ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 2, 2024
8:00 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jamie Allard, Co-Chair
Representative Justin Ruffridge, Co-Chair
Representative Mike Prax
Representative CJ McCormick
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
Representative Andi Story
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Dan Ortiz
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 13
"An Act relating to costs of and charges for textbooks and other
course materials required for University of Alaska courses; and
providing for an effective date."
- HEARD & HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 13
SHORT TITLE: UNIVERSITY: TEXTBOOKS/MATERIALS COST
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MYERS
01/18/23 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/9/23
01/18/23 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/23 (S) EDC
03/13/23 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/13/23 (S) Heard & Held
03/13/23 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/20/23 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/20/23 (S) Moved SB 13 Out of Committee
03/20/23 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/22/23 (S) EDC RPT 4DP
03/22/23 (S) DP: TOBIN, GRAY-JACKSON, STEVENS, KIEHL
05/05/23 (S) TRANSMITTED TO (H)
05/05/23 (S) VERSION: SB 13
05/08/23 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
05/08/23 (H) EDC
02/02/24 (H) EDC AT 8:00 AM DAVIS 106
WITNESS REGISTER
DEENA BISHOP, Commissioner
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented a PowerPoint, titled
"Education Financial Deep Dive."
KAREN MORRISON, Director
School Finance and Support Services
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented a PowerPoint, titled
"Education Financial Deep Dive."
SENATOR ROBERT MYERS
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As prime sponsor, presented SB 13.
DAWSON MANN, Staff
Senator Robert Myers
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave the sectional analysis for SB 13, on
behalf of Senator Myers, prime sponsor.
SARA PERMAN, State Relations Manager
Office of Government Relations
University of Alaska System
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on SB
13.
BENJAMIN SHIER, Chief Information Technology Officer
University of Alaska System
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions during the hearing on SB
13.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:00:01 AM
CO-CHAIR JAMIE ALLARD called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Representatives Prax,
McKay, Himschoot, and Allard were present at the call to order.
Representatives McCormick, Story, and Ruffridge arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
The committee took an at-ease from 8:00 a.m. to 8:02 a.m.
^PRESENTATION(S): Department of Education and Early Development
PRESENTATION(S): Department of Education and Early Development
8:02:28 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD announced that the first order of business would
be the presentation, titled "Education Financial Deep Dive."
8:03:57 AM
DEENA BISHOP, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early
Development (DEED), began a PowerPoint presentation, [hardcopy
included in the committee packet], titled "Education Financial
Deep Dive." She noted that the request was made to review all
accounts. She began on slide 2, titled "Mission, Vision and
Purpose," and focused on "Vision," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
"All students will succeed in their education and
work, shape worthwhile and satisfying lives for
themselves, exemplify the best values of society, and
be effective in improving the character and quality of
the world about them Alaska Statute 14.03.015."
8:05:28 AM
COMMISSIONER BISHOP moved to slide 3, titled "Alaska's Education
Challenge," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Five Shared Strategic Priorities:
1. Support all students to read at grade level by the
end of third grade.
2. Increase career, technical, and culturally relevant
education to meet student and workforce needs.
3. Close the achievement gap by ensuring equitable
educational rigor and resources.
4. Prepare, attract, and retain effective education
professionals.
5. Improve the safety and well-being of students
through school partnerships with families,
communities, and tribes.
8:06:04 AM
COMMISSIONER BISHOP moved to slide 4, titled "Agenda," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Funding Sources to School Districts
• Federal Grant Awards
• State Grant Awards
• State Aid to Schools
• Local Aid to Schools
• FY2024 Budget Unreserved Fund Balance
COMMISSIONER BISHOP welcomed questions during the presentation
and added there are three pieces of backup information for
research purposes, and that the information is as detailed as
possible as was requested by Co-Chair Allard.
8:07:37 AM
KAREN MORRISON, Director, School Finance and Support Services,
Department of Education and Early Development, continued the
PowerPoint presentation. She pointed out that enclosure 1 is a
spreadsheet, and she moved to slide 5, titled "FY2024 Projected
K-12 School District Revenue Sources $2,696,944.3." She
explained that the amount is a projected combined total. She
said that 50 percent comes from state grant and state aid, 30
percent comes from budgeted local funding sources, and 13
percent is received through federal grant funds.
8:09:22 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked which districts receive private grants.
MS. MORRISON replied that that topic would be addressed further
down in the slides. She continued to slide 6, titled "Federal
Grant Awards to K-12 School Districts," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
• Title I, Part A Improving Basic Programs Operated by
Local Educational Agencies** $68,848.5 awards to 51
districts
Title I, Part C Education of Migratory Children
$28,875.5 to 41 districts
• Title 1 (Improving Education for the Disadvantaged &
Struggling Students (Competitive) $458.9 to 4
districts
• Title I, Part D Prevention and Intervention Programs
for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent,
or At Risk $596.3 to 6 districts
• Title II, Part A Preparing, Training and Recruiting
High-Quality Teachers, Principals, and Other School
Leaders** $14,275.6 to 53 districts
**Federal grant program which allows carryforward of
unused awards.
8:11:43 AM
MS. MORRISON moved to slide 7, titled "Federal Grant Awards to
K-12 School Districts," which she stated was a continuation of
the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Continued)
• Title III, Part A Language Instruction for English
Learners and Immigrant Students** $2,104.0 to 13
districts
• Title IV, Part A Student Support and Academic
Enrichment (SSAE) $9,858.0 to 49 districts
• Title IV, Part B 21st Century Community Learning
Centers** $5,882.1 to 8 districts
• School Improvement 1003a $4,512.0 to 31 districts
• McKinney-Vento Homeless** $357.6 to 22 districts
• Migrant Literacy $310.6 to 36 districts
**Federal grant program which allows carryforward of
unused awards.
8:12:49 AM
MS. MORRISON moved to slide 8, titled "Federal Grant Awards to
K-12 School Districts," featuring Individuals with Disabilities
Education (IDEA), which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Individual with Disabilities Education (IDEA)
• Title VIB** $53,868.7 to 54 districts
• Disabled 619, Preschool** $1,531.7 to 53 districts
• Special Education Discretionary $544.0 to 4
districts
• Disabled 619 Discretionary $60.0 to 2 districts
Other Federal Grants
• Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE)
$4,758.3 to 43 districts
• Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD)
$15,081.7 to 28 districts
• Alaska Trauma Recovery in Schools (TRIS) $80.5 to 1
district
**Federal grant program which allows carryforward of
unused awards.
8:13:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY sought confirmation that the federal grants
are awarded to the districts to help supplement programs and the
intent is to meet children's needs.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP confirmed that was correct.
8:14:48 AM
MS. MORRISON proceeded to slide 9, titled "Federal Grant Awards
to K-12 School Districts," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Other Federal Grants Continued
• Project Aware (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in
Education) $1,420.7 to 3 districts
• Stronger Connections $4,325.7 to 9 districts
• Child Nutrition Programs- Actual Disbursement
through October 2023 $27,580.7 to 46 participating
districts
• Institute of Museum and Library Services $2.5 to 2
districts
• National Endowment for the Arts $6.5 to 1 district
8:17:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY brought up child nutrition programs and
asked whether the federal government had increased their
contributions.
MS. MORRISON said she would get back to Representative Story
with an answer at a later date.
8:18:41 AM
MS. MORRISON moved to slide 10, titled "Federal Grant Awards to
K-12 School Districts," which focused on expired COVID-19 grant
awards. She summarized the slide, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
COVID-19 Grant Awards that Expired 9/30/2023
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Fund CRRSA Act $1,259.7 to 12 districts Expired
9/30/2023
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Fund CRRSA Act Reserve $296.8 to 13 districts
Expired 9/30/2023
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Fund American Rescue Plan - Individual with
Disabilities Education Act $3,142.3 to 15 districts
Expired 9/30/2023
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Fund American Rescue Plan - Individual with
Disabilities Education Act Preschool $280.3 to 9
districts Expired 9/30/2023
8:20:09 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked if there were any funds left over.
MS. MORRISON replied that she would follow up. She proceeded to
slide 11, titled "Federal Grant Awards to K-12 School
Districts," which focused on current COVID-19 Grant Awards, and
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Current COVID-19 Grant Awards
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Fund American Rescue Plan $109,670.2 to 43 districts
• American Rescue Plan - Homeless $193.4 to 5
districts
• American Rescue Plan - Homeless II $781.5 to 14
districts
• American Rescue Plan - After School (Competitive)
$444.3 to 2 districts
• American Rescue Plan - Summer Program (Competitive)
$1,732.4 to 8 districts
8:21:29 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked whether there were any improvements in the
education system with all the additional funds.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied that the department can provide
those data in the spring.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked whether the reading data would come
through with the Alaska Reads Act
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied yes.
8:22:10 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE brought up the subject of improvement and
whether there was any data that would be available before this
spring.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied the department has mid-year data
from early learning assessments, which she related would be on
DEED's website shortly.
8:23:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked what funds helped buy computers.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP said the funds were directed to districts
and they determine their programming. She added it is
determined at the local level, not the state level.
8:24:31 AM
MS. MORRISON continued on slide 12, titled "Private Grant Awards
to K-12 School Districts," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
• Alaska State Council on the Arts Private Grant,
Rasmussen Foundation $3.2 to 1 district
• Alaska State Council on the Arts Private Grant,
Margaret A Cargill Foundation Private Grant, MACF
$69.8 to 11 districts
MR MORRISON proceeded to slide 13, titled "Additional State
Funded Grants to School Districts," featuring six different
grant awards, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
• Alaska State Council of the Arts (General Fund
Match) $18.5 to 9 districts
• Pre- K Grants $3,017.1 to 9 districts
• Alaska Reads Act $2,999.9 to 7 districts
• Youth In Detention $1,100.0 to 6 districts
• Alternative Schools $302.9 to 9 districts
• Career and Technical Education CTE Programs of Study
(CTEPS) Grants $925.0 to 13 districts 13
$ in thousands
8:26:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY drew attention to the third point regarding
the Alaska Reads Act, she asked whether the amount was the Pre-K
money and to what districts.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP offered her belief it was in regard to a
competitive grant.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY sought clarity that it is not the districts
that were rated as needing the most help in reading.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied no, they were specifically grants
that districts applied for to do special programs.
8:27:23 AM
MS. MORRISON continued on slide 14, titled "State Funded Grants
to School Districts," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
• Suicide Prevention $235.8 to 8 districts
• Broadband Access Grant $6,221.7 to 25 districts
• Residential Schools projected $9,190.2 to 7
districts
$ in thousands
8:28:09 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked whether there was an increase in funds for
the suicide prevention grant during the pandemic.
MS. MORRISON replied that she would provide the answer at a
later date.
8:28:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK asked whether the department has been
"behind it all" in paying out state-funded grants and, if so,
whether there is anything the body can do to help ensure those
payments are made timely.
MS. MORRISON replied that she is not on the grant side of the
house, but she would follow up and provide the answer at a later
date.
8:29:19 AM
MS. MORRISON moved to slide 15, titled "K-12 State Aid to School
Districts Based on Fall 2023 OASIS Data," that featured five
appropriations, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
• Pupil Transportation $70,840.0 to 46 districts *
• Quality Schools $4,127.1*
• Dividend Raffle $499.7*
Onetime Funding $87,443.0
• Base Student Allocation / Foundation Award
$1,150,514.5*
*Preliminary numbers; 30-day district comment period
ends February 3, 2024
$ in thousands
8:30:54 AM
MS. MORRISON moved to slide 16, titled "FY2024 Local Revenues in
School Districts' Budgets." She said the following are budgeted
numbers, not awards, submitted to DEED. The slide read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• City/Borough Appropriation $530,070.4 to 32
districts
• In-Kind Services $20,292.2 to 14 districts
• Earnings on Investments $5,949.7 to 39 districts
• Other Local Revenue $9,403.1 to 47 districts
• Tuition from Students $235.0 to 3 districts
• Tuition from Districts $530.0 to 2 districts
$ in thousands
8:32:22 AM
MS. MORRISON concluded on slide 17, titled "FY2024 Local
Revenues in School Districts' Budgets," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
• E-Rate Funding $95,493.0 to 53 districts
• Federal Revenue $129,143.8 to 44 districts
• Transfers In $5,139.4 to 8 districts
• FY2024 Budgeted Unreserved Fund Balance $200,037.7
in 44 districts
$ in thousands
8:33:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed curiosity regarding how the
unreserved fund balance is sorted.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP responded that the money is utilized to
provide programs. She added it is the districts' budgeted money
they are taking from their savings to create a balanced budget.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether it is fair to say that the
unreserved fund balance has nothing to do with the earnings on
investments.
MS. MORRISON confirmed that is correct.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether there is a way to identify how
much the total investments are by district.
MS. MORRISON said the requirement for the budget submittal is to
report earnings on investment, but DEED does not have
information on what the sources of the earnings are.
8:36:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked Commissioner Bishop how she used
the COVID-19 funds when she was a superintendent in Anchorage
COMMISSIONER BISHOP shared a general sense of how the funds were
utilized, which included additional staffing, personal
protective equipment (PPE), computers, full scale summer
schools, and at times, food services.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked what Commissioner Bishop kept in
the fund balance.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD reminded the committee that Commissioner Bishop
is "our commissioner," and opined that her speaking of her time
as a superintendent may not be relevant to this meeting.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP confirmed she would just speak to the city
ordinances and board policy. She said board policy in the
Anchorage School District (ASD) is to have an 8 percent
unreserved balance.
8:39:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT referred to the 10 percent fund balance
that was suspended through 2025 and asked how many districts are
in excess of the 10 percent.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP said the department provided a fund balance
report last December and will have another in February. She
added that the balance now can go over 10 percent. She said
DEED does not collect monthly fund balance reports, they are
collected at the local level.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked about the general purpose of
federal funding.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied that there was a report in the 1960s
that demonstrated that students have learning levels that many
times depend on where the students start, as some kids show
growth in school but some start at different levels. The
federal government then tried to provide funds to states to
equalize the resources for students, she said.
8:42:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked for an example of a district
making an investment.
MS. MORRISON said it could be a savings account earning interest
or certificate of deposit (CD). She added it could be money
that is not needed at that very moment.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked for confirmation that if federal
money came in, and a district put it into a six-month CD, 5the
district could increase the amount it received, and then in six
months it would have that much more.
MS. MORRISON replied that is not correct. Grants are based on a
reimbursement system so "you" must have the actual expenditures.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP added that aside from federal grant funds,
other funds could be invested.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT brought up the Alaska Reads Act grant
and opportunity funds. She asked if all seven districts took
advantage of that.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP said they can provide information on the
districts that receive a preschool grant outside the Act.
8:46:18 AM
MS. MORRISON added that it is all on the spreadsheet [included
in the committee packet].
8:46:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX sought more information on the reserve funds
and the earnings on investment.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP said many of the funds could have been from
local contribution and the state foundation formula.
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX suggested to "dig into this more" and he
noted that at least half comes out of the state budget. He
opined there may be a more financially efficient way to meet the
need.
8:49:47 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE referred to the spreadsheet under the column
labeled "budget unrestricted fund balance" on line 3 and sought
more understanding of the line item.
8:51:33 AM
MS. MORRISON clarified that fund balance is a measure of equity
between revenues and expenditures and not necessarily related to
a savings account. It is past funds that created this balance.
8:55:11 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE expressed his confusion of fund balances
being a mixture of dollars which, over time, may have
accumulated but are now needed to balance the budget. He asked
for help to "put those things together."
MS. MORRISON acknowledged that school finance is complicated.
She clarified that they are only talking about the operating
budget. She gave a brief explanation of how the ending fund
balance is calculated.
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE offered an example of the ASD budget of
unreserved funds. He asked whether it was a correct statement
that ASD utilized "ninety some" million dollars of its
unreserved funds in its 2024 budget to create a balanced budget.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP clarified that districts pool their fund
balance, but ASD did not use $98 million to make its budget.
8:59:26 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE asked for clarity that the $200 million is
just money that is unreserved and not being used.
MS. MORRISON said DEED could provide the beginning fund balances
and the ending per the budgets to give a perspective.
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE said he did not see the number referenced
regarding a starting balance on his spreadsheet.
MS. MORRISON said it may be helpful to have a comparison for the
actual balance at the end of fiscal year 2023 (FY 23) that comes
from the audited financials. She noted these would be
projections.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP added that the budget is a plan to utilize
funds, so those audited numbers would reflect what was actually
utilized.
9:03:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCKAY requested to see a new pencil chart of the
last 10 years that would show the total amount of money that
went to education from all five sources and divide it by the
average daily membership (ADM) for each of those years.
9:05:23 AM
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE expressed that he is still trying to
understand the unreserved fund balance and focused on Kenai for
an example on the spreadsheet.
MS. MORRISON replied that the 172.5 million is a total of every
column in the spreadsheet and the unreserved fund balance is
included.
CO-CHAIR RUFFRIDGE said he could do the quick math, but still
tried to come to grips with what was being budgeted.
9:09:19 AM
MS. MORRISON stated that without having the ending fund balance
numbers, she could not give a solid answer.
9:10:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK remarked that there is a lot of
specific information on what districts are paying for, and he
sought more specifics on expenditures down to the items.
9:11:48 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD asked how much each student in the ASD gets
according to the numbers on the spreadsheet.
COMMISSIONER BISHOP replied she does not have the number, but it
could be provided at a later date.
9:13:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY commented that Juneau would be happy to
talk about the budget.
9:14:18 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 9:14 a.m. to 9:17 a.m.
SB 13-UNIVERSITY: TEXTBOOKS/MATERIALS COST
9:17:06 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD announced that the final order of business would
be SENATE BILL NO. 13, "An Act relating to costs of and charges
for textbooks and other course materials required for University
of Alaska courses; and providing for an effective date."
9:17:23 AM
SENATOR ROBERT MYERS, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented SB 13. He proceeded with the sponsor
statement [included in the committee packet], which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
For decades a major roadblock to the acquisition of
higher education in this country has been costs.
Students in Alaska and throughout the United States
have often found themselves in difficult situations
attempting to balance the various costs of higher
education such as tuition, room and board, and course
materials. For many students the cost of material can
be a deciding factor in the decision to take a course
due to the sometimes-exorbitant prices of required
course materials. Students often find themselves as
consumers subject to a captive market that has
experienced a colossal growth in price over the last
several decades. The costly and unique nature of the
textbook and course material market has led to many
students being forced to "shop around" and attempt to
engage the market as informed consumers.
The Textbook Cost Transparency Act provides students
with vital information about their textbook and course
materials while they are registering for classes,
allowing them to make informed choices and financially
plan. The goal of this legislation is to provide
students with as much information regarding cost as
early as possible in the registration process with
clearly defined definitions integrated into the
University of Alaska's shared online course catalog
(UAOnline). By allowing students to see which classes
come at "zero-cost" or "low-cost" they will be able to
make more informed financial decisions more easily.
While faculty will remain the paramount deciders of
class materials, we believe that by providing students
with this information we will be building towards a
more equitable and cost-effective University System
for students at the class level.
9:19:44 AM
DAWSON MANN, Staff, Senator Robert Myers, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Senator Myers, prime sponsor, gave the
sectional analysis for SB 13, which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Section 1: Page 1, Lines 4-6
This section establishes that this act may be known as
the "Textbook Cost Transparency Act".
Section 2: Page 1, Lines 7-14, Page 2, Lines 1-16
This section outlines the information that the
University of Alaska must provide in the University
systems online course schedule relating to class
materials and automatic fees required for the
materials. This section provides statute definitions
for "course materials", "online course schedule",
"zero-cost resources", and "low-cost resources". This
section also directs that the universities online
course schedule must include search functions to
identify courses with only zero-cost or low-cost
materials required.
Section 3: Page 2, Line 17
This section establishes an effective date for the
bill of July 1st, 2026.
MR. MANN offered his appreciation to the representatives from
the University of Alaska (UA) for building the student
information system modernization project from the ground up and
having this legislation in mind.
9:21:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked how the bill related to
Representative Carrick's bill.
SENATOR MYERS said the bill is word for word what Representative
Carrick introduced on the House side.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT referred to the changes to the online
system and asked whether UA would absorb those costs.
SENATOR MYERS replied that UA is putting in new computer systems
from the ground up, and it would be easier and cheaper to put
something in as it is building the system.
9:23:16 AM
SARA PERMAN, State Relations Manager, Office of Government
Relations, University of Alaska System, stated that UA did not
put a fiscal note forward because in 2022, the legislature
appropriated $20 million for student information systems
upgrades. She added that UA took a previous platform and
extended it through 2023, and recently began implementing the
funding.
9:24:54 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX opined there is no reason not to pass SB13.
In terms of managing textbook costs, he questioned what would be
accomplished.
MS. PERMAN said SB 13 did not specify decreasing costs; however,
both this bill and another Act from 2008 require cost
transparency.
9:26:32 AM
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK asked for a ballpark figure on the flat
fee.
MS. PERMAN deferred to [Mr. Shier].
9:27:08 AM
BENJAMIN SHIER, Chief Information Technology Officer, University
of Alaska System, said the number is around $230, which is a
partnership with Barnes and Noble.
9:27:46 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD opened public testimony on SB 13. After
ascertaining no one wished to testify, she closed public
testimony.
9:28:10 AM
SENATOR MYERS noted that in the bill packet there are letters of
support.
9:28:43 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD set an amendment deadline for SB 13.
[SB 13 was held over.]
9:29:13 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:29 a.m.