Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
02/01/2013 09:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Overview: Department of Education and Early Development | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 1, 2013
9:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Lora Reinbold, Vice Chair
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative MR. Paul Seaton
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Harriet Drummond
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Lynn Gattis, Chair
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided the EED overview.
PAUL PRUSSING, Deputy Director
Teaching and Learning Support
Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions, during the EED
overview.
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions, during the EED
overview.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:01:58 AM
VICE CHAIR LORA REINBOLD called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Representatives Reinbold, LeDoux, Saddler, Seaton,
Wilson and Drummond.
^OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
9:02:27 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the only order of business
would be an overview from the Department of Education and Early
Development (EED).
9:03:03 AM
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development (EED), proceeded with an overview of the structure,
responsibility, and authority to which the department adheres.
Referring to the Alaska Constitution Section 7.1, covering
public education and defining the responsibilities, he
paraphrased the defining language, which reads [original
punctuation provided]:
SECTION 1. Public Education. The legislature shall
by general law establish and maintain a system of
public schools open to all children of the State, and
may provide for other public educational institutions.
Schools and institutions so established shall be free
from sectarian control. No money shall be paid from
public funds for the direct benefit of any religious
or other private educational institution.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the language in statute "establish and
maintain" has been further defined to mean: adequately fund
education, provide oversight and support for the schools, set
content standards for learning, and establish assessments for
measuring student progress towards attaining the standards. He
then referred to AS 14.03.015 to paraphrase the policy language
that read [original punctuation provided]:
Sec. 14.03.015. State education policy. It is the
policy of this state that the purpose of education is
to help ensure that all students will succeed in their
education and work, shape worthwhile and satisfying
lives for themselves, exemplify the best values of
society, and be effective in improving the character
and quality of the world about them.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY underscored that an important aspect of the
statute is that the state level responsibilities do not include
local decision making, such as personnel and curricular choices.
He directed attention to the committee handout, titled "State of
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development," dated
February 1, 2013, page 3, to indicate a list comparing state and
local responsibilities and duties. The state purview includes:
financing of public schools, establishment of standards and
assessment systems, and assignment of district and school
accountability designations. The local school authorities
requirements are: auditing all school accounts, providing an
educational program for each school age child enrolled or who is
a resident of the district, and to review and select all
textbooks and instructional materials. He said that, when
determining educational programs, a school could, for instance,
adopt a traditional model, correspondence model, or organize a
charter school. He pointed out that Anchorage has recently
adopted a new math program to suit that district's needs.
9:08:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON established that if a teacher did not
have text books, it would not be the department but the local
authorities that would address the issue.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said correct. The local structure would
call for the principal to be the first contact, who would then
approach the superintendent, and finally the school board would
ultimately be responsible.
9:08:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted that some initiatives are statewide,
such as the District 6 iPad program, funded through the state.
He asked if the state has the responsibility for the assessment
of that program and for providing the information to the
legislature, or are assessments to be expected from the
individual districts.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that it depends on the approach
taken with the initiative, and the iPad program was a direct
appropriation facilitated by the Association of Alaska School
Boards (AASB); all program data is held by the association.
Other exceptions are theme based education programs where data
is maintained by the districts, such as exists in the Iditarod
School District.
9:09:46 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD requested a report to the committee
regarding the outcome of the iPad program.
9:10:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked for background on the iPad program.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD said that a distribution of iPads occurred
in District 6, with the expectation to achieve certain outcomes.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained that funding was appropriated for
a 1:1 initiative, which provided every student with an iPad.
The expectation was for a complete change of how teachers
delivered curriculum, as well as a change in the participation
level of students. Professional development was provided to the
primary grade teachers to allow them to implement the iPads for
the school year just past. Reading programs were focused on,
and the department did recognize significant, positive strides
in this area.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX clarified that it was a pilot program,
held in a specific school district.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said it was not termed a pilot as much as a
one-time project. The governor's current proposal for the
digital 1:1 initiative takes into account the impacts that the
District 6 program had, and proposes to implement a similar
program on a larger scale.
9:12:19 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY presented a flowchart to illustrate the
overall structure of EED, which differs from that of other state
agencies. The department is headed by the State Board of
Education and Early Development with the Commissioner acting
similar to a chief executive officer (CEO). Five divisions
exist below the commissioner, which are: Teaching and Learning
Support, School Finance and Facilities, Administrative Services,
Libraries Archives, and Museums, and Mount Edgecumbe Boarding
School. He pointed out that an additional three divisions are
not connected to the other flow chart divisions and said they
are considered active partnerships, namely: Professional
Teaching Practices Commission, Alaska State Council on the Arts,
and Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. These
partnerships are operated by the appropriate commission or board
and the department provides administrative services.
[The 5 major divisions and 3 partnership divisions are comprised
of components, which for purposes of these minutes will be
referred to as sections and the offices housed therein.]
9:13:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked how admission to Mt. Edgecumbe
occurs.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered that it is an application and
screening process.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX inquired whether there is preference for
Native students or residence location considerations.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said there is not a Native preference,
although there are a high percentage of Native students
enrolled. He agreed to provide a copy of the application for
additional review.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD interjected that an overview from Mt.
Edgecumbe is slated as a future committee agenda item.
9:15:26 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the Professional Teaching Practices
Commission is in place to handle complaints against teachers and
administrators, or other school employees, who violate
professional standards. The department provides administrative
support for the Alaska State Council on the Arts, as well as the
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, which implements
the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS). Commissioner Hanley
continued, stating that the Teaching and Learning Support
division is the largest, with a staff of 93 in the six sections.
The Early Learning section is comprised of the offices for Head
Start, AKPreK, Head Start Collaboration, Best Beginnings, and
Parents as Teachers. He reported that eight districts operate
AKPreK programs, based on a competitive grant process. The Best
Beginnings has been funded by the legislature and is part of the
Imagination Library, establishing local support activities in
communities distributing free books on a monthly basis. The
funding for Best Beginnings resides in the EED budget, but it is
not operated by the department. Parents as Teachers are also
early learning programs.
9:17:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked how many, of each of the named
early learning programs, exist.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY offered that not all Head Start programs are
supported by the state.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON said that Wrangell has a Head Start
program, and she requested further information on the number of
schools in the state implementing early learning programs.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX noted that some programs, such as Head
Start, have been operating in Alaskan districts for a length of
time. She asked whether empirical studies exist regarding the
outcomes of former program attendees, as compiled by the state
or at the federal level.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY reported that the state has accumulated data
on the pre-K Head Start programs. He shared that during a
recent education summit Senator Hollis French, Alaska State
Legislature, provided information indicating a correlation
between early learning and remaining out of jail. Head Start
provides wrap around services for the entire family, and the
department provides additional academic components to the
program, such as Teaching Strategies GOLD, to help prepare
children for kindergarten and first grade.
9:21:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked what the youngest age is that a
child might become involved in the public education system.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that, aside from the eight pre-K
programs that begin at age four, the youngest would be
kindergarten age. The Best Beginnings program accepts parents
with children from birth but it is not considered part of the
public school system.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND added that special needs children can
begin at age three in the Anchorage district.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY confirmed that the Child Find program does
allow early intervention for special needs.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND said that Head Start longitudinal
studies indicate that for every dollar spent on a child to
participate in the program, society saves seven dollars in
juvenile and adult social programs.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD agreed that early intervention can prove
successful. However, it is important to ascertain which
programs have the most impact and she asked that the department
plan to provide appropriate reports. She stressed the
importance for targeted funding.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the AKPreK is in its fourth year of
operation and agreed to distribute findings to the committee, as
well as for Parents as Teachers also available directly from the
department.
9:24:51 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY moved onto the Statewide Mentoring Program
section. He said the Teacher Mentor Project has been positive
for teacher retention and added that student performance has
also been shown to improve when a new teacher receives
mentoring. The Administrative Coaching Program is also
effective for improving the abilities of principals and
superintendents to support and empower teachers. Commissioner
Hanley pointed out that the Student and School Achievement
section has five offices, which include: Assessment and
Accountability; Charter and Correspondence Schools; Alaska
Learning Network (AKLN); Health and Safety; and Federal Grant
Program offices for Special Education, Career and technical
Education (CTE), and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). He elaborated
to say that the office of Assessments and Accountability
facilitates the statewide, annual assessments, which include:
standards based assessments (SBAs), TerraNova, and WorkKeys. He
said that the AKLN is a distance learning program, supported
with continued funding in the governor's budget. The focus of
AKLN is to provide access to highly qualified teachers for
students in the most remote areas. Health and safety has also
been a focus of the governor, and the Health and Safety office
has adopted components to address domestic violence and sexual
assault, including the Fourth R curriculum to help students
build healthy relationships and Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM).
Athletic coaches implement the CBIM program to instill
respectful behavior both on and off the court. He said works
hand in hand with these programs but the EED budget provides
only incremental support, which are primarily funded through the
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) and the Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (DVSA) council. Additionally, he
mentioned, several federal grant programs are also part of the
department, including: Special Education-Title I, and student
nutrition.
9:27:42 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY indicated that the Teacher Certification
section represents a small aspect of the Teaching and Learning
Support division, with offices for the Alaska Teacher
Certification Program and the Professional Teaching Practices
Commission. The certification program ensures that all teachers
meet professional qualifications and that re-certifications are
current.
9:28:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND requested elaboration on the
departmental oversight of the federal grant programs listed
under the Student and School Achievement section; Special
Education, CTE, and NCLB.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that the department receives
program funding, as well as accountability measures for the
three named programs, and said he chose not to include the
extensive list in today's presentation. Regarding NCLB, he
offered that there are a number of follow-up requirements
related to the funding and several employees are dedicated to
these federal components.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND referred specifically to the special
education aspect, and asked, "Do you get a piece of funding for
special education and then assess how our schools are doing
based on that."
COMMISSIONER HANLEY deferred.
9:29:21 AM
PAUL PRUSSING, Deputy Director, Teaching and Learning Support,
Department of Education and Early Development (EED), responded
that a small amount of state administrative money is provided
for special education. He said a team of three education
specialists review all of the grants for the districts, and an
administrator oversees the program. He said the federal annual
performance report was recently completed and other duties
include: grant review, budget review, on-site monitoring, and
collection of data required by the federal government.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY added that the performance bar for NCLB was
recently raised and, further, it requires that every child, in
every district of every state, must be determined proficient by
next year; the U.S. Department of Education is offering waivers
to the mandate.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked how many employees at the
department administer the NCLB program.
MR. PRUSSING said the team has 11 staff.
9:31:52 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY continued on to name the offices that are
within the Statewide System of Support section, which include
the Education Content Specialists, Technical Assistance Coaches,
Content Coaches, and the Yupiit Trustee. He stated that there
are three content specialists, which focus attention on the
areas of literacy, math, and science. The specialists provide
districts with available resources and materials as well as
ensure employee access to appropriate training and professional
development. The ten school improvement coaches work directly
with the three intervention districts; building capacity at the
local level for districts with chronically underperforming
students. Finally, the federally funded Child Nutrition section
maintains offices for the National School Lunch Program, the
Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Child and Adult Food
Program, and Donated Commodities.
9:32:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX inquired how many children are involved in
the subsidized breakfast and lunch programs.
MR. PRUSSING answered that Alaska has 300 Title I schools, which
are poverty based, and he agreed to provide the committee with
the exact numbers.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX further asked what the threshold is for
qualification to the program, and whether everyone attending a
Title I school is eligible.
MR. PRUSSING said an income questionnaire is required and the
threshold for qualification is defined as the federal poverty
line, which may allow the participant to purchase a free or
reduced meal. However, anyone may purchase the meal.
9:34:58 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD said that the state public assistance office
reports that 190,000 Alaskans are receiving some type of
government support, including the school food program. She
noted that EED receives $300 million in federal grants, of which
a significant amount is directed for school food programs and
she asked to have clarification of the money distribution
provided to the committee.
9:36:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if there is overlap of the four
named food programs.
MR. PRUSSING indicated that each of the programs provide several
different services, which could come in many forms and may allow
multiple eligibilities. He said overlap is possible and offered
to provide data regarding duplication of services.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY interjected that the Child and Adult Food
Program is not necessarily an in-school service, and suggested
further clarification.
MR. PRUSSING allowed that TEFAP is a federal program
specifically designed to be ramped up for emergency situations,
such as a flooded village. The Child and Adult Food Programs
provide subsidized meals typically through privately owned pre-
schools and adult care facilities.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether EED is involved in the
adult food programs and suggested that there may be "mission
creep" if the education department is providing services to
older people.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY agreed and clarified that the services are
each an aspect of the same federal funding component and EED
administers the program.
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND reported that 58 of the 90 schools in
Anchorage serve student breakfasts. She said this indicates
that there are a multitude of issues in Anchorage; otherwise
children would be eating a morning meal at home. A facility,
such as the student nutrition center in Anchorage, which serves
20,000 students per day, should be operating on a 24/7, 365 day
per year schedule to process food for all community members in
need, she opined.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON commented that the food stamp program
provides families with an allowance that should cover three
meals per day. The same families may also qualify for free
breakfast and lunch programs and are possibly being relieved
from providing those two meals. She asked how many school
districts serve meals and how many would like to be in the
program but are precluded due to facility limitations.
MR. PRUSSING agreed to provide the information to the committee.
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD commented that the mission of education is
education and social services are the purview of DHSS. She
asked to have the [Child Nutrition] administrative costs
provided to the committee stating it would be important to
determine whether a departmental restructuring needs to be
considered. Additionally, private non-profit organizations,
such as United Way and the Rasmussen Foundation, could be
partnered with to provide food services, freeing teachers to
focus on classroom related duties, she suggested.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY agreed to provide all EED administrative
costs to the committee, as requested by the chairman.
9:42:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX noted that the nutrition programs are
federally funded and the only state money is for administration
through the four section offices.
MR. PRUSSING clarified that the state provides about $68,000 and
the districts contribute local matching funds of about $400,000.
He said the EED Child Nutrition team is 100 percent federally
funded.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX recalled that the history of the school
lunch programs began with the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA).
MR. PRUSSING said it is still under the purview of the USDA.
9:44:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND noted the Donated Commodities office and
asked if it is the USDA commodities program, and further, what
the departmental oversight is at the district level.
MR. PRUSSING confirmed that it handles the USDA donated
commodities, and that oversight includes the coordination for
transportation of goods and other logistics. He agreed to
provide further information to the committee.
9:44:58 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY moved to the next division, Education
Support Services, and named the sections, which are: Executive
Administration, Administrative Services, and School Finance and
Facilities. The Executive Administration section is comprised
of offices for the State Board of Education and Early
Development, as well as the Office of the Commissioner. These
offices work directly with superintendents, school boards,
schools, and the legislature. The Administrative Services
section is comprised of the seven offices in charge of operating
the department, which are: State and Federal Reporting, Human
Resources, Payroll, Budget Preparation and Execution,
Procurement and Accounting, Contract Administration, and
Information Technology Services. The School Finance and
Facilities section offices are: Public School Funding, Capital
Improvement Project (CIP) Listing, and Major Maintenance
Listing.
9:46:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON recalled the consolidation of state
human resource offices and asked whether decentralization has
occurred and if state departments have re-established
independent offices.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY deferred.
9:47:15 AM
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Education and
Early Development (EED), responded that many of the personnel
services remain centralized. The functions of the EED office
are for internal actions; in-house position postings,
disciplinary measures. One staff member provides support to all
of the EED divisions, he said.
9:47:57 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the division of Libraries, Archives and
Museums is comprised of 69 staff for the offices of Collections,
Museum Education, and Museum Development. The new State
Libraries Archives and Museum (SLAM) project is under
construction and will replace the existing structures, as well
as consolidate the materials and services into a cost efficient
building.
9:50:25 AM
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said the final division is Mt. Edgecumbe
High School, which is the only state run school. An advisory
board handles the daily operations and policy calls but the
State Board of Education is the institutions school board.
Funding is through the base student allocation (BSA) with an
additional component for dormitory housing. He pointed out that
there are boarding schools in Galena, Nenana, and Bethel which
are run by the respective districts.
9:51:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether there has been
consideration of placing Mt. Edgecumbe under the auspices of the
local school district and relieving the state of the obligation.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY said high level discussions have possibly
taken place but the idea has not been actively pursued. To a
final committee question, he said he did not have on hand the
dates when the other residential programs were established.
9:52:50 AM
VICE CHAIR REINBOLD thanked the participants and announced the
next meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:53 a.m.
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