HB 155-AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY  9:45:34 AM CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 155, "An Act relating to eligibility for the Alaska performance scholarship program." 9:45:55 AM CO-CHAIR STORY, as the sponsor of HB 155, introduced the bill. She explained that the goal of the bill is to give students the opportunity to take career technical education courses that count toward eligibility for the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS). She offered her belief that students who are interested in this field need to have the opportunities to take advantage of the Alaska Performance Scholarship. All too often students who desire CTE classes do not have room in their schedules to simultaneously take individual CTE classes or follow a CTE track while still meeting APS eligibility. This is especially true with limited course offerings in small to medium schools and scheduling challenges. The bill would offer greater flexibility for students as they choose courses and would recognize the importance of CTE in student preparation for college, career, apprenticeships, and other postsecondary training opportunities. Financial assistance by APS is vital to many young Alaskans and it is important that students who choose a path that includes CTE have access to these resources. All students can benefit from CTE. Whether college bound or not, CTE offers valuable skills and a pathway to certification and jobs. 9:47:34 AM MARY HAKALA, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska State Legislature, reviewed the provisions of HB 155 on behalf of Representative Story, sponsor. She drew attention to the chart in the committee packet titled "Alaska Performance Scholarship" and noted that the proposals in HB 155 are printed in green. She explained that under the math and science curriculum, HB 155 proposes to offer one credit of CTE under the social studies option. Under the social studies and language curriculum, HB 155 proposes to replace two credits of world language, which is two years or four semesters, with two credits of CTE. This would therefore focus a little more on the concentrators and it would require that one year be sequentially more rigorous within a career cluster. MS. HAKALA brought attention to a graph in the committee packet provided by DEED, which compares the graduation rates of CTE concentrators, students who take three or more classes in CTE, to non CTE concentrators. She said she interprets this chart as clearly indicating that CTE can play a role in motivating students. MS. HAKALA then directed attention to two pages in the committee packet regarding the 16 career clusters. Lastly, she drew attention to the document from [Thunder Mountain High School] in Juneau. She said career and technical education today looks much different than when she was a kid in high school. Now, there is a whole array of new 21st Century career technical education opportunity. CO-CHAIR STORY pointed out that the opportunities provided at Thunder Mountain High School include marine biology, digital arts, finance and investing, AP computer science, human anatomy, outdoor biology, woods, robotics, and work readiness. She said these are all excellent courses that she believes students should be able to get credit for. MS. HAKALA pointed out that the sponsor does not yet have a fiscal note for HB 155, but it has been requested and will be forthcoming. 9:50:58 AM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK thanked the sponsor for bringing forth HB 155. He recounted that during debate of the Alaska Performance Scholarship in about 2012 or 2013, he was concerned about not having equal opportunities for rural Alaskans to be able to have the classes and ability to apply for and receive the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which could result in a legal challenge. He related that while serving on the school board an attorney called him to share that had it not been for shop classes, he would never have taken the other courses and graduated from high school. Although this person never did enter the trades, he related further, this person went on to higher education and become an attorney and now those skills developed in shop class save all kinds of money because this person can do these things himself. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK pointed out that these days even shop mechanics must have many computer skills to be able to perform their jobs. He further pointed out that home economics is science because it deals with measurements, chemical reactions, diets, and how diet affects the body. He offered his belief that it is the career and technical education components of things that make education relevant, engaging, and inspiring, because people want to be able to apply what they are learning immediately to the things that they are doing. 9:53:26 AM CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND held over HB 155.