HB 19-LIMITED TEACHER CERTIFICATES; LANGUAGES  9:26:15 AM CO-CHAIR STORY announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 19, "An Act relating to instruction in a language other than English; and establishing limited language immersion teacher certificates." 9:26:34 AM REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 19. He shared that this is the third legislature he has carried a version of the proposed legislation in, noting that the first version passed 40-0 in the House, but did not make it through the Senate, and during the Thirty-first Alaska State Legislature, COVID-19 truncated session. He called HB 19 an important piece of proposed legislation and the actionable thing the legislature could do to support Alaska Native language revitalization for the districts and communities that are seeking to create immersion language programs. 9:28:25 AM LINDSAY BURKE, Staff, Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 19 on behalf of Representative Kreiss-Tomkins, prime sponsor. She explained that high-level immersion programs are an education model used widely across the country and increasingly in Alaska. In these programs, at least 50 percent of the learning is conducted in a target language, such as Spanish, German, or Yup'ik. She shared that there is a limited pool of fully certified teachers who have the necessary language abilities, but there are many fluent speakers who are suited for the program but do not have the full certification for reasons such as limited English ability, advanced age, or familial responsibility. The proposed legislation would ease that burden by amending the state's limited teacher certificate program and allowing certificates to be issued at the request of the school district for teachers with a specific subject area expertise, in which there are few fully certified and trained teachers. MS. BURK said HB 19 would authorize the State Board of Education and Early Development to create a new type of limited certificate, specific to teaching in a language immersion program. The board would be authorized to author regulations to ensure the certificate holder demonstrates instructional skills in subject matter or expertise sufficient to assure the public that the person is competent as a teacher, she said. Under HB 19, the board would be empowered to write the regulations and create the certificate, but would not be required to do so, and the school districts would retain local control whether to apply for a certificate on behalf of a teacher, she explained. She informed the committee that a limited certificate would be good for a one-year probationary period, with an option for renewal, pending the school district's affirmation of the holder's educational skills and subject matter expertise. She concluded that HB 19 was drafted to address the specific need faced by the language immersion program and to strengthen the program. 9:31:23 AM REID MAGDANZ, Alaska Native Languages Advocate, provided invited testimony in support of HB 19. He provided the committee his personal background to give context to his testimony. He shared that his parents moved to Alaska from California and Nebraska and raised him in Kotzebue, where he graduated from high school in 2008. He said he left Alaska for college but returned in 2014 to work as legislative staff to Representative Kreiss- Tompkins. After five years with the legislature, he returned to Kotzebue where he is now an educator and construction worker. Mr. Magdanz shared that he is learning Inupiaq and is talking with people around the state about the education system and the early stages of an effort to help schools better serve students, especially in rural Alaska. MR. MAGDANZ said his comments on HB 19 are reflective of his experience, particularly in Alaska schools and working on Alaska Native language revitalization for the past six years. He noted that he speaks primarily from the Rural Alaska perspective. He stated that HB 19 would address what he understood as the most important barrier to academic success for rural Alaska students. He said rural Alaska students, often Alaska Native students, go to schools with teachers and administrators that do not look like them, behave like them, and have not lived like them, and then must learn from curriculums divorced from the place and reality in which those students live. He shared an anecdote about a teacher in Kotzebue whose curriculum instructed her to teach about subways, even though snow machines would have been more applicable and easier to understand for the students. He opined it was no wonder that students become disinterested in school and learning, which he shared he saw happen to his classmates as he grew up in Kotzebue. He noted that rural Alaska also has some Alaska Native teachers and non-Native teachers who have lived in rural Alaska for a long time. 9:35:29 AM MR. MAGDANZ challenged the committee to consider what could be done to make school more relevant and improve the academic success of rural Alaska students. He asserted that bringing Native language and Native culture to the center of the educational experience can make a real difference. He suggested that not only do students, both Native and non-Native, become more grounded in who they are, but they also do better in math, science, writing, and reading. He said there are decades of research reinforcing this, and he referenced the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI), and the writings of Ray Barnhardt and Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley. He opined that the best preparation for education is a life in the students' communities, not a university teacher program in the Lower 48. He argued that HB 19 provides a path for school districts to get those teachers into the classrooms within the regulatory parameters established by DEED and the State Board of Education and Early Development. MR. MAGDANZ concluded his testimony with an anecdote sharing that Kotzebue has an Inupiaq immersion school run by the local tribal government. He said it has been in operation for 23 years and teaches children ages 3-7, and to his understanding did not have any state certified teachers, because there were none that spoke the language. He said when these students transfer to public school, they often lead their classes in academic performance. Although he admitted it was a small sample, he said it was a promise of what HB 19 could deliver. 9:38:34 AM MICHAEL JOHNSON, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development, provided invited testimony in support of HB 19. He stated that the cornerstone of an education starts with learning language, including learning to read, and that students thrive when their learning, culture, and conscience are integrated. He argued that HB 19 gives needed flexibility to school districts to hire more teachers who are qualified to teach in language immersion programs, which can better integrate culture into classrooms. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said HB 19 aligned with the goals of the Alaska Education Challenge, and said it fit well with the goal to have all students read at grade level by the end of third grade. He stated that a comprehensive reading policy in Alaska that improves student outcomes will include more immersion schools, and therefore be dependent on more immersion teachers. He said the proposed legislation meets the goal to increase career, technical, and culturally relevant education to meet workforce needs. He argued that the economic wellbeing of Alaska students and the state can be improved with language revitalization programs. He continued that HB 19 fit the goal to close the achievement gap by ensuring equitable educational rigor and resources, because more teachers qualified to teach immersion programs would help close the achievement gap. He said the proposed legislation would also meet the goal of attracting and recruiting effective educators. He shared that there is research that language revitalization can help improve the safety and wellbeing of students as they become more engaged in their education and goals. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON said DEED's goal is to provide an excellent education for every student, every single day. With fewer individuals entering Alaska teacher preparation programs and applying for teaching jobs, more than two-thirds of Alaska teachers come from out of state, and he said more Alaskans were needed in the classroom. He said the proposed legislation provides quantity by establishing an additional pathway for local school boards to recognize emerging teachers with expertise in a language other than English, and that it addresses quality by allowing the local school boards to request the issuance of a limited language immersion teacher certificate that is only valid in a language immersion program. He explained that by establishing the length of the certificate to only one year, the local board retains the option to extend or renew the certificate. 9:42:41 AM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND referred to language on page 2 of HB 19, lines 24-30. She asked why a language that is not an Alaska Native language can be certified for a cumulative period not to exceed four years, while an Alaska Native language may be certified for a cumulative period that may exceed four years. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied the previous legislative body had a concern that districts would use the limited certificate ad infinitum and felt that a maximum length of renewal would be appropriate, so it was incorporated into the bill. He offered his opinion that it was unlikely that there would be ad infinitum renewals of rural language teachers who are on the limited teacher certificate, and it was likely one would eventually seek normal certification. 9:44:56 AM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked why certificate renewal would have restrictions and commented it would make sense to keep a teacher involved as long as the teacher is interested and not put any obstacles before him/her. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied that Representative Prax's question aligned with his own thinking, but he said he defers to committee process in how best to structure the proposed legislation. He commented that if it is the will of committee to remove that section, which is how the bill was originally drafted, he would be amenable as his broader goal is to pass the proposed legislation. He said he would agree with whatever compromise worked with the appropriate parties. REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked for clarification about how to get the limited certificate and offered his understanding that a teacher would have to demonstrate competence in teaching as well as speaking the given language. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS replied that there are multiple layers of review. He said the local school district must first affirmatively approve of the teacher. From there, he explained, the referral goes to DEED, which will write the regulations to provide proper reviews on teaching ability, and only then would a teacher get a certificate for one year. REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that he could understand initially limiting the certificate to a year, but if it was successful, he wouldn't want to leave an obstacle in place. 9:48:02 AM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND shared her connection to languages and explained that she spoke Greek as a child. She opined that Alaska Native languages are dying out, and it is important to connect with Native speakers. She commented that she also wanted to hear about how it was going in the school districts that had been offering Native language immersion for decades. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS suggested that during public testimony there would be many points of perspective from across the state. 9:50:24 AM REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY referred to the language on page 2, lines 24-30, of HB 19 and asked if it would be appropriate "for that to be considered for removal and inclusion in the regulatory process." COMMISSIONER JOHNSON replied he would need time to consider the proposed action but would notify her office. In general, he said, the more specific the legislature is, the easier it is for DEED to implement the proposed legislation as intended. He commented that all of DEED's regulations go through the state board and receive public comment, and so the regulatory process at the department does provide an opportunity to refine legislative intent. REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked representative Kreiss-Tompkins if it was more advantageous for the language to be stripped or perhaps made broader to allow for a better relationship with the department, which is setting the regulations and standards for certification. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS reiterated that the original version of the bill did not include the language, which he saw as the policy ideal. He commented that preserving maximum latitude for local districts and the state board to manage the teacher certificate program is ideal. He said that if it is necessary that the State Board of Education and Early Development create a cap on how many years a certification can be renewed, he is sure it would do so. He restated that he would defer to the will of the committee. REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY responded to Representative Drummond's earlier comments and said that her district has had a Yup'ik immersion program charter school for about 30 years. She shared that many graduates have followed pursuits such as engineering, have gone to Ivy League universities, and have given back to their communities. 9:54:35 AM REPRESENTATIVE CRONK asked Commissioner Johnson what DEED's goal was regarding the proposed legislation. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON replied that more successful students [was the goal]. He shared his belief that education that is integrated with culture, including language, helps students to be more successful. He referred to how [the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium] has helped Alaska through the pandemic and argued that tribes are well equipped and well able to provide for the wellbeing of the community. He said he found this to be an opportunity to have another component of that in education. He asserted that more immersion programs would help at a high level. He also shared that there is evidence that immersion programs result in more students reading proficiently in multiple languages. 9:57:40 AM CO-CHAIR STORY announced HB 19 was held over.