HB 156-SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES; FED. LAW  9:46:16 AM CHAIR KELLER announced that the final order of business would be CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 156(EDC), "An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Education and Early Development and school districts; relating to public school curriculum and assessments; relating to compliance with federal education laws; relating to public school accountability; relating to a statewide assessment plan and review of education laws and regulations; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee, adopted as a work draft on 3/16/16, was the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 156, Version 29-LS0566\Y, Glover, 3/11/16.] 9:46:37 AM CHAIR KELLER stated that the intent of HB 156 is to unify around the issues currently faced by the state. Many situations are contributing factors, which include: the AMP assessment, common core, federal overreach, unfunded mandates on districts, a new commissioner and state board members, as well as the state budget. The bill askes for a break from the regimen to allow the educational system and legislature time to regroup, formulate a new assessment plan and provide recommendations on the accountability section of statute. He encouraged members to visit the EED website to review the public report card section and praised the agency for its performance regarding its fulfilment of the reporting requirements. Working together, during this brief break, the complicated issues can be appropriately addressed. The overreach of federal government continues to affect the state, he opined. The reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has resulted in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), an extensive, 1,059 page document, effective August 2016. A primary intent for HB 156 is to delete, from state statute, language that Alaska shall implement specific federal code. The reauthorization may be fine to implement, but there needs to be an opportunity for the department to gain an understanding, incorporate changes, promulgate regulations, and implement the standards of this extensive federal act. Several items of interest are reported to be contained in ESSA, which include: Title I portability, to allow flexibility regarding the funding; a right for parents to opt their student out of high stakes tests; and a bigger emphasis on local control. At least two of these provisions were stripped out in the final version; however, local control has been retained. The proposed hiatus is not to ensure compliance with ESSA, but rather is intended to allow time to understand the financial ramifications. Federal dollars are a major source of funding for EED, he pointed out, which indicates that the agency works on behalf of the local districts, the legislature, and the federal government. The two year window should prove reasonable, he maintained, and reported that California has been allowed a three year waiver without loss of federal funding, thus, precedent does exist. 9:55:54 AM REPRESENTATIVE SEATON directed attention to the bill, page 3, and lines 18-19, which read as follows: (1) [IMPLEMENT 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (ELEMENTARY AND SRCONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 19650, AS AMENDED; REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked about the purpose for removing this language, and will the result be the creation of a new set of Alaska standards. CHAIR KELLER said, "It's a process that's going to put a greater emphasis on local districts." He stressed that HB 156 doesn't prescribe standards or change the current Alaska standards; however, by pulling back on the assessment schedule it allows the department the opportunity to make recommendations for possible change. CHAIR KELLER thanked the participants.