HOUSE BILL NO. 21 "An Act relating to the length of a school week; and providing for an effective date." 9:19:18 AM ANDY MILLS, SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, expressed his apology that the fiscal note was not addressed in the committee's prior hearing of HB 21. Co-Chair Stoltze asked for further explanation of the fiscal note. Mr. Mills discussed the new fiscal note from Department of Administration, Centralized Administrative Services. He noted changes in the prior year's CS necessitating an additional table. The change required reprogramming and other changes at the Division of Retirement and Benefits. He discussed the cost estimates listed in the fiscal note. The reprogramming was related to communication between the division and the federal government. He stated that the Central Retirement System (CRS) was the system that allowed for tracking of the retiree data for the division. Calculation systems, found on the division's website provided self-assessment tools that allowed employees to track their retirement. Statements were delivered to the members and brochures were sent to notify employees about the change to the system. 9:22:31 AM Vice-Chair Neuman wondered about the fiscal note's proposed $100 thousand dollar expense. He stated that the Department of Administration received approximately $100 million in capital budget items related to Integrated Resources Information Services (IRIS) upgrades. He asked whether the changes needed for the legislation could be made with already existing resources. 9:23:27 AM Representative Costello asked about the state's approach to programmers. She expressed confusion regarding the payment of computer programmers already employed by the department. Mr. Mills replied that certain programmers would absorb the changes proposed in the fiscal note. The numbers were for outside contracted costs. He stated that an alternate schedule might seem simple, but the brochures were a fixed cost. 9:25:37 AM Representative Costello discussed her experience as a teacher for Service High School. She wondered how the employee hours could be translated into portions of the year as outlined in the bill. She wondered if the department could apply retirement benefits for a teacher contracted for one-half of the year. Mr. Mills replied that the schedule proposed in the bill was an alternate schedule. He noted that utilization of the uncodified code would have spawned multiple alternative calendars. He suggested that further information be provided by the division. Representative Costello asked if the state moved from hiring full-time to contractual programmers, would the charge to the state change. She wondered why the practice of contractual programmers was not utilized. 9:28:45 AM Co-Chair Austerman commented that the state reduced the number of days for a retiree from 172 to 150. He asked if the change increased the retirement cost to the state. He asked about the changes needed in the retirement system as a result of the legislation. Representative Wilson stated that the bill would not allow for an employee's premature retirement. The shorter school weeks would equal a full year of school. Co-Chair Austerman noted that the days allowing for one year's worth of retirement had changed. Representative Wilson explained that fewer days were needed because the days were longer. Co-Chair Austerman did not understand the concept. Co-Chair Stoltze understood that the teachers were currently eligible for retirement and the changes in the bill allowed that continuity of accrual despite the shorter work/school weeks. Co-Chair Austerman requested further understanding of the cumulative effect of the legislation. Co-Chair Stoltze asked Mr. Mills if he could envision an addition of a new employee under the proposed calculation. Mr. Mills assumed that a full year would lead to an insignificant difference in time accrual. 9:31:55 AM Representative Thompson stated dissatisfaction with the fiscal note. He understood that the part-time teachers worked a certain amount of days. He did not understand why new statements would be required. He assumed that the cost of the statements was built into the division's budget. Mr. Mills replied that the fiscal note included a large number of contractor costs. He noted that the fiscal note would increase in its request if the entire change required contractual programmers. 9:34:08 AM Vice-Chair Neuman OFFERED a conceptual AMENDMENT to zero out fiscal note one from the Department of Administration, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number 64. He MOVED that the Department of Administration absorb the cost of the changes proposed in the legislation. Co-Chair Stoltze supported the change. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. Fiscal note 1 from the Department of Administration, OMB component number 64 was changed to reflect ZERO fiscal impact. Co-Chair Stoltze RESCINDED the prior action made to move the bill out of committee. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. CSHB 21 (FIN) was back before the committee. 9:36:17 AM Representative Gara OFFERED a conceptual AMENDMENT. He pointed to page 2, line 18, section C addressing the reduction of school days and the provision of retirement benefits. He stated that some school districts would reduce school hours by 20 percent. He noted the minimum instruction hours mandated by the legislation was 740 hours for lower and 900 hours for higher grades. He noted that many schools had greater than 1000 instructional hours. Representative Gara discussed page 2, line 3 and the commissioner's ability to reduce instructional days, as long as instructional hours remained comparable. He stated that the commissioner had reduced school days below 180 days in one community recently. The legislation reduced the number of hours further. He expressed concern about cutting the number of school hours. Representative Gara MOVED the conceptual amendment to retain page 2, line 18 through page 3, line 9. Co-Chair Stoltze stated that the committee would not accept such a conceptual amendment. He requested a written amendment. 9:39:33 AM Representative Costello appreciated Representative Gara's point. She stated that the statute dictated minimum hours constituting a day. School districts often exceeded the requirements. She stated that the opportunity for shorter days existed, yet districts chose not to take advantage. She stated that the proposed legislation addressed alternative schedules versus shorter teaching time. She mentioned the concept of year-round school as another option for an alternative schedule. She mentioned a study in the committee members' packets related to improved results in math and reading with alternative schedules. She believed that the concept of minimum school hours per day was already in statute and did not belong in the bill. She stated that the policy call was unique and demanded an opinion from the House Education Committee. She spoke about the school board and public's involvement in all decisions related to school week changes. The proposed legislation was tied to the wishes of the parents and education community. She opposed the conceptual amendment offered by Representative Gara. Representative Wilson stated that a school district could choose a four-day school week without the proposed legislation. She noted that the issue of teacher retirement was the reason for the proposed legislation. Because the teachers were working more days and hours in one district, the full-years' worth of retirement was not accessible. Upon the bill's inception, she asked the commissioner about the constitution of a full work day. She opined that the bill had flexibility without the amendment. Co-Chair Stoltze stated that an amendment was not before the committee. Representative Munoz discussed Representative Costello's reference to the report. She noted that in the report, Montana shifted to a four-day week, but retained the 1000 hour requirement. She wondered why the bill shifted the requirement in Alaska. Representative Wilson replied that the hours in statute were used to determine the bill's proposal. She stated that each district used a different number of total hours. She suggested that instituting one number for the entire state might negatively impact some districts. She discussed the issue with the commissioner and proposed that the problem be addressed in a separate bill with a study about whether an increase in hours would provide a better education for Alaska's students. Vice-Chair Neuman asked about page 2, lines 3-6 related to the commissioner's approval of plans. He wondered why the section was changed. He understood the local control issue, but he opined that an alternative view from the commissioner would prove advantageous. 9:46:57 AM Representative Wilson stated that the commissioner would review the plan with a checklist. The mechanism mandated community meetings. She believed that the communities would make the best judgments for their unique area needs. The commissioner would approve the plans, based on the checklist. Vice-Chair Neuman asked for details about the checklist. Representative Wilson stated that the community meeting must address a plan for days/hours needed during the shortened school week. The plan was then submitted to the commissioner who reviewed it for necessary components. She stated that outcomes were reviewed using standardized test scores. 9:49:03 AM Representative Gara opined that a problem arose in removing the commissioner's discretion. He pointed to page 2, line 11, "if the school district shows that they are providing the minimum of instruction" he stated that upon community approval, the decision would be made. He stated that the commissioner could allow for an alternative schedule under current law. The commissioner was not amenable to a reduction to 700 instructional hours. Current law retained the districts with greater than statutory minimum instructional hours. The bill mandated the commissioner's approval of the statutory minimum following community members' decision. 9:51:52 AM Vice-Chair Neuman MOVED to REPORT CSHB 21 (FIN) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying revised fiscal notes. Representative Munoz OBJECTED. She wished to see the amended fiscal note prior to reporting out the bill. Representative Gara apologized that he did not have a written amendment. 9:53:07 AM Representative Costello shared that her office worked tirelessly reviewing hours of school days. She stated that a school currently following state law would pay a large organizational price for the proposed mandate. She urged the legislature to revisit the issue of minimum instructional hours. She cautioned the committee to review all pertinent information before proposing a minimum number of instructional hours to all Alaskan schools. 9:54:23 AM Representative Gara apologized for not having his amendment available in writing. He agreed with Representative Costello and did not recommend that the committee mandate a minimum number of instructional hours. He noted that the commissioner currently decided the minimum number of instructional hours based on his determination of an adequate number of school hours to protect academic achievement. He pointed to page 2, lines 3-6 indicating that the commissioner could approve the number of days and the number of instructional hours. The bill required an acceptance of the school district's decision to instruct for the minimum number of allowable hours. He disagreed with the bill for that one reason. He wished to continue to allow the commissioner to make the decision regarding the minimum number of instructional hours for each individual proposal. 9:56:12 AM Representative Wilson stated that the commissioner would not allow a four-day school week without the legislation. She stated that the commissioner had denied all requests for a four-day school week. A roll call vote was taken on the motion. IN FAVOR: Holmes, Neuman, Thompson, Wilson, Costello, Edgmon, Stoltze, Austerman OPPOSED: Guttenberg, Munoz, Gara The MOTION PASSED (8/3). CSHB 21 (FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with no recommendation and with one new zero fiscal note from the Department of Education and Early Development and one new zero fiscal note from the Department of Administration. 9:58:54 AM