02/11/2009 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB33 | |
| Overview: Bring the Kids Home | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 33 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 11, 2009
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Kim Elton, Chair
Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Charlie Huggins
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 33
"An Act creating a postsecondary scholarship grant program for
Alaska residents based on high achievement and financial need."
HEARD AND HELD
OVERVIEW: Bring the Kids Home
HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 33
SHORT TITLE: POSTSECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) ELLIS
01/21/09 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/09
01/21/09 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/09 (S) EDC, FIN
02/09/09 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BELTZ 211
02/09/09 (S) Heard & Held
02/09/09 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
02/11/09 (S) EDC AT 8:00 AM BELTZ 211
No previous action to report.
WITNESS REGISTER
NICK MOE, aid
to Senator Johnny Ellis
State Capital
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions about CSSB 33.
DIANE BARRANS, Executive Director
Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions about CSSB 33.
BILL HERMAN, Senior Trust Program Officer
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority (AMHTA)
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented an overview of the Bring the Kids
Home program.
KELLY DONNELLY, Director
Children's Behavioral Health and Advocacy Programs
UAA Center for Human Development
Anchorage, AK,
POSITION STATEMENT: Talked about positive behavioral supports
relative to bringing the kids home.
LAURIE ROTH, Director
Special Education Service Agency
Anchorage, AK,
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the importance of transferring
educational documentation to schools in support of returning
students.
KAREEM NOEL, Youth Navigator
Alaska Youth and Family Network (AYFN)
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the importance of bringing
the kids home and of supporting community-based services.
CARLA NICOLAI, Youth Navigator
Alaska Youth and Family Network (AYFN)
Palmer, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the importance of bringing
the kids home and of supporting community-based services.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:03:34 AM
CHAIR KIM ELTON called the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Stevens, Olson, Davis and Elton.
SB 33-POSTSECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS
8:03:41 AM
CHAIR ELTON announced consideration of SB 33.
8:04:08 AM
SENATOR STEVENS moved to adopt Amendment 1.
CHAIR ELTON explained that Amendment 1 inserts the words "or the
United States Department of Education" on page 3, line 31; it
has the effect of expanding eligibility to institutions that are
not covered under the current language in the bill.
8:05:06 AM
NICK MOE, aid to Senator Ellis, said they proposed this
amendment because it was not their intent to leave out any
vocational, postsecondary institutions in Alaska; by choosing
only one accreditation they were leaving out the Career Academy
and the Alaska Vocational/Technical Center in Seward. Senator
Ellis feels strongly that vocational schools are a very
important part of education in Alaska and should be included in
this scholarship grant.
SENATOR OLSON asked if private vocational/technical schools are
included as well.
MR. MOE responded that if the schools come under the
accreditation of the United States Department of Education, they
are included.
SENATOR OLSON queried, "So you don't know if the private
institutions are indeed covered at this time?"
MR. MOE said the current list contains the names of all of the
institutions legislative research provided to him as
institutions included in the grant; he believes that no others
are included at this time.
SENATOR DAVIS asked if the Career Academy, which is on the list,
is considered private. If so, she suggested they make a
clarifying change in the language.
8:07:49 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked Diane Barrans if she knows whether the list
that was passed out to the committee is a list of additional
schools that will qualify for the program [if this amendment is
adopted] rather than a comprehensive list of the
vocational/technical institutions that are eligible.
DIANE BARRANS, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on
Postsecondary Education, Juneau, AK, said the effect of the
change is to include non-collegiate programs. The current
language specifies an accreditor that doesn't recognize certain
nationally accredited types of schools; so by referencing the
U.S. Department of Education approval, the amendment has
broadened the scope to include those one-year training programs
regardless of whether they are public or private.
CHAIR ELTON asked how many students they are adding by adopting
this amendment.
MS. BARRANS said she doesn't expect it to substantially increase
the pool. About 90 percent of students in Alaska attend the
University of Alaska and are already included; enrollments at
Seward are rarely above 300 and the Career Academy probably has
similar enrollment, so even if all of those students qualified
it would not represent a substantial expansion.
8:10:03 AM
SENATOR OLSON asked how that increase would affect the existing
$25 million fiscal note.
MR. MOE said they currently have no appropriations to this fund;
the bill just creates the endowment. The fiscal note only gauges
the resources that would be required to manage a fund of that
size.
8:11:12 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS joined the meeting.
8:11:17 AM
CHAIR ELTON advised Senator Huggins of the motion to adopt
Amendment 1 and directed him to the list of additional eligible
institutions, which is included in his packet.
8:11:57 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked if there were any objections to the amendment;
there being none, Amendment 1 was adopted.
CHAIR ELTON thanked Mr. Moe and Ms. Barrans for making
themselves available today and said he would like to move to
discussion of the full bill at this time.
8:12:47 AM
SENATOR STEVENS opined that the state has not done a great job
of helping those students with financial need; he asked Ms.
Barrans to explain, in general terms, how this helps address
that problem.
MS. BARRANS said what she sees as most advantageous, should the
endowment be funded, is the ability to communicate to students,
especially at-risk students, early in their education that there
is a source of funds available to them. One of the problems with
the current needs-based program, which is very modestly funded,
is that the funding source is not dependable; the year-to-year
structure makes it difficult for them to use it as an incentive
for junior high students.
CHAIR ELTON said he assumes this program is an addition to the
Alaska scholars program, for which the top ten percent of
graduating students are eligible as they enter the University of
Alaska. He asked if that is correct and if so, how that affects
the determination of need.
8:15:42 AM
MR. MOE answered that there is a UA scholars program, but there
are students who achieve a high grade point average and still
fall into the gap between getting into the UA scholars program
and qualifying for financial aid such as the Pell Grant or other
scholarships; this complements those programs. This bill not
only requires students to show a certain level of achievement,
but at least $4000 of unmet financial need. His statistics show
that the average annual tuition in the University [of Alaska]
system is around $12,000; so even if students save all of their
[Permanent Fund] dividends, apply for all of the financial aid
they can get and are doing very well in school, there is a large
disparity.
SENATOR STEVENS felt that students might be embarrassed by a
public recognition of their financial need when presented with
the scholarship and asked if the presentation could be made a
little more palatable.
MR. MOE appreciated his concern but said he doesn't think many
college students are shy about receiving money for their unmet
financial need.
SENATOR STEVENS said he would still like to make that aspect of
it less obvious.
8:18:55 AM
MS. BARRANS noted for the record that, under the proposed
language, the commission does have the ability to promulgate
regulations. It would be their intent that this grant will not
displace other non-loan aid; so if students have sufficient
scholarships to eliminate the gap between their non-loan aid and
the cost of education without this program, they would not
qualify. The University of Alaska student leadership feels it is
important that students invest in their own education; so it was
their suggestion that a student should have at least $4000 in
unmet need.
8:20:11 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked how the scholarship appears to the
student.
MS. BARRANS said students receive notification from the
institution through their financial letter of award of financial
aid. She is not sure whether it will be called the Alaska ACES
Award or Alaska Ice Award, but the award would appear in their
financial aid letter. She added that it will be important to
emphasize the academic achievement aspect of the award to
students, because they will have to continue to meet the
academic qualification each year.
8:21:31 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked Ms. Barrans to explain what kind of
performance standard students will have to demonstrate once they
get into college.
MR. MOE read on page 2, line 24 that a student must have
"achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a
scale of 4.0, or the equivalent at the school in which the
applicant is currently enrolled;" so the student must
demonstrate achievement of a B average or better while getting
the scholarship and must graduate within five years.
8:23:11 AM
CHAIR ELTON questioned the language "or the equivalent at the
school where the applicant is currently enrolled." He asked if a
student who is not making the required grade point average at
one school could transfer to another school and re-qualify for
the scholarship.
MR. MOE said the student would probably have to demonstrate
achievement of a 3.0 at the first school. He thinks the language
was crafted in this way to accommodate those schools that do not
have a traditional grading system.
CHAIR ELTON questioned whether a student who wants to transition
from a smaller school to UAF would be precluded from applying
for the scholarship for the next year at the new school.
MS. BARRANS clarified that the financial aid professionals have
to be able to certify that students qualify with a 3.0 GPA; so
they would have to attend for two terms and establish a two term
GPA in order to be certified according to standard financial aid
practices; a student can transfer credits, but not the grade
point that accompanied them.
CHAIR ELTON asked if striking the words "at the school in which
the applicant is currently enrolled" on page 2, line 26, would
solve the problem.
8:26:25 AM
MS. BARRANS asked if the presumption is that the student had an
eligible GPA at the prior school.
CHAIR ELTON said he was confused; he thought she just said that
the credits would transfer but not the GPA.
MS. BARRANS agreed, but said if they strike that language, the
new school could "reference" the qualifying GPA at the previous
school so there would not be a break in the student's
eligibility.
CHAIR ELTON asked whether the institution or the commission
certifies the previous GPA.
MS. BARRANS explained that efficiencies in financial aid
administration are created by a partnership between the
commission and the institutions. The commission does not collect
or review transcripts; they rely on an agreement with the
financial aid office at the institution to certify all of that
electronically.
8:28:16 AM
SENATOR STEVENS thought part of the problem might be the use of
the term "enrolled," which means the student has filled out the
paperwork and been accepted, but may not be taking classes yet.
CHAIR ELTON asked if the definition of "qualifying postsecondary
institution" on page 3, line 29 would preclude an Alaska student
who wants to participate in the WWAMI program from getting a
scholarship.
MS. BARRANS said she believes this program is only for
undergraduate study, but she does not see that limitation in the
language; so Alaska WWAMI would be covered even if the
institution the student is attending is outside the state.
8:29:55 AM
MR. MOE disagreed. He said he does not believe WWAMI qualifies
because this program is only for postsecondary institutions
within the state of Alaska.
SENATOR OLSON said that under the WWAMI program, students do
complete some of their work in Alaska and as expensive as it is
to attend medical school, it would be a help if this could apply
to those students.
8:30:44 AM
MR. MOE said those students will qualify for their undergraduate
work in Alaska, but not when they transfer to a school outside.
SENATOR OLSON asked for verification of whether this is only an
undergraduate program.
MR. MOE said he can't answer the senator's question at this
time, but will get back to him with that information.
SENATOR DAVIS was concerned about the 3.0 qualifying GPA and
said she would like to see it changed to 2.5 (C+), especially if
students have to wait two semesters before they qualify. There
isn't enough funding out there, she said, and if the committee
wants to encourage more kids to go to school, they should
consider lowering that.
CHAIR ELTON said he was going to close discussion on the bill
for this time and suggested that members be prepared to discuss
the GPA and undergraduate issues when he brings it back. He also
directed Ms. Barrans to page 2, line 22 and said it would be
helpful to know what the parameters are for the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid and about the reference on page 4, line
3 to 20 U.S.C. 1070c-2.
8:34:17 AM
Chair Elton set SB 33 aside.
CHAIR ELTON called a brief at ease from 8:34:46 a.m. to 8:35:41
a.m.
^Overview: Bring the Kids Home
OVERVIEW: BRING THE KIDS HOME
CHAIR ELTON announced the committee would hear an overview from
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority on the "Bring the Kids
Home" initiative.
8:36:03 AM
BILL HERMAN, Senior Trust Program Officer, Alaska Mental Health
Trust Authority (AMHTA), Anchorage, AK, said the presentation
will start out with social services issues; it will become
apparent how these relate to education as the presentation moves
along.
Slide 2 shows the exponential growth in the use of out-of-state
residential psychiatric treatment centers (RPTC); that is why
AMHTA started the "Bring the Kids Home" effort in cooperation
with the Murkowski administration in fiscal year 2005.
Slide 3 shows the progress that has been made in reversing that
trend; the number of admissions has gone from 571 in fiscal year
2004, to 164 in 2008 and the goal is to get that number below
100, representing only the kids who have special needs for which
the economies of scale don't work well in Alaska.
MR. HERMAN pointed out that this means Alaska will end up with
more kids in home care systems and in home schools; which is
where the issue becomes relevant to [the work of] this
committee.
The light gray bars on the graph on slide 4 show the amount of
money being spent on out-of-state residential psychiatric
treatment centers; the darker gray bars represent the amount
being spent on in-state residential treatment centers. They
would like to see a shifting of that money from expensive out-
of-state facilities to more effective home and community-based
services with a much lower per-youth cost.
8:39:51 AM
CHAIR ELTON asked if Mr. Herman would briefly explain the chart
on page 4, specifically how many of those dollars are federal
and how many are general fund. He wondered if the state is
importing federal dollars through this program.
MR. HERMAN said that is true to some extent; kids who are in a
Medicaid-eligible program and who are not Alaska Native, receive
50 percent of the funding from federal Medicaid and the state
matches that with general fund dollars. However, 40 percent of
the kids who were going out of state at the beginning of this
project were Alaska native; so they could be funded at 100
percent if the state had the right organizations providing the
services.
He continued; slide 5 compares by region the number of special
education youth with individualized education programs (IEP) to
those without. The department is trying to determine why there
is such a large regional variation; he would expect youth who
are dysfunctional enough to be sent to residential psychiatric
treatment centers out of state to have difficulty with their
educational progress. The department is looking into the issues
involved and how they relate to educational needs.
MR. HERMAN added that kids operate in three environments each
day: home, community and school, with most of their waking hours
spent in school. When the state brings kids home from some kind
of residential care, it is important that there be sufficient
services available to support and maintain their recovery.
8:42:41 AM
He recognized that schools already have plenty to do during the
school day, but the department is trying to set up a way to
provide intervention and help within the school day to support
the success of kids who are having difficulty learning. They've
created an education subcommittee with the commissioners of both
the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department
of Education and Early Development to address this need. Slide 6
lists the goals of that subcommittee and the projects currently
under way. He noted they are trying to get two worlds to begin
to work together and understand each other's needs, which is why
they feel the need for commissioner-level leadership.
CHAIR ELTON opined that it makes financial sense for a school
district to develop IEPs for [special needs] students. He asked
Mr. Herman if he is correct that the foundation formula provides
more funding for students with IEPs.
8:44:24 AM
MR. HERMAN concurred. He said Commissioner LeDoux has spoken to
the department about the increases in intensive needs students
and the legislature has approved a multiplier that should help
out in this situation.
CHAIR ELTON pointed out that it only helps if the students are
identified.
8:44:58 AM
MR. HERMAN admitted that the department is still learning about
the educational system.
Slide 7 shows the membership of the education subcommittee.
He remarked that, according to Jeff Jesse, when the program is
working effectively, about 350 kids with special needs will be
re-entering the Anchorage school districts and will have to be
accommodated in their special education systems.
MR. HERMAN said that $450 million has been approved by the
legislature over the past couple of years for three initiatives.
Slide 8 shows the first of these. The Positive Behavioral
Supports program has been used in other states; the department
contracted with the Center for Human Development at UAA to help
them implement it in Alaska. It is basically improving the
school-wide environment to reduce bullying and make it a better
environment for kids, particularly those who are slightly
unstable.
Several people from the Department of Health and Social Services
entered the meeting and Mr. Herman asked Kelly Donnelly to speak
to this program.
8:47:07 AM
KELLY DONNELLY, Director, Children's Behavioral Health and
Advocacy Programs, UAA Center for Human Development, Anchorage,
AK, said the center has engaged in a number of positive
behavioral health programs over the years. The one supported now
by Bring the Kids Home is a concerted effort to bring community
resources to the schools in support of these kids with very
difficult behaviors or who are at risk of demonstrating very
difficult behaviors.
Schools cannot do it all; they need to have effective community
partnerships. This year, the department has a pilot program
going on in Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau and Dillingham, which has
specific training around a three-tiered approach to positive
behavioral supports for community mental health and
developmental disability providers.
8:48:56 AM
The intention is for those community providers to work
explicitly with school districts to promote three levels of
intervention to help kids be successful:
· A universal intervention means having clear expectations
and environments that support positive social and emotional
outcomes for all kids.
· Secondary intervention refers to the kind of things that
are going to help a smaller group of kids who are acting
out and doing some things that cause problems at school,
but do not require an individualized plan.
· Person-centered, data-driven, individualized support plans
are for that small segment of kids that cause the biggest
drain on school systems and create some of the highest
levels of conflict in communities.
She hoped to have some data to share with the legislature in
subsequent sessions.
8:50:11 AM
MR. HERMAN turned to slide 9 "Enhancing Supports At School And
In The Community." The department has hired a contractor to help
schools bill for Medicaid services; these are school-based
Medicaid services that extend schools' ability to find sources
of funding for special services. It is an underutilized funding
source that can potentially generate an additional $3.3 million
in revenue for schools.
8:51:17 AM
LAURIE ROTH, Director, Special Education Service Agency,
Anchorage, AK, came here in 1998 as an Emotional Disturbance
Specialist. At that time, she was already traveling around the
state and seeing the effects of students coming home from
residential psychiatric treatment facilities without their
educational documentation. She related a typical situation using
the experiences of a student she called "Johnny."
Johnny came home on Friday and, following the RPTCs
instructions, the parents registered him for school on Monday
without realizing that a lot of paperwork was missing. In cases
like this, one of two things usually happens; either the school
has the child stay, or it asks the parents to take the child
home until they can get some documentation. In this case, Johnny
stayed in school. The teacher and the principal were very
stressed because Johnny had been out of the village for two
years and they had to try to piece his educational history
together using old records and informal assessments. They
discovered that Johnny probably had some kind of developmental
delay; that information would have come along with his
educational records if this program had existed at that time.
MS. ROTH explained that the RPTCs say they already transition
the records and in fact, most of them do have an educational
transition person on staff, but she has found that their
definition of "transition" is very different from what her
agency understands it to be. Transition isn't giving the parents
a phone number and saying to register Johnny on Monday;
Transition is providing support to the parents as well as the
school, to make sure the documents are transitioned from the
RPTC to the school and that they get to the right person. The
failure to follow up is a real problem, because even in a city
the documents may go to the wrong school. Registration is
usually done at the main office or the administrative building
and if the family lives in Anchorage or Juneau that's just a
drive across town; if they live in a bush school district the
size of Kansas or Rhode Island, that's a plane ride.
So, she continued, the chances are that Johnny is going to the
village school and the aid may remember him, but the last thing
his peers remember is the day he left, which may not have been a
really good experience for them. The staff in the school didn't
have a chance to prepare his peers because they didn't know
Johnny was coming; the principal couldn't work with the teachers
because he didn't know Johnny was coming and the parents
couldn't get the educational records because they didn't know
what to ask for.
Special Education Service Agency is working with RPTCs and
schools to facilitate the transfer of the educational
documentation. As they go through the process, they are
documenting the things that are working and those that are not
working, then reporting back to the Mental Health Trust
Educational Subcommittee and formulating plans so these kids
won't fall through the cracks.
8:55:39 AM
MR. HERMAN moved to slide 10 - Enhancing Supports at School and
in the Community. He explained that the "Little Tykes" program,
managed by Dee Foster, is working with children at an early age
to identify the root causes of serious emotional disturbances
and prevent or mitigate those problems later on. He noted that
the amount of the annual grant shown on the slide is incorrect;
the correct amount is $123,000. The state has saved a
significant amount by avoiding the need for residential care at
a later time.
Slides 11 - 12 show the department's funding recommendations for
this year. Mr. Herman pointed out that they are trying to
enhance home and community-based services. They are not asking
for any increments from the general fund at this time; the Trust
is continuing to partner with the department on this until they
can prove out these programs.
MR. HERMAN asked if the committee has time to hear from three
young people who have been through the residential psychiatric
treatment programs and are now home.
CHAIR ELTON said that would be great and invited them to come
forward.
8:57:47 AM
KAREEM NOEL, representing himself, Anchorage, AK, just turned 18
and is a Youth Navigator for Alaska Youth and Family Network
(AYFN). He was a foster child for 11 years, was placed in
Northstar [Behavioral Health] 20 times and was in a residential
treatment center for 2 1/2 years. Because of his situation, he
was denied the opportunity to receive the education he was
entitled to. He was told my many people in the system that he
would never be successful in his life, but he has been out of
the system for three years now and off medication. Because of
his strength and the support of his foster family and friends,
he was able to overcome his situation. Through the support he
receives from AYFN, he continues to be successful; he sees that
his life has value and that he can contribute to his community.
MR. NOEL asked the committee to continue to fund the Bring the
Kids Home initiative and increase funding for community-based
organizations like AYFN so that youth and families like his own
can be successful and rebuild their lives and relationships. If
he'd had access to organizations like Alaska Youth and Family
Network when he was growing up, he said, maybe his family would
still be together and his mother might still be alive. He
thanked the committee for the opportunity to testify.
CHAIR ELTON thanked Mr. Noel and the other witnesses present and
apologized to them for the fact that he and two of the other
Senators have to leave to attend another committee meeting. He
assured them that the two remaining committee members will brief
them on the testimony they miss.
9:01:19 AM
CHAIR ELTON turned the gavel over to Vice-Chair Davis.
9:01:31 AM
VICE-CHAIR DAVIS called a brief at-ease while the members of the
Finance Committee left the meeting.
9:01:51 AM
The meeting came back to order with the testimony of Carla
Nicolai.
CARLA NICOLAI, representing herself, Palmer, AK, said she is
also a Youth Navigator with Alaska Youth and Family Network and
that she appreciates the opportunity to speak to the committee.
She went through the educational system with multiple mental
health diagnoses. It was a struggle. She was defined and
characterized by her diagnoses and was not given the opportunity
to have an individualized educational plan. She became a youth
navigator so she can help other youth who are in the same
situation she has been, to get the education and services they
need by sharing her story and helping to prepare them for
theirs. Ms. Nicolai works in the Mat-Su Valley where, as Mr.
Herman's presentation indicated, they don't have a lot of IEPs;
so as a youth advocate, she helps students to get what they need
in their educational plans. In that system where only 40 percent
of youth graduate high school, only 20 percent enter college.
(Ms. Nicolai found it difficult to continue.)
SENATOR DAVIS asked if anyone present could tell her how many
youth navigators there are in the network at this time.
An unidentified speaker answered that there are only four youth
navigators and one adult navigator.
MS. NICOLAI continued; she said having access to a community-
based service such as Alaska Youth and Family Network made it
possible for her to graduate high school, to attend college and
pursue her life dream of helping others who are dealing with the
same difficulties she experienced. She has realized that this
whole effort, youth navigation and community-based services, is
not a handout but a hand up, and asked the committee earnestly
to please continue and increase community services, including
AYFN.
9:05:32 AM
VICE-CHAIR DAVIS thanked all of those who came to offer
testimony. She said the legislature is working on budget now, so
this is a good time to give their input. She also encouraged
them to look at the foster care bill being considered in both
chambers.
9:06:18 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Vice-Chair Davis adjourned the meeting at 9:06 AM.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| BTKH EDUC Leg Presentation FINAL 0209.ppt |
SEDC 2/11/2009 8:00:00 AM |