HB 53-MILITARY CHILDREN SCHOOL RESIDENCY WAIVER  9:05:23 AM CHAIR HOLLAND announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 53(MLV) am(efd add) "An Act relating to residency requirements for public school enrollment for certain children of active duty military and National Guard members; and providing for an effective date." 9:05:42 AM REPRESENTATIVE KEN MCCARTY, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced himself. 9:06:03 AM At ease 9:06:38 AM SENATOR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting. 9:06:51 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY paraphrased the sponsor statement: [Original punctuation provided.] House Bill 53 seeks to allow military children with residency outside of the state, but with documentation of a pending military relocation to the state, access to preliminary registration, enrollment, or application to a school district at the time that the process is open to the general student population. Proof of residency is temporarily waived until the student begins school. Once the student begins school their parent or guardian has ten (10) days to provide proof of residency in the school district. This is important to military school children, especially those in high school. Often classes are filled during the preliminary registration of the students already registered in that school district. For military students who are high school juniors or seniors, and are transferring to a new school district, they may need to take a specific class to complete their requirements. This bill is also important to those students wishing to attend a Charter School through lottery or otherwise, as these schools often fill up quickly and there are deadlines for entering the lottery. 9:07:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY provided the sectional analysis for HB 53. Section 1 addresses children coming to the state with their guardian and the definition of a guardian as given in statute. It also defines military installation as it pertains to students moving to Alaska. Section 2 provides the effective date of HB 53 as its date of passage. CHAIR HOLLAND explained that PCS is an acronym for permanent change of station. 9:08:46 AM CHAIR HOLLAND acknowledged Senator Stevens joined the meeting. 9:09:20 AM TAMMIE PERREAULT, Northwest Regional Liaison, U.S. Department of Defense, Lewis McCord Air Force Base, Washington, stated that HB 53 would allow Alaska to join thirty-two other states in offering early enrollment for the children of military families. The Department of Defense (DOD) supports the policy. Approximately 185,000 U.S. military children move between schools annually. Moves usually occur during the summer, making it easy to miss registration and other school-related deadlines. Late registration impacts course selection, resulting in late graduation or needing to attend summer school. There are 10,000 active-duty military school-age children in Alaska. The intent of HB 53 is to provide military students with the same timely access to programs and courses as their in-state peers. HB 53 does not require the development of new online systems, and it helps schools project student enrollment. 9:11:34 AM SENATOR MICCICHE joined the meeting. 9:11:41 AM SENATOR BEGICH asked if HB 53 would affect other state programs with residency requirements, such as the permanent fund dividend. 9:12:15 AM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY responded there would be no impact to agencies that have residency requirements because a family must be physically present in the state for residency. HB 53 only permits students to enroll in classes. 9:12:32 AM SENATOR STEVENS asked for a formal response from the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY stated he would follow up with the request. 9:13:18 AM SENATOR HUGHES asked if HB 53 would make it possible to double count students. For example, would a child at Eielson Air Force Base who relocates to Elmendorf Air Force Base be counted twice. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY responded that out-of-state students who come to Alaska are not double-counted, and therefore it would not be an issue for students who transfer in-state. SENATOR HUGHES requested a formal response from the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). 9:15:05 AM CHAIR HOLLAND held HB 53 in committee.