SB 56-AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY  3:32:22 PM CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 56 "An Act relating to the Alaska performance scholarship program." CHAIR TOBIN stated there is a committee substitute for SB 56. 3:32:34 PM CHAIR TOBIN solicited a motion. 3:32:36 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for SB 56, work order 33-LS0350\B, as the working document. 3:32:48 PM CHAIR TOBIN objected for purposes of discussion. 3:33:08 PM SENATOR FORREST DUNBAR, District J, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SB 56, stated that the House made substantial changes to HB 31, the companion bill to SB 56. Therefore, he would present the underlying bill and the changes the House made that he agrees with. SENATOR DUNBAR stated that the Alaska Performance Scholarship has been a key tool for keeping young, talented Alaskans living in the state. According to an analysis by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE), APS influenced 68 percent of eligible students to attend school in the state. Two years after graduation, 94 percent of APS recipients stayed in Alaska, compared to 82 percent of non-recipients. Eight years after graduation, 70 percent of APS recipients remained in the state, compared to 63 percent of non-recipients. SENATOR DUNBAR said SB 56 speaks directly to the problem of working-age population decline in Alaska. Recent years have shown a sharp decline in eligibility uptake of the scholarship. A study by the McDowell Group identified barriers such as logistical difficulty in taking college entrance exams in rural areas, a lack of awareness of the program, and delayed notification of the award to students. SB 56 addresses these concerns and implements recommendations from ACPE. He said the intended outcomes of SB 56 are to have more students using APS to attend Alaskan schools and remain living in the state. SB 56 would: Increase the award amount to keep it up to date with inflation. Allow a student's GPA or the score of a college entrance exam to qualify, instead of requiring both. Expand eligibility to include Career and Technology Education (CTE) courses. Extend the time to use the scholarship from six to eight years after graduation. Establish an earlier eligibility notification deadline so students have more time to choose Alaska's schools. SENATOR DUNBAR shared an anecdotal story illustrating how earlier notification of the award would make it possible for students to know they had received it before accepting offers from out-of-state colleges. He stated that APS funding would continue to come from the Alaska Higher Education Investment Fund, not the Undesignated General Fund (UGF). APS recipients are required to complete a rigorous high school curriculum, attain a certain grade point average, and receive a minimum test score on a qualifying exam. He opined that APS offers students a reason to excel and ensures they are prepared for postsecondary education. Once enrolled in a higher education program, students must continue meeting eligibility requirements, further incentivizing them to succeed in coursework. 3:36:25 PM ALLIANA SALANGUIT, Staff, Senator Dunbar, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau Alaska, provided the following sectional analysis for SB 56: [Original punctuation provided.] SECTIONAL ANALYSIS  SB 56: AK PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIP; ELIGIBILITY  Version B  Updated 4.24.2023 Section 1: Amends AS 14.43.820(a)(2) Alaska performance scholarship program; eligibility, by allowing a student to qualify for the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) 18 months prior to graduating from an Alaska state high school instead of 6 months. Amends AS 14.43.820(a) to allow Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses to count towards APS eligibility in three ways: • AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(A): Replace one year of social studies with one year of CTE coursework (within Math & Science Track) • AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(B)(ii): Replace two years of world language with two years of CTE coursework, one year of which is sequentially more rigorous, within a career cluster. • AS 14.43.820 (a)(3)(C): Replace one year of social studies with one year of CTE coursework (within Social Studies & Language Track) Deletes AS 14.43.820 (a)(5), removing the college entrance exam requirement from the Alaska Performance Scholarship. Additional language in Section 4 allows for a GPA or a college entrance examination to qualify instead of requiring both. Section 2: Adds language to AS 14.43.820(g) defining "career cluster" as a group of jobs and industries that are related by skills or products and renumbering the subsection accordingly. Section 3: Adds the following new subsections to AS 14.43.820: • AS 14.43.820 (h) requiring districts to inform students in 9th or 10th grade about the Alaska Performance Scholarship. • AS 14.43.820 (i)(j)(k) requiring students be notified of their APS eligibility progress by December 31st of their junior year. Award recipients must be notified of their award and level by August 15th of each year. Any communications with students regarding the APS must include information about the ability to increase the scholarship amount outlined in AS 14.43.825(g)- (i). • AS 14.43.820 (l)(m) establishing that an applicant must be enrolled in any remaining course requirements, must have a qualifying GPA, and once graduating from high school, be enrolled in a qualifying postsecondary institution to receive the award. The applicant's GPA upon graduation will be used to conclude the final award amount. The award would be revoked if requirements were ultimately not met. Section 4: Amends AS 14.43.25(a) by increasing all award levels and allowing for a GPA or minimum score on a college entrance examination to qualify. The qualifying GPA or minimum score and new award level are as follows: • Level 1: 3.5 GPA or above or a very high minimum score, $7,000 (increased from $4,755) • Level 2: 3.0 GPA or above or a high minimum score, $5,250 (increased from $3,566) • Level 3: 2.5 GPA or above or a moderately high score, $3,500 (increased from $2,378) Section 5: Amends AS 14.43.25(b) by increasing the number of years a student can use the scholarship after graduating high school from six to eight years. Section 6: Adds a new subsection to AS 14.43.825 requiring postsecondary institutions to review award recipients' grade point averages each time they complete two semesters. If a recipient's postsecondary institution grade point average qualifies for a higher level award as outlined in AS 14.43.25(a), their award amount will be adjusted accordingly 3:41:16 PM CHAIR TOBIN asked whether any schools in Alaska do not use grade point average (GPA) to measure student achievement. SENATOR DUNBAR responded that he was unsure and suggested that someone from the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education or the University of Alaska System might answer the question. CHAIR TOBIN said Section 6 might need flexibility to provide for schools that may use a different grading scale. 3:41:57 PM CHAIR TOBIN removed her objection; finding no further objection the CS for SB 56, work order 33-LS0350\B, was adopted. CHAIR TOBIN announced the committee would hear invited testimony. 3:42:37 PM SANA EFIRD, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, Juneau, Alaska, expressed her belief that certain homeschool programs in Alaska may not employ GPA tracking for student achievement. Nevertheless, the department has established a method to convert homeschool students' achievements into a format that complies with APS regulations when a GPA is not available. MS. EFIRD said the mission of ACPE is to provide access and success for Alaskan students and adults in their postsecondary endeavors. APS plays a significant role in providing students with financial access to post-secondary programs. In 2011, the legislature enacted APS. Since its inception, almost 12,000 students have received $100 million in scholarships. The legislature enacted the program to inspire and prepare high school students for success. The four primary objectives of APS when enacted were: Incentivize Alaskan students to excel in high school. Prepare Alaskan students for college and career training. Help Alaskan students succeed and complete postsecondary programs. Keep high achieving Alaskan graduates in Alaska's workforce. MS. EFIRD said ACPE, by statute, must provide the legislature with an outcomes report. The report for 2022 contains a summary showing APS is delivering on its objectives and goals: The APS offers an incentive for Alaska students to excel in high school. Over 70 percent of students that take the APS curriculum and meet eligibility receive better grades, 60 percent take challenging courses, and 57 percent seek academic advising, a key factor for success in post- secondary education. The APS curriculum prepares students for college and career training. Only 5 percent of APS recipients require developmental coursework as they enter postsecondary education programs, compared to over 30 percent of non- recipients. The APS helps students persist and complete college. APS students succeed at higher rates than non-recipients at the University of Alaska. The APS retains skilled Alaskans in Alaska. APS recipients have higher Alaska residency rates than non-residency rates, and after several years, they continue to remain in Alaska at higher rates. 3:47:45 PM MS. EFIRD stated that through surveys and data ACPE could show that APS delivers on its objectives. However, there has been a decline in usage of APS since 2016. Therefore, in 2020 ACPE commissioned McKinely Research Group (formerly known as McDowell) to perform an evaluation and review of the scholarship program. The ten-year lookback made several recommendations to improve the usage of the program. At 17 percent, the Class of 2022 has the lowest number of students eligible for the award and use of the award. Therefore, ACPE has been working with legislators to enact recommendations made in the review report to expand eligibility to a wider range of students. SB 56 includes recommendations from the McKinley report to open APS to more students. 3:50:32 PM SARA PERMAN, State Government Relations Manager, University of Alaska System, Anchorage, Alaska, said the university supports the Alaska Performance Scholarship created in 2011 with the intention of combating "brain drain," from the state. The Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education implemented the scholarship program and Alaska experienced an increase in the number of students that utilized the scholarship, went to postsecondary education schools in Alaska, and joined Alaska's workforce. Approximately 80 percent of University of Alaska graduates join Alaska's workforce. While the University approves of all measures in SB 56, it is particularly supportive of earlier award notice, as it allows students to know of the award before their senior year begins, giving them time to assess the offer against other offers. It also supports the removal of the standardized testing requirement that disproportionately affects students from rural Alaska. In 2021 when schools temporarily lifted the requirement, eligibility increased from 23 percent in 2019 to 37 percent in 2021. The university also favors allowing career and technology credit use of the scholarship, which expands eligibility. Adjusting the award amount to account for inflation also makes postsecondary education more accessible for students. 3:53:50 PM CHAIR TOBIN held SB 56 in committee.