Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
03/28/2007 08:00 AM Senate SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB1 | |
| SB10 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| = | SB 1 | ||
| * | SB 10 | ||
SB 10-TRUANCY OFFICERS
8:06:20 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced SB 10 to be under consideration.
TOM OBERMEYER, aide to Senator Davis, sponsor of SB 10, said
that the committee substitute (CS) before the committee
incorporated the provisions of SB 3, a different bill dealing
with truancy.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Obermeyer to talk about SB 10 first, and
then discuss the CS.
MR. OBERMEYER said that the purpose of the bill is to employ a
truant officer for each school district with an average daily
membership of at least 1,000, in order to enforce compulsory
attendance. State law and city ordinances can hold both the
student and parents responsible for school attendance, imposing
fines and other sanctions. Truancy leads to high dropout rates
and other social problems, and early intervention is important.
Alaska has one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation; the
state posted a 63.6 percent graduation rate in 2006, with males
and most minorities well below the national average. Current
truancy laws have no method of enforcement, and this bill will
allow a concerted effort by truancy officers, law enforcement,
teachers, and community members to curb truancy and its negative
effects.
8:10:33 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked how badly Alaska's school performance is
compared with the rest of the nation.
MR. OBERMEYER replied that dropout rates can be misleading,
because they don't reflect the true number of graduates. The
Alaska Native group dropout rate is at 14 percent, and overall
our graduation rate is one of the lowest in the nation. On of
the biggest resulting problems is that many dropouts enter a
downward spiral into worse issues; drugs, teen pregnancy,
violence, the prison system, etc.
CHAIR STEVENS said that he was shocked by the numbers of
dropouts among prison inmates.
8:13:00 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked for elaboration on the history of truancy
officers.
MR. OBERMEYER referenced a document showing that truant officers
were present in the state in 1987; he explained how the law
language worked, and how it put a state officer in each school
authorized to request warrants and compel appearance before a
court.
He added that there's been an attempt to keep the fiscal note
low in the bill, but it remains substantial; only 13 districts
in the state will qualify for truant officers, but the fiscal
note will be around $1 million. However, the large districts
that can pay for the officers are the ones that need it most.
CHAIR HUGGINS said that his natural inclination is to blame the
approach; maybe the problem is students' motivation, and a
truant officer won't necessarily fix this.
MR. OBERMEYER replied that habitual truancy does exacerbate
other problems and the bill is a late solution to the problem.
The intent of the bill, however, is to create a way of avoiding
suspension or expulsion, which are ineffective ways of
addressing the problem. Parent and community involvement should
be increased as well. Earlier action should be taken, but this
approach will, at least, help kids graduate. A truant officer
with no authority would be ineffectual; an officer working with
the district can help create a solution to the problem.
8:19:08 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that the matter is really more comprehensive
than just the issue the bill addresses, and the CS would need to
address more issues; he then asked if the title of the CS was
adequate.
MR. OBERMEYER replied that he'd leave that decision to the
committee; the original bill was far narrower, whereas the CS is
comprehensive.
CHAIR STEVENS said that a broad title would be good, and asked
for the differences in the CS.
8:20:58 AM
MR. OBERMEYER said that there was an explanation of the CS
before the committee, and the CS was requested to incorporate
language from SB 31, as well some other additions. There were
some areas in which the language of the CS was found to be
unclear, but that it was before the committee that day for
discussion purposes.
He explained that the purpose of the bill is to engage students
and parents in the school system; petitioning in the court
should be a last resort, but could serve as a final tool for the
truant officer. The intent of the CS is to require each of
Alaska's schools to create a plan for truancy and work with
other community resources on the issue. It removes the
controversial element from SB 31 which would have named a child
a delinquent after a certain number of absences.
He added that some of the problems that could come up regarding
the bill would be the number of days required before notifying
parents or truancy. Juneau is currently the only large district
in the state that employs a truant officer.
8:25:12 AM
CHAIR STEVENS said that the direction of the bill and district
policy needs to be clear in the language.
MR. OBERMEYER replied that there are boards that will work in
tandem to improve the truancy situation. He added that other
states use parent truancy officer programs, employing community
resources. The projects have broadened to identify and correct
the problem.
CHAIR STEVENS said that family participation is essential, and
mentioned a program in another state that appears to be work
well against truancy.
8:27:48 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that bullying is a significant
component of some children leaving school.
8:29:13 AM
CARL ROSE, Executive Director of the Association of Alaska
School Boards, said that the issue of truancy is much more than
just punishment, and that incentive to remain in school is
necessary. The value and relevance of school are not obvious to
some kids; officers are important but arresting after the fact
is not ideal. Young people need to be engaged; if we know the
negative end results of dropping out of school, why wouldn't we
try to stop the problem earlier? When kids sit through
instruction that's less than engaging, challenging, or relevant,
at an early age they start to lose interest and begin pursuing
their own interests. It's a struggle to introduce new elements
in the curriculum, but that's the best way to encourage
attendance and graduation.
He then gave an example of how a practical and challenging
curriculum is successful.
8:34:03 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Rose for comments on parent and peer
involvement in truancy.
MR. ROSE replied that Initiative for Community Engagement (ICE)
program statistics show that the more parents are involved, the
more test scores and attendance improve. He gave an example of
how encouragement helps students to avoid unhealthy decisions,
and said that ICE has worked statewide to help kids during and
outside of school hours.
8:36:33 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS said that there's a number of kids who don't
spend any time at home, and asked if there are any ways to
approach this group in particular.
MR. ROSE explained that youth centers are helpful in
accommodating young people who don't have a normal family
experience.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that Asian students seem to do much
better than other racial groups, and perhaps it's because they
don't have time for anything but schoolwork. He asked if there's
any way to capitalize on this discipline for all students.
8:38:54 AM
MR. ROSE said that he is one-quarter Chinese, and that
culturally there's a great emphasis on working together in Asian
countries. He gave an example of how this works in immigrant
communities in the US, and said that family concentration on
schooling is the main value that leads to good performance.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that of all ethnicities in Alaska, the
Asian group has the best graduation rates.
8:41:29 AM
GLENN SZYMONIAK, Assistant Superintendent for the Kenai
Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD), said that the
district supports the truant officer legislation; the KPBSD is
doing a few things that are effective in curbing truancy and
drop-out rates, including alternative performance-based programs
and a school in the maximum security prison; putting a greater
threat of punishment into the system will help. Home-school
programs are sometimes ineffectual, new students in a district
can be missed by the school system, and middle-school students
become involved in crimes at an early age; these students
realize early on that dropping out will let them continue a
lifestyle of crime. They all need to be brought back into the
system, but room for alternative programs is necessary. Even
long-term suspension can be assuaged with lesson plans sent to
the student and graded by their teacher.
8:46:52 AM
SENATOR DAVIS asked if Mr. Szymoniak had a chance to see the
bill.
MR. SZYMONIAK replied that he hasn't had a chance to see the
bill yet.
CHAIR STEVENS remarked that the definition of a truant student
can be hazy, and hopefully the bill will make it clear. He asked
for comment on home-schooling and its effect on truancy.
MR. SZYMONIAK replied that home-schooled students either do very
well in public school or have had no schooling whatsoever.
8:48:54 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS said that performance-based schooling can gather
up students that are behind and allow them to move through
school at a pace that works for them.
MR. SZYMONIAK agreed that dooming students to fail is a bad
option. He mentioned another program that works similarly.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented that an alternative school in the Mat-
Su district has a day care center, and asked if there are any
such centers in Kenai.
MR. SZYMONIAK replied that there's not an in-house daycare
system yet, but it's in the works.
CHAIR HUGGINS said that ideally there would be no need for
alternative schools; however, one of their keys to success is
tailoring the system to the students' needs, which works for a
select segment of the population.
MR. SZYMONIAK agreed that the traditional model of school
doesn't work for all students.
8:52:11 AM
LOU KUSTIN, Director of Student Services for the Juneau School
District, said that Juneau has had a truancy tracker for the
last two years and every year the efficacy of the position is
questioned; the data, however, is incontrovertible. Truancy is
often caused by poverty, neglect, boredom, drugs, etc.; it's the
role of the truancy tracker to help determine the true problem
behind the absence. Integration with other agencies in the
community is important. He added that sometimes peers do play an
important role in creating truancy issues.
He said that in Juneau the definition of a truant varies, but
after missing four classes the truancy tracker system begins to
follow a student. The intervention program has been generally
successful.
8:57:16 AM
CHAIR STEVENS thanked Mr. Kustin, and said that one of the
problems the legislature is facing is a lack of consistency in
the definition of truancy. He asked if Mr. Kustin had had a
chance to look at the bill.
MR. KUSTON replied that he had, but not in great detail.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if there's anything in the bill that would
adversely affect what Juneau is already doing for truancy.
MR. KUSTIN replied that there isn't, and added that a state-wide
system would be very helpful.
CHAIR STEVENS remarked that the problem of kids missing school
because they live in poverty should be a solvable issue.
8:59:55 AM
SENATOR DAVIS said that the subject is very important, and the
problem is ongoing and many school board members have come
forward to say that they need help; taking action against the
problem is a necessary step. School districts keep saying that
they can't fund the program, and that has turned out to be true.
This bill could be the beginning of a solution to the problem.
CHAIR STEVENS said that the bills will be brought back before
the committee as soon as the schedule allows, and, there being
no further business to come before the committee, he adjourned
the meeting at 9:02:32 AM.
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