HB 109-MILITARY CHILDREN SCHOOL RESIDENCY WAIVER  8:03:53 AM CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 109, "An Act relating to residency requirements for public school enrollment for certain children of active duty military members." [Before the committee was the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 109, Version 31- LS0728\S, Caouette, 4/24/19, adopted as a work draft on 5/8/19.] CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND commented that HB 109 is a good bill. She said it honors the sacrifices that U.S. military families make and is something that can be done to make the kids of military members welcome and successful in Alaska's schools. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK stated he is a proud sponsor of HB 109. He noted it is something that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is trying to do in all 50 states to make the transition easy for [military] families. 8:05:48 AM CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND moved to report the proposed CS for HB 109, Version S, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note. There being no objection, CSHB 109(EDU) was reported from the House Education Standing Committee. ^PRESENTATION(S): STATE CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION PLAN; REAUTHORIZATION, CARL PERKINS ACT PRESENTATION(S): STATE CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION PLAN;  REAUTHORIZATION, CARL PERKINS ACT    8:06:30 AM CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the next order of business would be a presentation about the Alaska Career and Technical Education (CTE) Plan and reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. 8:07:41 AM DEBORAH RIDDLE, Division Operations Manager, Administrator, CTE Program, Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), provided an overview of the State Career and Technical Education (CTE) Plan. She began by explaining that the 1917 [National Vocational Education Act (Smith-Hughes Act)] was the first time that funds were awarded for vocational education. In [1963] it became the Vocational [Education] Act. In 1984 [the Vocational Education Act] was amended and became referred to as the [Carl D. Perkins Act]. In 1990 the Act was retitled and reauthorized as the [Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act]. In 1998 the Act was amended again (Perkins III). The State of Alaska operated under the [2006 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins IV)] until it was reauthorized in 2018 as the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). MS. RIDDLE pointed out that through its course of changes, the Perkins Act has moved from vocational types of classes that were not considered as rigorous as the core classes to career and technical education with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Perkins IV and V created courses and programs that are rigorous and that use an academic focus along with the workforce development piece tied into it. MS. RIDDLE brought attention to a PowerPoint presentation provided in the committee packet [titled "Perkins An Opportunity to ReThink CTE," dated September 2018, by Scott Stump, Assistant Secretary,] Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), U.S. Department of Education. She related that this powerful presentation talks about the levers of CTE and how CTE can provide a lever for students who are looking at a career focus, not necessarily a college focus. 8:10:24 AM MS. RIDDLE explained that one of the changes made by Perkins V is that it is tied to the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Language throughout Perkins V addresses pieces in ESSA that talk about the consultation, focusing on the academics, looking at accountability in a different way, and making it more accessible for different states. In the past, most of the compatibility indicators, or targets, were determined by OCTAE at the U.S. Department of Education, and between OCTAE and the state. A big change is that now the districts can negotiate within the state to determine [the state's] own targets that fit [the state's] needs better. This is outlined in a paper done by the Department of Labor & Workforce Development (DLWD). MS. RIDDLE related that DEED is excited about some shifts in those indicators. There are fewer, but the state gets to choose one of the three or can choose all three. Those are work-based learning, postsecondary credit and attainment, and credential attainment during high school. This ties into the Alaska Education Challenge that has been driving a lot of the work being done at DEED. The second goal in the Alaska Education Challenge is using CTE to help raise the graduation rate. There has been a push for work-base learning, which ties in with apprenticeships. There is the postsecondary credit, the dual credit, [and DEED] is working closely with the university on how to do that. Credentials are certificates so that students in high school can earn some industry certifications before they leave high school. 8:13:33 AM MS. RIDDLE stated that Perkins V offers some new definitions that weren't in Perkins IV. What will be talked about today is systems alignment, which is the collaboration between secondary, postsecondary, workforce, industry partners, and parents. This is an opportunity for a highly collaborative experience for districts and the state to provide a CTE program that's going to work best for Alaska's students. Professional development is also being looked at in a different way - how to better coordinate, blend, and integrate CTE professional development and the teachers who are teaching the core classes. MS. RIDDLE reported that DEED is currently working on the state plan for Perkins V and has two years to come up with a plan. A transition plan must be submitted on May 24. It describes how the state will get the money out the door and how it will evaluate programs of study. Due in April 2020 is a needs assessment and some more of the conceptual and philosophical parts of the plan. To do this, an advisory committee has been established that includes staff from DLWD and representatives from industry, different unions, parents, teachers, and tribal organizations. There is a list that DEED is required to reach out to, so the advisory committee is robust. Additionally, there is a working group comprised of educators, CTE leaders, and teachers to figure out the nuts and bolts. The advisory committee helps guide DEED on where it is going and if it is on the right track. The working group is helping with getting the actual work done, what the documents will look like, and how it will streamline and reduce the burden on the districts. MS. RIDDLE elaborated that the May 24 plan talks about the programs of study, the components of each program, how those tie into the academics, and how the needs of special populations are being met, which includes students with disabilities, students in nontraditional occupations such as male nurses or female truck drivers, and foster children. The plan must talk about how the funds will be allocated, the accountability measures, and look at the targets that must be done. 8:15:46 AM REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS recalled Ms. Riddle stating that this ties in with ESSA. He asked whether DEED had put forth an ESSA plan that has been approved by the [federal] government. MS. RIDDLE replied yes, an ESSA plan was approved last year, and an amendment was done this year. 8:16:15 AM CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND drew attention to slide 6 of the OCTAE PowerPoint presentation and addressed the bullet point that asks the question, "How can 'reserve' funds best be used to spark innovation and incentivize 'high-quality?'" She requested an explanation of "reserve" and asked what the question means. MS. RIDDLE responded that there is a reserve fund within the Perkins funding. She explained that Alaska uses its reserve fund a bit differently than most states because Alaska has so many small districts. In the formula that is used, a school district must meet $15,000 to be able to receive Perkins funds. Many of Alaska's districts don't meet the $15,000, so [DEED] uses its [Perkins] reserve funds to get those small districts up to that $15,000 piece so that they can receive the Perkins funds and be able to offer CTE using Perkins. The state can use its leadership funds for a variety of things, such as professional development, but has also offered incentive grants to programs that have started something that is innovative. One incentive grant went to the Bristol Bay Regional CTE group. The Bristol Bay, Southwest Region, and Lake and Peninsula pool their money together in a collaborative and some money was granted to them to build that up. There are other ways to foster innovation, but [DEED] uses its reserve grants to help ensure that all districts that want to participate in CTE can participate. MS. RIDDLE, responding to Co-Chair Drummond, confirmed that the reserve funds are within the Carl Perkins funds and not within the larger education budget. 8:18:50 AM CO-CHAIR STORY drew attention to the two-page document in the committee packet titled "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Reauthorization." She referred to the first bullet under the heading "Streamlined Accountability" and offered her understanding that the state will no longer have to report on the individual basic CTE participant program and will now only have to report on the CTE Concentrators. MS. RIDDLE answered that the state doesn't have to stop doing that and a decision in this regard will be made in conjunction with the advisory committee and the working group. She pointed out that the CTE programs are utilized by "dabblers," students who are just trying something out and participating in CTE class, and this helps drive some decisions about programming moving forward. CO-CHAIR STORY agreed it does give an indication of the interest and said she hopes the committee will take that into account. She turned to the third bullet under "Streamlined Accountability" that states, "The Act maintains current law that if a state agency or school district fails to meet at least 90% of the state-determined level of performance for any core indicator for all students (not each subgroup), the State agency shall develop and implement a program improvement plan for the indicator." She asked how this affects the CTE programs and whether it means that 90 percent of kids must be proficient or whether the 90 percent refers to something else. MS. RIDDLE replied, "Those are the students who are participating in the CTE, so the 90 percent." The target is set so that when the state collects its data the cutoff point is 90 percent and that is the goal that must be met for all the students in CTE right now. She requested clarification on which document Co-Chair Story is referring to. CO-CHAIR STORY stated it is the document titled "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Reauthorization" and she is referring to [the third bullet] under the heading "Streamlined Accountability." She asked what the 90 percent of the state- determined level of performance is referring to. MS. RIDDLE responded that targets are determined and 90 percent of that must be met. If a school district doesn't [meet the target], [DEED] will work with OCTAE to look at the targets and make sure that the goals are set high enough to be rigorous, yet still attainable. When a district doesn't meet that 90 percent, {DEED] works with the district on an improvement plan and helps the district figure out a way to raise those marks to meet the targets. But, she added, it is based on CTE participants. MS. RIDDLE, at Co-Chair Story's request, provided an example of a goal. She said if it is wanted to have 86 percent of the [CTE] students attain technical skills to get a certificate, then it would be 90 percent of that. 8:22:37 AM MS. RIDDLE resumed her overview. She drew attention to a graph [titled "CTE Concentrator vs. Non CTE Graduation Rate over Time"] and said DEED looks at these statistics annually. The graph reports from the previous year and the statistics are popular with school boards and parents. The department has some demographics on the students and the number of students participating in CTE. Close attention is paid to the graduation rate and the CTE graduation rate is one of DEED's priorities. The graduation rate is 95 percent for concentrators, which are students who take two years of CTE courses in a rigorous pathway. A concentrator is 19 percent more likely to graduate than his or her non-CTE counterparts. She noted that the back page shows the six-year trend since 2013. 8:24:30 AM CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said it is good that the graduation rate of CTE students is rising. She noted, however, that the percentage of students participating seems to be declining. She requested Ms. Riddle's thoughts in this regard. MS. RIDDLE answered it could be offerings at the specific sites and barriers being removed for those students. MS. RIDDLE pointed out that 42 of the state's 54 districts have applied for and utilize Perkins funds. CO-CHAIR STORY inquired as to why all the districts are not participating. MS. RIDDLE replied that the 12 districts not participating in Perkins are very small, so offering those programs might be more than what a small school can handle. Also, Perkins is heavy on the paperwork and DEED is trying to reduce that burden on the districts because sometimes the districts feel that those federal requirements are more than they want to take on. 8:26:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked whether there is room within the Perkins Act for the Board of Education to be able to handle the paperwork on behalf of those smaller districts. MS. RIDDLE explained that Perkins is individual, and DEED has reduced [the paperwork] as much as it can. For Perkins V, DEED is going to work with DLWF to provide some of those studies. A district must look at the labor market information for its Needs Assessment, and DEED is going to work with DLWF so that [the districts] won't have to do that. The department has reduced some of the application pieces, but unfortunately Perkins requires each of the districts to come up with their own individual plan. The department offers work sessions and as much help as it can to get that done, but [each district] must have an advisory committee, which is good practice, and talk about their data. 8:28:02 AM CO-CHAIR STORY invited Mr. Cashen to provide comments for the presentation. GREG CASHEN, Career and Technical Education Coordinator, Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD), said his department works daily in cooperation with DEED and University of Alaska on career and technical education planning - Perkins V reauthorization. He stated he is available for any questions.