Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/11/2004 01:30 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 11, 2004
1:30 p.m.
TAPE(S) 04-6
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Fred Dyson, Chair
Senator Lyda Green, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Gretchen Guess (via teleconference)
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Bettye Davis
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Con Bunde
Representative Peggy Wilson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION & QUALIFYING EXAM FOR
SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS
by the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED)
TAPE 04-6, SIDE A&B
CHAIR FRED DYSON convened the meeting of the Senate Health,
Education and Social Services Standing Committee at 1:38 p.m.
Present was Senator Wilken and Chair Dyson. Senators Green and
Guess (via teleconference) joined as the meeting was in
progress. Also present was Senator Bunde and Representative
Wilson.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
^OVERVIEW: THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION & QUALIFYING EXAM FOR
SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS
KEVIN SWEENEY, legislative liaison for DEED began the
presentation by introducing Neil Slotnick who would provide a
historical context for this issue, and Les Morse, who would
provide data regarding testing performance of students with
Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Optional Assessments.
NEIL SLOTNICK, Assistant Attorney General, began with a history
of the state's alternative assessment program, found in AS
14.03.075(c). This program serves students who have a
disability, who are unable to pass the exit exam with or without
accommodations. He distinguished between accommodations - the
physical assistance that students typically receive - and
modifications that may affect the validity of a test by changing
what is being measured. Under the statute, a student can receive
a diploma having failed the exit exam by completing an
alternative assessment program required by the IEP or a 504
plan, which is similar to an IEP.
MR. SLOTNICK continued by explaining that an alternative
assessment program must, to the maximum extent possible, conform
to state standards established for the exit exam. The IEP team,
with departmental approval, determines if the program is aligned
to the maximum extent possible. Mr. Morse reported that
currently, the state has 809 high school seniors who have IEPs.
Mr. Slotnick explained that the alternative assessment program
has been renamed Optional Assessment. The alternate program is
a federal program dealing with students who experience severe
disabilities. This program allows graduation, not by testing,
but by creation of a portfolio demonstrating mastery of life
skills.
MR. SLOTNICK explained that the Legislature empowered the
department to implement the alternative assessment program. By
February of a student's junior year, his/her alternative
assessment plan must be completed. During that process, local
districts and officials spoke against local design of
alternative assessments due to the burdens faced with standards
requiring conformity to the maximum extent possible.
Alternatively, it was proposed that consideration begin with the
exit exam's standards and with state control over approval and
scoring. The State Board required, by regulation, that cut
scores not be changed. Mr. Slotnick reported that the department
approves most requests by IEP members for modification.
MR. SWEENEY said current statute requires that each student
first take, and fail, the exit exam before pursuing an
alternative assessment. The State Board has retained the same
policy: to limit alternative assessment program to a modified
version of the exit exam rather than adopting a broad array of
options that local districts would have to develop and score.
Senators expressed interest in the upcoming State Board meeting
in March 2004.
LES MORSE, Director of Assessment and Accountability, DEED,
provided data on the number of high school seniors who have IEPs
or who have yet to pass all three sections of the exit exam,
noting that 207 students applied for the Optional Assessment
this spring. Senator Bunde asked how families are notified of
opportunities for Optional Assessments; the response was that
the department meets with test coordinators, special education
directors, and principals and provides information regarding
these opportunities. Districts, then, are responsible for
informing parents and families. Mr. Morse discussed information
concerning the percentages of students who have passed all or
parts of the Optional Assessment.
MR. MORSE, in response to a question from Senator Wilken,
reported that the department has studied other states' protocols
concerning these issues, and he briefly reviewed specific cases
from other states.
MR. SLOTNICK, in response to a question from Senator Bunde,
reported that in other states, parents have sued states in
instances when their children have been denied diplomas. The
courts have found that states are not required to give a diploma
to a student, but are required to provide opportunities for that
student to earn a diploma.
SENATOR GUESS stated the need for focusing on students who don't
have IEPs, but who nonetheless do not or cannot pass the test
despite mastering the material. These children deserve a
diploma, she said.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were no announcements.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the committee,
the Senate Health, Education and Social Services Standing
Committee was adjourned at 2:49 p.m.
NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were
taken. A copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be obtained by
contacting the Senate Records Office at State Capitol, Room 3,
Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2870, and
after adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-Third
Alaska State Legislature this information may be obtained by
contacting the Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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