HB 132-SCHOOL APPRENTICESHIP PROGS; TAX CREDITS  9:47:33 AM CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 132(FIN) "An Act relating to technical education and registered apprenticeships." [The Senate committee substitute (SCS) for HB 132, work order 32-LS0476\R, was adopted during the 4/11/2022 hearing.] 9:47:51 AM CHAIR HOLLAND opened public testimony on HB 132. 9:48:26 AM ANDY BULLICH, representing self, Juneau, Alaska, stated that he had taught construction and metal shop at Juneau-Douglas High School for 20 years and owns his own roofing business. He advocated for involving high school students in apprenticeships in high school to the fullest extent possible. He offered his belief that it inspires them. He noted the demand for skilled laborers. The pre-apprenticeship programs provide a natural conduit for the student and employer. He related that the employers and students can each figure out if the relationship works without investing significant time. He indicated that it shows kids what a life in skilled trades provides. MR. BULLICH suggested that 16-18 year old students could operate power tools and climb ladders. He highlighted that finding a way to minimize the liability that employers would have at job sites would help these programs to succeed. He said he works with high school students to build a house. They climb ladders and use power tools successfully, so there should be a way to extend those practices into the apprenticeship programs. MR. BULLICH thanked the committee for supporting these programs. He said Alaska is doing well nationally and he feels supported by the state and the school district. 9:51:09 AM SENATOR STEVENS asked how to minimize the liability for employers. 9:51:21 AM MR. BULLICH stated that education helps provide skills. He noted that in 20 years of teaching he had not experienced any bad accidents. He attributed minimizing the likelihood of injuries to good sound education. He emphasized the importance of keeping shop teachers involved with the employer and the student during this process to maintain a relationship. SENATOR STEVENS acknowledged the importance of minimizing injuries but providing students with real life experiences. 9:52:22 AM MR. BULLICH stated that the bill allows the student to be on the job site and not do anything, which isn't beneficial to the student or to the employer. The students have to have some responsibility under supervision. He recalled student teaching in Minnesota, using a model where the kids would spend half a day at a welding shop or job site using tools and welding equipment. He characterized that model as highly successful. 9:52:55 AM SENATOR STEVENS asked for suggested improvements to the bill. MR. BULLICH responded that he especially liked the language on page 4 that "using funds available for that purpose," but to add language that would address the ladders and power tools. He offered his view that it was important to decrease the liability for the employer. He explained that currently, when he and the students are at the job site building a house by Dzantik'i Heeni Middle School, the school insurance policy covers the student. He wondered if it would be possible for the school district to pick up some of the liability insurance. He suggested that the funds refereed to in subparagraph (18) could offset some of the liability insurance for the school district. 9:54:11 AM SENATOR HUGHES wondered if parents were signing a waiver acknowledging that the students face some risks by using power equipment. She surmised that the school was providing safety training. Mr. BULLICH answered that the students undergo rigorous safety training and parents do sign waivers. He emphasized that the culture that would be built into the program was critical. He indicated that he felt good about what the high school was doing that was done by many of his colleagues. He related that he participates in the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) Grant Advisory Committee meetings. He stated that many teachers throughout the state receive federal Perkins IV funding, so they have established relationships with contractors. He highlighted that identifying good teachers, contractors, and students was important. He said he did not see any downside to the legislation, and that it would be fantastic if this could happen. 9:55:32 AM SENATOR HUGHES offered her view that there would not be restrictions on providing funding to school districts to cover liability insurance. She suggested that would be a good question for Legislative Legal Services. She wondered if it was necessary to amend the bill or if it was sufficient that the committee's intent to use some of the funds for that purpose. She imagined that school districts would support safety training. 9:56:16 AM MR. BULLICH commented that the 16-18 year old students were the sweet spot. He noted that once they turn 18, many rules don't apply, but it was important to have summer job opportunities for 16-18 year olds. 9:56:48 AM ED KING, Staff, Senator Roger Holland, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, directed attention to the language on page 5, line 21 of Version R, "(3) the tuition paid by the school district for each student for program participation, ..." He said this was money that could alleviate the cost of insurance and other associated costs because there are mechanisms for that funding to flow to those agencies. He referred to page 5, line 18, "(1) a description of the program, including the program curriculum;" that could definitely include safety and other training. He suggested that it would be challenging to insert that language because the language in the bill was more expansive than those types of programs. He offered his view that it was preferable to leave that latitude for the districts. 9:58:40 AM JIM ANDERSON, Chief Financial Officer, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, Alaska, spoke in support HB 132. He stated that Anchorage had been building partnerships with businesses and programs throughout the city for many years. He reported that the district had identified two dozen distinct career fields, including art design, biomedical, telecommunications, carpentry, and others. Students receive course credit for their time, effort, and acquisition of skills. ASD does not focus purely on apprentice programs but rather on providing as many career pathways as possible for students. MR. ANDERSON responded to the previous testifier who asked whether school districts could provide insurance. He pointed out that insurance for Anchorage used to be easy. However, because of assaults and violence occurring in schools in the Lower 48 in the last few years, it took until April 25 to acquire insurance rates for the current fiscal year. He offered his belief that it would be problematic for school districts to restart negotiations on insurance to include outside organizations not under the control of the district. He restated support for SB 132 and expressed hope that the forthcoming amendments would focus on students, not adults and special interest groups. 10:00:58 AM CHAIR HOLLAND closed public testimony on HB 132. 10:01:33 AM SENATOR HUGHES moved to adopt Amendment 1, work order 32- LS0476\R.1. 32-LS0476\R.1 Klein 4/13/22 AMENDMENT 1 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR HUGHES TO: SCS HB 132(EDC), Draft Version "R" Page 8, line 5: Delete "[A] parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt,  or uncle" Insert "relative [A PARENT]" Page 8, lines 6 - 7: Delete "parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or  uncle" Insert "relative [PARENT]" Page 8, lines 7 - 8: Delete "parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or  uncle" Insert "relative [PARENT]" Page 8, line 8, following "child.": Insert "In this subsection, "relative" means a  child's mother, mother-in-law, father, father-in-law,  sister, sister-in-law, brother, brother-in-law,  grandparent, aunt, or uncle." 10:01:35 AM CHAIR HOLLAND objected for purposes of discussion. 10:01:37 AM SENATOR HUGHES explained that Amendment 1 was brought to her attention by the Co-Chair of the House Education Committee. It adds clarity as to who is included in the term relative. 10:02:28 AM CHAIR HOLLAND removed his objection, he found no further objection, and Amendment 1 was adopted. 10:02:47 AM SENATOR HUGHES moved to adopt Amendment 2, work order 32- LS0476\R.5. 32-LS0476\R.5 Marx/Klein 4/19/22 AMENDMENT 2 OFFERED IN THE SENATE TO: SCS HB 132(EDC), Draft Version "R" Page 1, line 1, following "apprenticeships;": Insert "relating to school terms;" Page 1, following line 7: Insert a new bill section to read:  "* Sec. 2. AS 14.03.030 is amended to read: Sec. 14.03.030. School term. A school term begins and ends on the dates fixed by the governing body of a school district. A school term shall include not less than 180 days in session unless [, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE COMMISSIONER,] (1) a day used for in-service training of teachers is substituted for a day in session, up to a maximum of 10 days; (2) an "emergency closure day" is substituted for a day in session because of conditions posing a threat to the health or safety of students; or (3) the school board adopts a different school term that includes at least 740 hours of instruction and study periods for pupils in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade and at least 900 hours of instruction and study periods for pupils in grades four through 12 [IF THE COMMISSIONER FINDS THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS SUBMITTED AN ACCEPTABLE PLAN UNDER WHICH STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE THE APPROXIMATE EDUCATIONAL EQUIVALENT OF A 180-DAY TERM]." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. 10:02:49 AM CHAIR HOLLAND objected for discussion purposes. 10:02:50 AM SENATOR HUGHES stated her intent to withdraw Amendment 2 after it is discussed on record. She said that panels of superintendents have indicated the need to change the 180 day school term to hours because some high schools want to go to a four-day week, which works out well with sports. She stated that it might mean that classrooms might be half-full because students were out for class trips. She related her understanding that depending on the school location, it might require a long ferry ride so having a four-day school week makes sense and should be addressed. She related her understanding that the Teachers Retirement system (TRS) would need technical fixes. She suggested that it should be decided locally rather than by the department. She urged the Department of Administration to consider how this could be accomplished. She acknowledged that it might be complicated but it would be helpful to students and would give high schools that flexibility. 10:05:37 AM SENATOR HUGHES withdrew Amendment 2. 10:06:21 AM SENATOR HUGHES moved to adopt Amendment 3, work order 32- LS0476\R.3. 32-LS0476\R.3 Klein 4/19/22 AMENDMENT 3 OFFERED IN THE SENATE TO: SCS HB 132(EDC), Draft Version "R" Page 6, line 24: Delete all material. Renumber the following paragraphs accordingly. 10:06:24 AM CHAIR HOLLAND objected for purposes of discussion. 10:06:27 AM SENATOR HUGHES explained Amendment 3. She noted that a student who was 14 years old could still be in eighth grader. She related that DEED indicated that some eighth grade students take high school classes for credit. Amendment 3 would delete, "has completed eighth grade" to allow an eighth grade student who was 14 years of age and taking a high school course to participate. 10:07:13 AM CHAIR HOLLAND removed his objection; he found no further objection, and Amendment 3 was adopted. 10:07:32 AM SENATOR HUGHES moved to adopt Amendment 4, work order 32- LS0476\R.4. 32-LS0476\R.4 Klein 4/19/22 AMENDMENT 4 OFFERED IN THE SENATE TO: SCS HB 132(EDC), Draft Version "R" Page 1, line 1, following "apprenticeships;": Insert "relating to awarding course credit for  activities outside of school hours;" Page 5, line 11, following "program.": Insert "A school district shall allow a public secondary school student who is at least 14 years of age to receive course credit in career and technical education, physical education, music, or art if the student participates in an activity, including a cultural activity, outside of school hours that the school district determines meets the educational or physical activity requirements of the course. A school district may adopt standards for awarding course credit for an activity under this section." 10:07:36 AM CHAIR HOLLAND objected for purposes of discussion. 10:07:37 AM SENATOR HUGHES explained that Amendment 4 was inadvertently left out of SB 111. She said this provision seemed to fit in this bill. It would allow private classes like music to receive high school credit. For instance, if a high school student is a serious pianist and taking piano lessons for many hours a week, the student could obtain course credit. It could make it possible for the student to take another course, such as a science class. She acknowledged that it would need to be under the direction of the school district because the district would need to adopt standards to ensure the lessons met the classroom criteria. 10:08:56 AM SENATOR MICCICHE asked whether schools were already allowed to do so. SENATOR HUGHES acknowledged that districts could be doing this, but it was not in statute. 10:09:31 AM MR. KING confirmed that school districts already have the authority to issue credits this way, as well as through the career and technical education components in the bill. It's similar to the way that school districts are able to give dual credit for middle colleges. Amendment 4 would place in statute that these programs are available. He deferred further comment to Sondra Meredith. 10:10:24 AM SONDRA MEREDITH, Teacher Certification Administrator, Innovation and Education Excellence, Department of Education and Early Development, Juneau, Alaska, agreed that the department could already issue course credit for outside activities. 10:10:50 AM SENATOR HUGHES asked whether that was in regulation or some other authority. MS. MEREDITH offered her belief that the authority came from regulation; districts have local control to award credits for such activities. SENATOR MICCICHE commented that his only concern was that it was late in the session and this would require a title change, which has a higher vote threshold. He opined that the amendment was unnecessary. MR. KING conveyed that the changes that appear in the SCS already require a title change. 10:11:54 AM CHAIR HOLLAND withdrew his objection to Amendment 4; finding no further objection, Amendment 4 was adopted. CHAIR HOLLAND asked Representative Fields if he had any closing comments on the House Labor and Commerce Committee bill. 10:12:29 AM REPRESENTATIVE ZACH FIELDS, Alaska State Legislator, Juneau, Alaska, co-chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee that sponsored HB 132, stated that the bill has broad support from a variety of people, companies, and organizations. He expressed appreciation for the work the committee had done on the bill to ensure a good product. 10:13:05 AM SENATOR STEVENS asked whether any of the amendments were cause for concern. REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS answered no. CHAIR HOLLAND advised that the changes the committee made to the bill zeroed the fiscal note. He solicited the will of the committee. 10:13:30 AM SENATOR STEVENS moved to report the Senate committee substitute (SCS) for CSHB 132, work order 32-LS0476\R, as amended, from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). CHAIR HOLLAND found no objection, and SCS CSHB 132(EDC) was reported from the Senate Education Standing Committee.