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SENATE BILL NO. 8
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATORS BEGICH, Kawasaki, Gray-Jackson
Introduced: 1/22/21
Referred: Education, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to early education programs provided by school districts; relating to
2 school age eligibility; relating to funding for early education programs; establishing
3 early education programs and a voluntary parent program; relating to the duties of the
4 Department of Education and Early Development; relating to certification of teachers;
5 establishing a reading intervention program for public school students enrolled in
6 grades kindergarten through three; establishing a reading program in the Department
7 of Education and Early Development; establishing a teacher retention working group;
8 and providing for an effective date."
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
10 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
11 to read:
12 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Alaska Reads Act.
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1 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.060(e) is amended to read:
2 (e) In addition to the grades enumerated in (a) of this section, an elementary
3 school consists of an early education [A PRE-ELEMENTARY] program approved
4 or supervised by the department under AS 14.07.020(a)(8), including a program
5 operated by a head start agency [THE DEPARTMENT] as a head start program
6 under 42 U.S.C. 9831 - 9852c [AS 14.38.010, OR LOCATED IN A PUBLIC
7 SCHOOL FOR FEDERAL FUNDING PURPOSES. EXCEPT FOR A CHILD WITH
8 A DISABILITY WHO IS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION OR RELATED
9 SERVICES UNDER AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350, PRE-ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
10 MAY NOT BE COUNTED IN A SCHOOL'S AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP
11 UNDER AS 14.17].
12 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.072(a) is amended to read:
13 (a) Each school district shall annually provide to parents and guardians of
14 students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three in a public school in the state
15 current information on the importance of early reading [LITERACY], including
16 (1) culturally responsive intervention strategies and reading
17 intervention services provided under AS 14.30.765;
18 (2) home reading [LITERACY] plans;
19 (3) grade proficiency [RETENTION] standards and policies,
20 including retention, for the elementary school attended;
21 (4) strategies and resources to help children learn to read.
22 * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.078(a) is amended to read:
23 (a) The department shall provide to the legislature by February 15 of each year
24 by electronic means an annual report regarding the progress of each school and school
25 district toward high academic performance by all students. The report required under
26 this section must include
27 (1) information described under AS 14.03.120 [AS 14.03.120(d)];
28 (2) progress of the department
29 (A) toward implementing the school accountability provisions
30 of AS 14.03.123; and
31 (B) in assisting high schools to become accredited;
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1 (3) a description of the resources provided to each school and school
2 district for coordinated school improvement activities and staff training in each school
3 and school district;
4 (4) each school district's and each school's progress in aligning
5 curriculum with state education performance standards;
6 (5) a description of the efforts by the department to assist a public
7 school or district that receives a low performance designation under AS 14.03.123;
8 (6) a description of intervention efforts by each school district and
9 school for students who are not meeting state performance standards; [AND]
10 (7) the number and percentage of turnover in certificated personnel and
11 superintendents;
12 (8) the progress made to implement the reading intervention
13 programs established under AS 14.30.760 - 14.30.775, including data on how
14 school districts are using in-service days for culturally responsive professional
15 development in reading instruction; and
16 (9) the effectiveness and participation rates of the parents as
17 teachers program established under AS 14.03.420, including measures of
18 efficiency and effectiveness that demonstrate the effects of the program on school
19 readiness.
20 * Sec. 5. AS 14.03.080(d) is amended to read:
21 (d) A child who is five years of age on or before September 1 following the
22 beginning of the school year, and who is under school age, may enter a public school
23 kindergarten. A school district may waive the requirements of this subsection for a
24 child who achieves a passing score on an assessment approved by the
25 department.
26 * Sec. 6. AS 14.03.080 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
27 (g) A child who is at least four, but not more than five, years of age on or
28 before September 1 following the beginning of the school year and who has not
29 attended a public school kindergarten may enter a public school early education
30 program.
31 * Sec. 7. AS 14.03.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
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1 (h) To the extent allowable under state and federal privacy laws, each district
2 shall annually report to the department information from the previous school year
3 regarding
4 (1) the number of students and teaching staff assigned to each
5 classroom in grades kindergarten through three;
6 (2) the number and percentage of students
7 (A) in grades kindergarten through three who demonstrated
8 improvement on expected grade-level skills on the statewide screening or
9 assessment tool;
10 (B) in grades kindergarten through three who performed below
11 expected grade-level skills on the statewide screening or assessment tool, by
12 grade;
13 (C) retained in grades kindergarten through three and the
14 reasons for retention;
15 (D) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills
16 for grade progression based on the statewide screening or assessment tool;
17 (E) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills
18 for grade progression based on an alternative standardized reading screening or
19 assessment;
20 (F) in grade three who demonstrated sufficient reading skills
21 for grade progression based on a student reading portfolio;
22 (G) in grade three who progressed to grade four based on a
23 good cause exemption under AS 14.30.765(i);
24 (3) the performance on the statewide screening or assessment tool of
25 students in a grade above grade three who were retained in grade three under
26 AS 14.30.765(g) or who progressed to grade four based on a good cause exemption
27 under AS 14.30.765(i).
28 * Sec. 8. AS 14.03 is amended by adding new sections to read:
29 Article 4. Early Education.
30 Sec. 14.03.410. Early education programs; grants. (a) The department shall
31 (1) provide training and assistance to develop and improve district-
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1 wide early education programs that comply with standards adopted by the board under
2 AS 14.07.165(a)(5); and
3 (2) approve district-wide early education programs that comply with
4 the standards adopted by the board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5), subject to the
5 limitations in (d) of this section.
6 (b) The department may award a grant to provide funding for a three-year
7 period for the development or improvement of a district-wide early education program
8 to a district that applies in a format prescribed by the department and that
9 (1) is eligible for a grant during the first fiscal year of the grant period
10 as specified under (c) of this section; or
11 (2) was eligible for a grant in a previous fiscal year under (c) of this
12 section, but did not receive a grant under this section in that fiscal year.
13 (c) The department shall rank the performance of all districts in the state in
14 accordance with the accountability system and performance designations required
15 under AS 14.03.123. The department shall divide all districts into six groups based on
16 performance ranking. Each group of districts is eligible for a grant in the following
17 fiscal years:
18 (1) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021, the lowest performing 10
19 percent of districts;
20 (2) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, the second lowest
21 performing 15 percent of districts;
22 (3) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, the third lowest
23 performing 15 percent of districts;
24 (4) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, the third highest
25 performing 20 percent of districts;
26 (5) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, the second highest
27 performing 20 percent of districts;
28 (6) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, the highest performing
29 20 percent of districts.
30 (d) The department may assess at any time a district's early education program
31 and approve the program if the program complies with the standards adopted by the
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1 board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5). The number of district-wide early education
2 programs that the department approves in a fiscal year may not result in a calculation
3 of state aid under AS 14.17.410(b) for all districts that exceeds the amount calculated
4 for the previous fiscal year by more than $5,000,000. If the number of programs
5 eligible in a fiscal year exceeds the number of programs that the department may
6 approve under this subsection, the department shall prioritize the approval of programs
7 based on the department's ranking of districts under (c) of this section.
8 (e) If the department does not approve the early education program of a
9 district awarded a grant under (c) of this section by the end of the district's three-year
10 grant period, the department may provide a one-year remediation grant to allow the
11 district one additional fiscal year to meet the early education program standards
12 adopted by the board under AS 14.07.165(a)(5). If the district is unable to meet the
13 early education program standards at the end of that fiscal year, the department may,
14 in the discretion of the commissioner, provide an additional remediation grant to allow
15 the district not more than one additional fiscal year to meet the standards. Nothing in
16 this section prohibits a district from using its own funds to continue the remediation
17 process.
18 (f) A student in an early education program may not be counted in a district's
19 ADM under AS 14.17.500 or 14.17.905 unless the department has approved the
20 program under (a)(2) of this section.
21 (g) A grant under this section is subject to appropriation, but may not supplant
22 other early education funding available to districts.
23 (h) In this section,
24 (1) "ADM" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990;
25 (2) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990;
26 (3) "early education program" means a program
27 (A) for children who are four and five years of age and who
28 have not attended a public school kindergarten; and
29 (B) the primary function of which is educational.
30 Sec. 14.03.420. Parents as teachers program. (a) The department shall
31 design and implement a statewide parents as teachers program for the benefit of
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1 children who are under five years of age. The program must provide a system of early
2 childhood education that
3 (1) is evidence-based;
4 (2) involves parents;
5 (3) is consistent with available research and best practices for high
6 quality early childhood education;
7 (4) incorporates guidelines adopted by the department for early
8 learning that
9 (A) enhance school readiness;
10 (B) increase parent understanding of child development and
11 developmental milestones;
12 (C) reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect;
13 (D) increase identification of health problems and
14 developmental delays through regular screenings;
15 (E) improve child health indicators, including immunization
16 rates; and
17 (F) increase parental involvement; and
18 (5) provides for effective and efficient coordination with or expansion
19 of early education programs operating in the state, to the extent permitted by law.
20 (b) A school district shall, to the extent space is needed and available, provide
21 for the use of a room in a school at no charge to support the program established under
22 this section.
23 (c) The department shall develop and enter into local partnerships to
24 implement the program established under this section.
25 * Sec. 9. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read:
26 (a) The department shall
27 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state
28 except the University of Alaska;
29 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state,
30 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school
31 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement
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1 of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to
2 develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college
3 preparatory courses;
4 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school
5 governing bodies and personnel;
6 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public
7 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is
8 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language;
9 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Soc