting. This would help the committee know if the
idea could work and whether it would be the best answer for
tribal school compacting.
9:52:39 AM
MS. KITKA stated she would be willing to do a paper that
compares charter and compact schools from her viewpoint. She
opined that transformative education, innovation, and what will
drive it are missing in the conversation. She stated that AFN
partnered with First Alaskans Institute to do webinars on the
topic. It was done on Facebook Live, and the link can be shared
with the committee. The last one was held Friday, and 1,400
people attended. It gave insight into what was on people's
minds, for example, that parents are children's first educators
and should be kept informed. The meeting was not structured to
discuss the pros and cons of tribal compacting. The focus was on
transformative education, driving innovation, and obtaining
family and community support. People are eager to see compacting
move forward. She asked the committee to focus on what is
occurring in the state and what transformative education is.
Compacting proponents seek explicit authority to go forward with
a demonstration project.
9:55:53 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said that everyone has the same goal and
transformative education is extremely important. He asked Ms.
Kitka to compare compact versus charter schools as offered and
to further look at what changes might be needed. He stated he
would ask the commissioner to address what changes charter
schools would require to move forward. He hopes that a
resolution will be found.
9:57:01 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 34 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 174 - Response to question regarding protective hairstyles.pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 174 Sectional Analysis v. G 2.10.2022.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 174 Sponsor Statement v. G 2.10.2022.pdf |
HL&C 4/11/2022 3:15:00 PM SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB034_Tribal-Compacting_Summary of Changes _from A to B.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |
| SB 34 Tribal-Compacting_Draft CS_ version B.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |
| SB 174 Support Letter 2.15.22.pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 174 Written Public Testimony (SJUD).pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 34 Legal Memo.pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |
| SB 174 SEDC Amendment G.1.pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 34 Written Public Testimony through 3.4.22 (SEDC).pdf |
SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |