HB 105-SEX/REPRODUCTION EDUCATION; SCHOOLS  9:18:39 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 105, "An Act relating to parental rights in a child's education; relating to access to school records; relating to sex education, human reproduction education, and human sexuality education; relating to school disciplinary and safety programs; and providing for an effective date." 9:18:49 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY, in response to Co-Chair Allard, said he "removed" Amendment 1 [in committee packet but never moved for adoption], and "withdrew" Amendment 2 [in committee packet but never moved for adoption]. 9:19:01 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT moved to adopt Amendment 3 to HB 105, labeled 33-GH1072\A.2, Marx, 4/14/23, which read as follows: Page 1, line 2, following "records;": Insert "relating to school funding; relating to  charter schools; relating to state boarding schools;" Page 3, following line 21: Insert new bill sections to read:  "* Sec. 5. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: (a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the department up to four percent. Costs directly related to charter school facilities, including rent, utilities, and maintenance, may not be included in an annual program budget for the purposes of calculating the four percent cap on administrative costs under this subsection. A local school board shall provide a charter school with a report itemizing the administrative costs retained by the local school board under this section. The "amount generated by students enrolled in the charter school" is to be determined in the same manner as it would be for a student enrolled in another public school in that school district and includes funds generated by grants, appropriations, federal impact aid, the required local contribution, the local contribution under AS 14.17.410(c), special needs under AS 14.17.420(a)(1), [AND] secondary school vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3),  and parental involvement initiatives under  AS 14.17.420(a)(4). A school district shall direct state aid under AS 14.11 for the construction or major maintenance of a charter school facility to the charter school that generated the state aid, subject to the same terms and conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for construction or major maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school.  * Sec. 6. AS 14.17.410(b) is amended to read: (b) Public school funding consists of state aid, a required local contribution, and eligible federal impact aid determined as follows: (1) state aid equals basic need minus a required local contribution and 90 percent of eligible federal impact aid for that fiscal year; basic need equals the sum obtained under (D) of this paragraph, multiplied by the base student allocation set out in AS 14.17.470; district adjusted ADM is calculated as follows: (A) the ADM of each school in the district is calculated by applying the school size factor to the student count as set out in AS 14.17.450; (B) the number obtained under (A) of this paragraph is multiplied by the district cost factor described in AS 14.17.460; (C) the ADMs of each school in a district, as adjusted according to (A) and (B) of this paragraph, are added; the sum is then multiplied by the special needs factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(1), [AND] the secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(3), and the parental  involvement initiatives funding factor set out in  AS 14.17.420(a)(4); (D) the number obtained for intensive services under AS 14.17.420(a)(2) and the number obtained for correspondence study under AS 14.17.430 are added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph or under (H) and (I) of this paragraph; (E) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if a school district's ADM adjusted for school size under (A) of this paragraph decreases by five percent or more from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year, the school district may use the last fiscal year before the decrease as a base fiscal year to offset the decrease, according to the following method: (i) for the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 75 percent of the difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the base fiscal year and the first fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (ii) for the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 50 percent of the difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the base fiscal year and the second fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (iii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year determined under this subparagraph, the school district's ADM adjusted for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph is calculated as the district's ADM adjusted for school size, plus 25 percent of the difference in the district's ADM adjusted for school size between the base fiscal year and the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year; (F) the method established in (E) of this paragraph is available to a school district for the three fiscal years following the base fiscal year determined under (E) of this paragraph only if the district's ADM adjusted for school size determined under (A) of this paragraph for each fiscal year is less than the district's ADM adjusted for school size in the base fiscal year; (G) the method established in (E) of this paragraph does not apply to a decrease in the district's ADM adjusted for school size resulting from a loss of enrollment that occurs as a result of a boundary change under AS 29; (H) notwithstanding (A) - (C) of this paragraph, if one or more schools close and consolidate with one or more other schools in the same community and district and, as a result of the consolidation, basic need generated by the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph decreases, the district may use the last fiscal year before the consolidation as the base fiscal year to offset that decrease for the first four fiscal years following consolidation according to the following method: (i) for the first two fiscal years after the base fiscal year, the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, and adding that number to the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; (ii) for the third fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, multiplying that number by 66 percent, and adding that number to the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; (iii) for the fourth fiscal year after the base fiscal year, the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph is calculated by dividing the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for the base fiscal year by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the base fiscal year without adjustment, and subtracting the quotient obtained by dividing the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year, multiplying that number by the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year without adjustment, multiplying that number by 33 percent, and adding that number to the sum of the district's ADM of the consolidated schools for the current fiscal year as adjusted under (A) - (C) of this paragraph; (iv) to calculate the district's basic need for each fiscal year, the number obtained through the calculation in (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subparagraph is added to the number obtained under (C) of this paragraph for the remainder of the district; (I) if the basic need calculated under (H)(i) - (iii) of this paragraph for one of the first four fiscal years after consolidation is less than the basic need calculated under (A) - (C) of this paragraph for that fiscal year, the basic need may not be adjusted under (H) of this paragraph for that fiscal year; (J) a district may not offset a decrease under (H) of this paragraph if (i) a new facility is constructed in the district for the consolidation; or (ii) the district offset a decrease under (E) of this paragraph in the same fiscal year; (K) a district that offsets a decrease under (H) of this paragraph may not reopen a school that was closed for consolidation in the district until (i) seven or more years have passed since the school closure; and (ii) the district provides evidence satisfactory to the department that the schools affected by the consolidation are over capacity; (L) a district may not reopen and reconsolidate a school that was consolidated in the district more than once every seven years for purposes of the calculations made under (H) of this paragraph; (M) a district offsetting a decrease under (H) of this paragraph shall provide the department with the list of schools participating in the consolidation and the corresponding ADM; (2) the required local contribution of a city or borough school district is the equivalent of a 2.65 mill tax levy on the full and true value of the taxable real and personal property in the district as of January 1 of the second preceding fiscal year, as determined by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development under AS 14.17.510 and AS 29.45.110, not to exceed 45 percent of a district's basic need for the preceding fiscal year as determined under (1) of this subsection.  * Sec. 7. AS 14.17.420(a) is amended to read: (a) As a component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special needs, [AND] secondary school vocational and technical instruction,  and parental involvement initiatives funding and may be eligible for intensive services funding as follows: (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, and bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each such student, intensive services funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by 13; (3) in addition to the special needs and intensive services funding available under (1) and (2) of this subsection, secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding is available to assist districts in providing vocational and technical instruction to students who are enrolled in a secondary school; a secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor of 1.015 shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); in this paragraph, "vocational and technical instruction" excludes costs associated with (A) administrative expenses; and (B) instruction in general literacy, mathematics, and job readiness skills; (4) in addition to the special needs,  intensive services, and secondary school vocational  and technical instruction funding available under (1)  - (3) of this subsection, parental involvement  initiatives funding is available to assist districts  in the district's implementation of the requirements  of AS 14.03.016(a)(3), (a)(7), and (a)(8),  AS 14.03.115, AS 14.30.361(e) and (f), and  AS 14.33.120(a)(10), including the costs of additional  administrative and educational support personnel and  modification of locker rooms and restroom facilities;  a parental involvement initiatives funding factor of  1.005 shall be applied as set out in  AS 14.17.410(b)(1).  * Sec. 8. AS 14.17.440(a) is amended to read: (a) Except as provided in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for state boarding schools established under AS 14.16.010 includes an allocation from the public education fund in an amount calculated by (1) determining the ADM of state boarding schools by applying the school size factor to the student count as described in AS 14.17.450; (2) multiplying the number obtained under (1) of this subsection by the special needs factor in AS 14.17.420(a)(1), [AND] the secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding factor set out in AS 14.17.420(a)(3), and the parental  involvement initiatives funding factor set out in  AS 14.17.420(a)(4) and multiplying that product by the base student allocation; and (3) multiplying the product determined under (2) of this subsection by the district cost factor that is applicable to calculation of the state aid for the adjacent school district under AS 14.17.460." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly [No audible objection was captured on the recording.] 9:19:28 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT spoke to Amendment 3. She said the amendment provides funding support for school districts to implement the requirements of HB 105, as well as a parental involvement initiatives funding factor. She said that as much communication with families this bill will require, it comes with a cost, such as extra staffing, and teachers following up on required paperwork. She gave brief examples of how the tasks of meeting requirements can slightly change depending on the size of the district. She added there would also be increased records requests, and if students are opting out, those students still need to be somewhere they are supervised. The funding factor, she said, would cover the one-time capital cost for modifications to buildings which the bill asks schools to do. Without this amendment and the bill passed, [the state] would be putting another unfunded mandate on schools. 9:23:09 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK suggested adopting the proposed committee substitute prior to discussing this amendment. CO-CHAIR ALLARD explained that Amendment 3 pertains to the original bill version of HB 105. 9:23:30 AM REPRESENTATIVE STORY sought more information regarding the initiatives for informing parents. She acknowledged that there would be an unfunded mandate with the bill, and all the other steps that would need to be taken add to a huge amount of communication. She said it would be helpful to have a parental liaison at schools to help encourage parent involvement. She stated she was worried about not resourcing help for teachers as well. 9:25:02 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT responded that right now, in her experience, there is quite a bit of communication that happens between classroom teachers and parents. Finding time outside of the normal school day, she said, to reach out to parents takes time and money and schools should have the resources they need. 9:26:56 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY requested a roll call vote on Amendment 3. 9:27:08 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Himschoot, Story, Prax, and McCormick voted in favor of Amendment 3 to HB 105. Representatives Allard, McKay, and Ruffridge voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 3 was adopted by a vote of 4-3. 9:28:01 AM The committee took a brief at-ease at 9:28 a.m. 9:28:06 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD withdrew Amendment 4 [in committee packet but never moved for adoption]. 9:28:40 AM CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE moved to adopt the proposed Committee Substitute (CS) for HB 105, Version B, also referred to as 33- GH1072\B Marx 4/15/23 as the work draft. There being no objection, Version B was before the committee. 9:29:01 AM The committee took an at-ease from 9:29 a.m. to 9:42 a.m. 9:42:46 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD [returned to discussion of the original bill version of HB 105]. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, in response to Co-Chair Allard, moved to rescind action in adopting Amendment [3] to HB 105. 9:43:36 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE restated his motion to adopt the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 105. 9:43:57 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD noted that there had been no objection to the motion to rescind the committee's action in adopting Amendment [3]. CO-CHAIR ALLARD announced there being no objection, Version B was adopted. 9:44:33 AM The committee took two consecutive at-eases from 9:44 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. 9:45:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE spoke on the changes made in committee substitute for HB 105, Version B. He said the bill would require that parents receive notification for all activities, classes, or programs that a child is involved in at least two weeks in advance. He added that it would allow parents to choose what their child participates in. The parent would also provide the school with names, nicknames, and pronouns that the school shall use for identification and records. 9:46:57 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT moved to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1 to HB 105, Version B. 9:47:10 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE objected for the purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT explained that the costs had been researched with her staff, and there is no fiscal note now, but it would be approximately $6 million. She added to give Legislative Legal Services permission to make any necessary conforming changes to Amendment 1 [which was originally drafted for the original bill version]. 9:48:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE maintained his objection. 9:48:27 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Story, Prax, McCormick, and Himschoot voted in favor of the motion to adopt Conceptual Amendment 1 to HB 105, Version B. Representatives Ruffridge, McKay, and Allard voted against it. Therefore, Conceptual Amendment 1 to HB 105, Version B, was adopted by a vote of 4-3. 9:49:26 AM The committee took a brief at-ease at 9:49 a.m. 9:50:00 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK questioned what sort of protections may remain in place for students who might be from an abusive home and a student could potentially end up in a dangerous situation when they are forced to share certain information. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE explained that there are protections already in place for teachers, and teachers are still mandatory reporters if such a situation would arise. REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK asked Representative Ruffridge to clarify a "return." REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE explained that through testimony and conversations regarding HB 105, teachers were found to be not a neutral third party and found themselves uncomfortable. The teachers, he said, may have information they are not certain what to do with and the Version B clarifies that. 9:53:10 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE moved to report CSHB 105, Version 33- GH1072\B, Marx, 4/15/23, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. 9:53:39 AM REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT objected and spoke to her objection. She paraphrased a previous testifier who stated that there may be some poor parenting, but so does her profession as a teacher. She added that she thought the bill was "using a butcher knife where a scalpel would do." The bill, she said, takes focus away from things that should be done, such as supporting schools in a predictable and stable way, as well as recruiting and retaining. She stated that passage of the bill would be passing a mandate that feels threatening to some of the most vulnerable population. She reiterated her opposition to the bill and the committee substitute. 9:55:23 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY called the previous question on Version B, as amended. 9:55:32 AM The committee took a brief at-ease at 9:55 a.m. 9:55:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK objected to the call to question. 9:56:09 AM The committee took a brief at-ease at 9:56 a.m. 9:56:53 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Ruffridge, Prax, McKay, and Allard voted in favor of the call to question. Representatives Himschoot, Story, and McCormick voted against it. Therefore, the call to question was so ordered. 9:57:30 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives McKay, Allard, Prax, and Ruffridge voted in favor of HB 105. Representatives McCormick, Himschoot, and Story voted against it. Therefore, HB 105 passed out of the House Education Standing Committee by a vote of 4-3. 9:58:12 AM The committee took an at-ease from 9:58 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. 9:59:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD announced that CSHB 105(EDC) had moved from committee with permission for Legislative Legal and Research Services to make conforming changes. 9:59:28 AM The committee took an at-ease from 9:59 a.m. to 10:04 a.m. 10:04:01 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY stated, "I withdrew my previous motion to call the question on HB 105, committee substitute, as amended." REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD stated, "I'm going to go back and rescind action in regards to what had happened when you had called the question, based on the fact that you have to have two-thirds of the vote. So, I apologize, I moved a little too quickly." 10:04:53 AM The committee took an at-ease from 10:04 a.m. to 10:06 a.m. 10:06:11 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE restated the motion to move CSHB 105, Version 33-GH1072\B, Marx, 4/15/23, as amended, with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note. 10:06:39 AM REPRESENTATIVE STORY objected and spoke to her objection. She offered her belief regarding the importance of parental rights, and that they are key. She added that in current law, parents are to be notified of any sensitive topic two weeks prior to it being given and have the right to opt out. She expressed her concern that the bill switches an opt out to an opt in, and she said she believed kids would miss out on very important information. Most parents want their children to have information on the sensitive age-appropriate topics, she said. She opined that it puts up a barrier for returning permission slips and stressed that she would not want students to be at risk. She stated that youth need an affirming adult in their lives to stop self-harm, and she observed that the bill may put teachers in a very awkward place as well as the student. She said [legislators] must think about local control and violations of a student's rights to privacy. The regulations in the bill garner much more serious thought, she said. 10:11:37 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK noted that suicide is a leading but preventable public health crises in Alaska and is the leading cause of death in youths ages 10 through 24. Suicide prevention activists, he said, have identified the proposed legislation as a problem and have testified before the committee that it could lead to higher rates in suicide. He offered his belief that not enough has been changed in the bill, and that it strips young people of the ability to make choices for themselves, denying them the ability to live with dignity. He referred to HB 111, stating that the legislature was doing something to help people. He opined HB 105 would make life harder for people. He gave an example of growing up in rural Alaska where life is hard, and he said he ran to make life easier for rural kids. He reiterated his opposition to HB 105. 10:13:32 AM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX offered his opinion that this is an imperfect world, and that parents have a moral responsibility to raise their children, but someone turned it into a legal obligation. He believed that parents have the moral responsibility to raise children, not the legislature, and even if parents make mistakes, they must have that right, he said. He stressed that the bill poses challenges, and the state must think critically about this. 10:15:47 AM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE thanked committee members for their comments. He said the legislature was in an important spot in returning to a conversation regarding what is happening inside of Alaska's schools and its children. He said he believed the bill actually strengthens the ability for students to have private access to restrooms and potentially a greater aspect to safety. He stated that while it may not be a perfect bill, it started the conversations about what the role of teachers and parents are, and how to better engage them. He said he valued parent's rights tremendously and that he looked forward to more legislative sessions on the subject. 10:18:34 AM REPRESENTATIVE STORY drew attention to page 2, line 9 of the bill in reference to a religious holiday and whether Legislative Legal Services needs to make any changes. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE explained that the language is already in state statute and not part of the bill. 10:19:48 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK maintained his objection. 10:19:50 AM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives McKay, Ruffridge, Prax, and Allard voted in favor of the motion to report CSHB 105, Version 33-GH1072\B, Marx, 4/15/23, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note. Therefore, CSHB 105(EDC) was reported out of the House Education Standing Committee by a vote of 4-3. 10:20:39 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD relayed that when there are other legislators present, they must be respectful to the chairs and not interrupt. She added that aides are present for assistance. 10:21:11 AM The committee took an at-ease from 10:21 a.m. to 10:23 a.m. 10:23:41 AM CO-CHAIR ALLARD briefly discussed future business.