HB 206-HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSM'T/POSTSECONDARY CLASS  9:41:41 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 206, "An Act establishing a career assessment requirement in public schools; and relating to postsecondary courses for secondary school students." The committee took an at-ease from 9:42 a.m. to 9:47 a.m. 9:47:00 AM CHAIR SEATON moved to adopt CSHB 206, 26-LS-765\P, Mischel, 2/2/10, as the working document. REPRESENTATIVE BUCH objected for discussion. 9:47:21 AM LOUIE FLORA, Staff, Representative Paul Seaton, Alaska State Legislature, presented the committee substitute (CS), Version P, directing attention to page 2, line 27, where a new Section 2 has been inserted. Language now extends the existing 20 day student count period to 80 days, ending the second Friday in the month of February. Page 3, line 22, Section 4, establishes that the count from the preceding year will fund the present year. Section 5, page 4, line 2, deals with the possibility of a count increase, and provides districts the ability to request additional funding, for current year adjustments. He directed attention to Section 3 on page 3, line 17, and paraphrased the language, which read [original punctuation provided]: *Sec. 3. AS 14.17.600 is amended by adding new subsections to read: (c) The student count conducted for the immediately preceding school year shall be used for calculating state aid under AS 14.17.410. (d) A student who is enrolled and graduates from secondary school during the counting period shall be included in the student count for the full counting period. 9:50:26 AM EDDY JEANS, Director, School Finance and Facilities Section, Department of Education and Early Development (EED), said the suggestion to consider a continuous, 80 day, count period originated with the commissioner. 9:51:20 AM CHAIR SEATON noted that Version P clarifies how the basic forward funding will be solidified, and a means for districts to receive enrollment increase adjustments for the current year. MR. JEANS concurred. 9:52:22 AM CHAIR SEATON explained why the count time is being adjusted, and how it is expected to provide financial encouragement for schools to retain students. The reason for Section 3 is to allow adjustment for mid-year graduation, which might otherwise be discouraged. 9:54:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked for a further explanation of the effects of extending the count period. CHAIR SEATON said the mathematics appear to be streamlined by having a single longer count period, versus two shorter periods, which are averaged. REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER opined that in order to identify an accurate attrition number the most effective times to count would be in October and again in April or May. 9:57:40 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON offered that one reason for the count ending in February is that the school districts begin budget deliberations, which includes issuance of pink slips to teaching staff. REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER argued that the two count periods theory is to provide an attrition count, and to incentivize student retention. 9:58:48 AM MR. JEANS said the original intent will be accomplished by HB 206, as amended. He reported that having one continuous period eliminates the averaging mechanism required for two separate count periods, which proved to be a confusing feature. Additionally, Version P still achieves the desired effect providing BSA funding based on the prior year count, and allowing adjustments for increases in current year enrollment. At some point the count has to be stopped to allow the districts time for budget reconciliation, and ending in February allows for those financial adjustments to occur. CHAIR SEATON pointed out that in the previous version, a February count was included. REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER maintained her concern that the original intent is not being preserved. CHAIR SEATON said the previous version also included a February count period. 10:01:21 AM MR. JEANS opined that the current language strengthens the original intent, and the continuous count period eliminates any "game playing." REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER argued that whatever happens on day 81 or 120 will never be known. MR. JEANS responded that neither version would provide that information, which would only be available by implementing a full 180 day count period. A count of that length would hinder districts ability to make adjustments for current enrollments, throughout the year. 10:02:56 AM CHAIR SEATON pointed out that concerns have arisen for how a 180 day student count will affect small schools with enrollments of 10-11. MR. JEANS indicated that the communities that have been playing games with a minimum of 10 students, for a 20 day count period, will need to maintain that enrollment for 80 days. If the small school can show that they had 10 students for 180 days, in a prior year, funds reflecting that number will be distributed in the subsequent year. He explained that the funding does not go directly to the school, but is directed to the district; where it is determined how to allocate the resources. Funding for the prior year count will be provided, even if the count decreases in the current year. CHAIR SEATON said that understanding should alleviate the concerns of the smaller schools. 10:05:01 AM REPRESENTATIVE BUCH removed his objection. CHAIR SEATON, hearing no further objection, announced that Version P was before the committee. He then opened public testimony. 10:05:41 AM DARLEEN TRIPLETT, Superintendent, Dillingham City Schools, said the record keeping can become involved, and small schools don't have dedicated administrative staff to handle reporting requirements. She suggested extending the date for when the counts are due to the department, as the ten day requirement is restrictive. The student count must be checked for accuracy and adjusted for transfer students, prior to transmission, which can be labor intensive. 10:08:08 AM WOODY WILSON, Superintendent, Wrangell Public School District, testified in opposition to HB 206, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read [original punctuation provided]: Alaska has one of the highest high-school drop-out rates in the nation. HB 206 addresses this problem by providing incentives for districts to keep students by replacing the current 20-day student count period with an 80-day count for purposes of determining student numbers for school funding. HB 206 seeks to elevate student engagement by allowing students who pass the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE) to take college or vocational education credits for free until high-school graduation. Students who do not pass all three sections of the HSGQE should not be disqualified from taking college or vocational education credits. Many very successful business people in this and other states could not pass all three sections of the qualifying exam. That should not penalize them or hold them back. It also adds a student's career preparedness scores to their high-school transcript. The career preparedness requirement attempts to ensure that high school graduation is based on student competency for real-world employment applications. The Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) currently requires that all 11th graders take a career assessment test, in this case the WorkKeys Assessment. The above statement is incorrect. "The department does "not" currently require ...." It is the opinion of my School Board and the opinion I share that WorkKeys should not become a requirement since it has little, if any, value to most students in Wrangell. Students who are college bound will find WorkKey test documents useless for all practical purposes. Most colleges and universities do not recognize WorkKeys scores as having any value. Students entering a trade or going on to technical schools may find more value in the WorkKeys scores since they may find counselors, teacher's and employers who understand what those scores mean. One size does not fit all and we do not believe in mandating something that will have no value to a large number of our students. HB 206 allows students who take and pass all three sections of the HSGQE prior to graduation to take college credits or vocational school credits until graduation. This could allow students to advance toward an associate degree or vocational education certificate by the time they have graduated high school. New studies indicate all students should start college with at least six college credits to improve college graduation rates. The HSGQE has been identified as a contributing factor to the high school drop-out rate. Students interpret that passing the exam means they have met their high school qualifying criteria leading to a lack of interest in school. Incorporation of classes that are selected based on relevance to the individual student will help maintain interest and achievement. Wrangell Public Schools currently offers 51 College Credits to students in a wide variety of classes. Will this bill help us defray the cost of these courses? This current school year Wrangell Public Schools is offering Math 105, Math 108, Math 200, English 111, English 211, Early Childhood Development, Emergency Trauma Technician (ETT), Emergency Medical Technician I (EMT-I), Certified Nurse Assistant, Advanced Woodworking, Welding I (metals fabrication) and Welding II (metal fabrication). All these courses are concurrent or dual enrollment college courses. How will this bill benefit our students or our district? HB 206 requires school districts to conduct an extended count period to determine school funding. This provision increases the count period from 20-days to 80-days and would provide a financial incentive for schools to retain their students for the whole year. School districts will be funded based on their prior year's count. Current law holds districts harmless for a decrease in student count, and HB 206 would allow districts with an increase in student numbers during the current year to receive an adjusted funding level for that year. Students who graduate from high- school in the middle of the 80-day count would be included in the full count period. It is my belief that the prolonged count period will accomplish nothing but to perhaps cause more frustration for school secretaries, administrators, and IT [(information technology)] people who have to compile these data. It is very possible that school districts may lose funding. Will there be a fiscal note attached to the bill? Extending the count will not come without cost in each district and DEED. Thickening the bureaucracy is not always a good thing without knowing if positive results can be gained. The assumption is that schools have control over whether or not the student attends and continue their education. Agreed, schools can influence this decision but schools certainly do not have control. Parents are the control in this instance. I fear schools will be punished for decisions made in the homes of their students. Furthermore there are other reasons for school populations to increase and decrease that have nothing to do with drop outs. Drop out prevention seems to be the primary purpose for this legislation. How does the bill control for normal transience of school populations. Transience is certainly not related to school drop outs but would cause a district to either gain or lose funds. For example: Village A has a fire that burns several homes. Families from Village A move to Village B. Village A has a significant decrease in student population over the count period and Village B has an increase. One school will be penalized while the other will be rewarded. Neither may have had an increase or decrease based purely on drop outs. Where will the money for tuition come from? Is it supposed to come from the school district's foundation formula? There is no fiscal note that I have seen yet so I may not understand how this is intended to be paid for. What about districts that use their own staff to teach the college courses through articulation agreements with universities and colleges. Are they reimbursed for the courses they are teaching since no university staff is involved other than the registrar? If the local district teaches these classes can they be reimbursed through the Governor's Scholarship Program? There would seem to be models that achieve the same result, like the current model used in Wrangell, without any need for legislation, additional counts, and additional bureaucracy. Why haven't these models been reviewed? 10:13:45 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that HB 206 would be held, for further consideration.