On Saturday our students need you to testify to save our public schools.

The House Rules Committee is taking public testimony Saturday on a new version of Senate Bill 140.

This Saturday, the House Rules Committee is taking public testimony on their revisions to education legislation that passed the State Senate last year. Keep reading to learn more about the changes, what their impact might be, and how you can help make the bill better.

Public Testimony for the House Rules Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 140 will start at 10:00 am on Saturday.

• In-person testifiers will be selected first and then those calling-in.

• Please sign up by noon on Satuday to testify.

• Email your legislators today and share your thoughts

Here is what is included in the House Rules Committee version of Senate Bill 140.

Normally, as substantive policy bills move through the legislative process they are seen by multiple eyes and examined from multiple perspectives. That way issues, blind spots, and concerns rise to the surface and are properly examined. Legislative scrutiny and robust public input are critical in developing good public policy. Unfortunately, there is only one scheduled opportunity to provide public testimony on the new version of SB 140. If you care about public schools, students, and teachers, your voice is needed now more than ever.

If you haven’t read the current version of Senate Bill 140, you are not alone. The bill was adopted Wednesday afternoon after a very brief overview of the multiple changes and additions. Keep reading and I’ll try and unpack the changes for you.

Section 1

Directs the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) to develop and maintain a “user-friendly” website for the public that synthesizes all the public education accountability metrics required in statute. Currently, hundreds of accountability reports outline the progress of each school and school district toward high academic performance by all students, provide detailed financial audits, and explain what special education services are offered. However, these reports are often hard to find and not easy to read and understand.

Section 1 also directs the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) to work with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DoLWD) to capture data regarding each graduating class’s career, postsecondary education, and resident requirements for every 5 years (up to 20 years) after graduation.

I worked with DEED to develop this section of SB 52 which was included in SB 140 by an amendment from Representative Andy Josephson in House Finance at the end of the 2023 legislative session. Parental involvement and accountability come from parents knowing what the heck is going on. DEED has a responsibility to keep parents informed and this section helps make that happen.

Section 2

Senate Bill 140 began as an “Internet for Schools” bill to increase the amount of internet costs that qualify for a discounted rate for internet services under the federal universal services program. Currently, each school is eligible to receive the amount needed to cover 25 megabits of download a second. SB 140 increases the download coverage to 100 megabits a second.

This section is critical for broadband access in rural Alaska and needs to pass soon for us to meet the February 27th federal deadline.

Section 3

This section allows the State Board of Education to authorize charter schools while requiring local school districts to operate any authorized charter school.

🚩🚩🚩 Originally introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Representative Carpenter, this section has not been vetted by any education policy committee or finance committee. Not only does this section mess with our very successful statewide charter school program (Alaska was recently recognized as having the best charter school system in the nation), but the State Board of Education has quite a bit on its plate, including supporting school districts in addressing learning loss and the highest rate of chronic absenteeism in the nation. The State Board of Education is also dealing with tribal compacting, the implementation of the Alaska Reads Act, high rates of teacher turnover, and how to support struggling school districts.

Section 4-6

Conforming language to section 1.

Section 7

This section was originally added by the Senate Finance Committee to increase funding for pupil transportation across the state by 11%. This money for pupil transportation is desperately needed by Alaska’s school districts.

Section 8

This section was also added by the Senate Finance Committee to include a 50% increase in state funding for districts that operate residential schools.

Section 9

Increases funding for correspondence (homeschool) programs.

Currently, parents who participate in public correspondence (homeschool) programs can receive up to $4,500* annually in state funds.

Section 10

Increases the Base Student Allocation by $300.

🚩🚩🚩 Over the past year, Senate Education has heard that our schools need at least $1,348 to address unchecked inflation since 2015. I’ve written a lot about the BSA, and you all know I have been fighting for the largest BSA our state can afford. Many of my colleagues in the Senate and House have stated that their baseline is at least $680. A BSA increase of $300 means school cuts, program cuts, fewer teachers, and bigger class sizes.

Section 11

This section creates a new unfunded/underfunded mandate on school districts by requiring them to provide comprehensive information related to students who may be Deaf or hard of hearing, which includes but is not limited to requiring districts to communicate with parents in a method of the parent’s choice and a requirement to provide services to students by a trained professional.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ This section comes from a bill introduced by Representative Allard, which has only been heard in the House Education Committee. I strongly believe in evidence-based information and certified and adequately trained education interpreters being available to parents and students. Ensuring school districts receive sufficient funds to provide these services is critical to the successful deployment of this policy. If it were me, I would continue advocating for the separate policy bill addressing Deaf or hard-of-hearing student rights so that they can be thoroughly vetted and well-resourced.

Section 12

This section authorizes the Department of Education and Early Development to establish and operate a centralized residential program for Deaf or hard-of-hearing students. A student’s home school district must be able to provide services to that student, regardless of a Deaf or hard-of-hearing student’s residency status.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ This section comes from a bill introduced by Representative Allard, which has only been heard in the House Education Committee. The section does not provide clear information on how a state-run residential school best serves students, how many students will be served, fails to address culturally responsive education, ensure regional ASL dialects are included, fails to guarantees parental rights, or how it will provide interpretative services for Deaf or hard of hearing students in the evenings. Also, I have concerns the bill does not provide adequate funding for this program. If it were me, I would continue advocating for the separate policy bill addressing Deaf or hard-of-hearing student rights so that they can be thoroughly vetted and well-resourced.

Section 13

This section includes conforming language for section 1 of the bill.

Section 14

This section would make the Education Tax Credit program permanent by removing the requirement for the Alaska State Legislature to periodically approve the program. The committee substitute also does not improve the program, which is something many businesses and educational institutions want.

⚠️⚠️⚠️ I support extending the education tax credit program; however, the Senate Education Committee introduced a bill that would return the program to pre-2018 eligibility which is more generous.

Section 15

Provides teacher incentives based on the full-time status of certified teachers and where a school district is located for three years.

🚩🚩🚩This section was originally introduced by Governor Dunleavy during a press conference. The Senate version of the bill (SB 97) was heard last year in the Senate Education Committee. Several legislators identified several issues with the bill language. Without significant changes, the proposed incentive program runs the risk of violating the Alaska Constitution’s equal protection clause and violating collective bargaining agreements (teacher union contracts). I’m also highly concerned that at the end of the year, a teacher will get a bonus check and a pink slip because, without a significant BSA increase, schools will not be able to pay a teacher’s contractually obligated salary.

Other Sections

The remaining sections are process-oriented and set an effective date of July 1, 2024, for the legislation. This means that school districts experiencing a deficit in the current fiscal year due to the Governor’s education funding veto will still have to cut teacher positions and defund programs.

I hope this overview provides you with some insight into the proposed legislation currently sitting in the House Rules Committee. Your voice is desperately needed as the Committee considers what steps to take next. House Rules Committee Chair Representative Craig Johnson has indicated he plans to pass the bill out of committee this Saturday. I’m not sure this bill improves public education without significant changes. Please make this bill better by contacting the House Rules Committee members and your legislators today.