Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
01/27/2021 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
January 27, 2021
9:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Roger Holland, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Shelley Hughes
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Tom Begich
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
No witnesses to record
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:02:40 AM
CHAIR ROGER HOLLAND called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:02 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Stevens, Begich, Hughes, and Chair Holland.
Senator Micciche arrived thereafter.
^Organizational Meeting
Organizational Meeting
9:03:09 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the purpose of the meeting was to allow
committee members to introduce themselves and speak about their
goals. His said his background is in environmental science and
metrology, the study of weights and measures. He worked in a
research position at the University of Louisiana at Layfette for
ten years. He taught state and federal workers how to safely
operate boats and airboats and certify them for work. He worked
with the Coast Guard Auxiliary for ten years and is a certified
instructor with the Auxiliary. Recreational boating safety
through public education is one of the cornerstones of the Coast
Guard Auxiliary. He has 30 years with the Coast Guard Reserves
as a boatswain's mate. His two daughters went to Service High
School and attended the University of Alaska Anchorage.
9:04:18 AM
SENATOR STEVENS shared that this is his 21st year in the
legislature. He is a retired professor of history with the
University of Alaska and a former Army intelligence officer. His
legislation created the Education Committee. When he first came
to the House, there was no Standing Committee on Education in
either the House or the Senate. That was an anomaly in
comparison to other states. Education was part of Health and
Social Services. It made sense to him to create an Education
Standing Committee, which has been working very well.
9:05:36 AM
SENATOR HUGHES congratulated Chair Holland on chairing his first
meeting. She stated that she did not know that Senator Stevens
had created the Education Committee. Her four children attended
public schools, starting in Bethel, then Fort Yukon, Fairbanks,
Seward, and finally Palmer. She homeschooled briefly, which gave
her a deep appreciation for parents who decide to do that. She
was a contract instructor with the Department of Corrections and
helped inmates with remedial work to get their GEDs and for job
preparation. Her grandchildren are in public school in
Anchorage. She was active in schools when her children were in
school. She is a University of Alaska graduate and appreciates
that system. Her goal for the committee is a big question. She
has had students in urban and rural schools. She understands the
state has pockets of excellence and some wonderful teachers and
institutions, but there are some serious gaps. If the state is
going to have a bright future, the state needs to ensure that
all students have every opportunity to be well equipped. Hearing
how Alaska does in comparison to other states makes her want to
be on this committee. When she hears about how the nation is
doing compared to other nations, she realizes there is a lot of
work to do. She is happy to be on the committee so they can do
what they can for the children of Alaska.
9:08:36 AM
SENATOR BEGICH shared that he is a musician and consultant in
the fields of education, juvenile justice and delinquency. He
works around the country in those areas. Both of his parents and
his two sisters taught in the Anchorage School District. He
graduated from the Anchorage public schools and is a UA alum. He
almost completed the graduate teacher program at UA but decided
that a teaching career didn't pay enough. One of his interests
is ensuring that it does pay well enough so that people are
interested in the career. He has been the national chair of the
Coalition for Juvenile Justice. He worked for the Department of
Justice on juvenile justice and delinquency issues, which have
correlations to education. He has been involved in law-related
education in Alaska for many years. He was active for 15 years
with Citizens for the Educational Advancement of Alaska's
Children, which successfully sued the state in the Kasayulie and
Moore cases to ensure adequacy in education. His wife continues
to be involved in that work as the executive director of what is
now called the Coalition for Education Equity, which is
currently suing the state about forward funding of education. He
does not have a direct connection to that organization but is
putting it on the record. He will be declaring that conflict of
interest numerous times during committee hearings.
SENATOR BEGICH said that his priority in the committee is early
education connected to reading. He and the governor worked
closely over the last year and a half on a reading bill that
included universal, voluntary early education tied to reading
outcomes through third grade. He and the governor worked
together on every change to the bill as it moved through the
process. They worked with people from both ends of the spectrum,
from the National Education Association to the Alaska Policy
Forum, to develop that legislation. The bill will begin as it
was [when the previous legislative session ended]. Finally, he
is hoping that the committee can discuss issues that Senator
Stevens has brought up, such as middle school and tribal
compacting. Senator Begich said he has a bill simply for
discussion about class size. Senator Hughes is also interested
in class size. He is hoping to have robust discussions about
those issues.
9:12:02 AM
SENATOR HOLLAND welcomed Senator Micciche.
9:12:18 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE observed that the constitution requires some
services. People care about roads and public service, but no one
gets more emotional than about Alaska's system of education.
Now, families are struggling because of COVID and the time out
of the classroom. Alaska has problems with where it sits in the
queue with the quality of education in Alaska, which varies
dramatically depending on the community. He has a 25-year-old
who went through the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. He
has three children in the district now. His family partially
homeschooled this year. His wife, who is a teacher, taught the
two youngest while the oldest did distance learning through the
high school. Two-parent working families around the state don't
have the time, ability, and sometimes interest in helping kids
where they are, so what is delivered through the public school
system is probably the most important in bringing some of those
young, amazing people to a standard by giving them the support
they need to succeed. He does not have anything specific he is
working on, but he is here to support the committee and the
young people in the state. They are the future. Education is a
key, constitutionally-required responsibility that the state
must deliver. The product has some gaps. He hopes the committee
can move the needle to improve what is being done around Alaska.
9:14:54 AM
SENATOR HUGHES noted that she and Senators Stevens and Begich
have been past members of the committee. She is excited to have
two new members, Senators Holland and Micciche, with a fresh
perspective. Education is a crucial topic in the state.
SENATOR HOLLAND observed that the legislature has three big
issues this year, the budget, healthcare, and education and also
how coronavirus affects all of those.
9:16:21 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Holland adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
at 9:16 a.m.
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