This bill amends Alaska's education laws to improve reporting and support for school districts and teachers. It mandates the Department of Education and Early Development to produce an annual report for the legislature and school districts, which will include new data on teacher working conditions, housing availability, and aggregated information from teacher exit interviews. School districts are also required to incorporate insights from these exit interviews into their annual reports. Additionally, the bill assigns new responsibilities to the Department, such as providing financial planning and retirement training for teachers and paraprofessionals, and supporting mentoring programs for school leaders. A new requirement is established for school districts to hire an independent third party to conduct exit interviews for departing teachers, and eligibility criteria for teacher certification are expanded to include degrees from recognized international accrediting associations.

In terms of retirement laws, the bill specifies that teachers who become members on or after July 1, 2006, and are not part of the defined benefit retirement plan will participate in the defined contribution retirement plan. It also introduces provisions for retention and recruitment incentives in the form of lump sum payments for teachers and paraprofessionals, based on their employment status in the previous school year, with higher amounts for those in remote areas. A transition provision allows certain teachers to transfer contributions between retirement plans within 180 days of the bill's effective date, providing them with more flexibility. The bill also clarifies definitions related to rural communities and conditions of employment regarding retirement plan participation, with staggered effective dates for its various sections.

Statutes affected:
HB0231A, AM HB 231, introduced 05/19/2025: 14.03.078, 14.03.120, 14.03.123, 14.20.183, 14.30.760, 14.30.780, 14.03.420, 14.07.020, 14.03.125, 47.12.990, 14.07.165, 14.33.120, 14.07.030, 14.30.765, 14.30.770, 14.03.410, 14.30.800, 14.20.020, 14.25.009, 14.25.220, 39.35.095, 39.35.680, 14.25.540, 14.25.310, 14.25.590, 14.25.330, 14.43.700, 14.43.600, 39.35.120, 14.40.661, 14.40.799, 39.35.700, 39.35.990, 39.35.381, 39.25.200, 39.35.131, 39.35.158, 24.10.060, 39.30.150