AS Title 14, Chapter 7: Administration of Public Schools

Article 1. Department of Education and Early Development. Chapter 07. Administration of Public Schools. Sec. 14.07.010. Department of Education and Early Development. The Department of Education and Early Development includes the commissioner of education and early development, the state Board of Education and Early Development, and the staff necessary to carry out the functions of the department. Sec. 14.07.020. Duties of the department. (a) The department shall (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state except the University of Alaska; (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state, adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school performance awarded under AS 14.03.125 , and adopt regulations for the improvement of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college preparatory courses; (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school governing bodies and personnel; (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language; (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Family and Community Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in AS 47.12.990 , in the state during the period of detention or treatment; (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session, whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of the members of each house; (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of physical examinations and immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for private schools may not be more stringent than those for public schools; (8) exercise general supervision over early education programs that receive direct state or federal funding, including early education programs provided by a school district for students four and five years of age, approve an early education program provided by a school district that complies with the standards adopted by the board under AS 14.07.165 (a)(5), and revoke approval of an early education program if the program does not comply with the standards adopted by the board under AS 14.07.165 (a)(5); (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program; (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be licensed; (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, “plans” include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption and costs, and final contract documents; (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that will lead to employment opportunities; (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11 ; (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a school bus driver training course; (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent behavior; (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance, under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional practices, as described in AS 14.07.030 (a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department; (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in AS 14.07.030 (a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123 (f)(1)(A); and (C) a process for districts to petition the department for continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention; (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030 (a)(14) or redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030 (a)(15); (18) establish a reading program to provide direct support for and intervention in the reading intervention programs of participating schools as described in AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770; (19) annually convene, either in person or electronically, a panel to review and comment on the effectiveness of the programs created by the department and the regulations adopted by the board to implement AS 14.03.410 , 14.03.420, AS 14.30.760 — 14.30.770, and 14.30.800; the panel (A) shall provide recommendations and guidance to the board, the department, and the legislature on how to integrate early education and reading programs created under this title with tribal compacting or programs focused on cultural education within the department; (B) shall discuss support for reading in Alaska Native languages and other non-English languages; (C) must collectively represent the regions of the state and include teachers of grades kindergarten through three, school administrators, parents of students in grades kindergarten through three, stakeholders from Indigenouse language immersion programs, representatives from early education stakeholder groups, and researchers of best practices for improving literacy performance, including best practices for instruction of Indigenouse students and students whose first language is not English. (b) In implementing its duties under (a)(2) of this section, the department may not expend any money to implement the set of educational curriculum standards for grades kindergarten through 12 established by the Common Core Standards Initiative and shall develop (1) performance standards in language arts and mathematics to be met at designated age levels by each student in public schools in the state; and (2) a comprehensive system of student assessments, composed of multiple indicators of proficiency in language arts and mathematics; this comprehensive system must (A) be made available to all districts and regional educational attendance areas; (B) include a developmental profile for students entering kindergarten or first grade; and (C) include performance standards in language arts and mathematics for students in age groups five through seven, eight through 10, and 11 — 14. (c) In this section, “early education program” means a program for children ages three through five years if the program's primary function is educational. Sec. 14.07.030. Powers of the department. (a) The department may (1) establish, maintain, govern, operate, discontinue, and combine area, regional, and special schools; (2) enter into contractual agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs or with a school district to share boarding costs of secondary school students; (3) provide for citizenship night schools when and where expedient; (4) provide for the sale or other disposition of abandoned or obsolete buildings and other state-owned school property; (5) prescribe a classification for items of expense of school districts; (6) acquire and transfer personal property, acquire real property, and transfer real property to federal agencies, state agencies, or to political subdivisions; (7) enter into contractual agreements with school districts to provide more efficient or economical education services; reasonable fees may be charged by the department to cover the costs of providing services under an agreement, including costs for professional services, reproduction or printing, and mailing and distribution of educational materials; (8) provide for the issuance of elementary and secondary diplomas to persons not in school who have completed the equivalent of an 8th or 12th grade education, respectively, in accordance with standards established by the department; (9) apply for, accept, and spend endowments, grants, and other private money available to the state for educational purposes in accordance with AS 37.07 (Executive Budget Act); (10) set student tuition and fees for educational and extracurricular programs and services provided and schools operated by the department under the provisions of (1) of this section and AS 14.07.020 (a)(9), (11), and (12); (11) charge fees to cover the costs of care and handling with respect to the acquisition, warehousing, distribution, or transfer of donated foods; (12) establish and collect fees for the rental of school facilities and for other programs and services provided by the schools; (13) develop a model curriculum and provide technical assistance for early childhood education programs; (14) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, intervene in a school district to improve instructional practices under standards established by the department in regulation, including directing the (A) employees identified by the department to exercise supervisory authority for instructional practices in the district or in a specified school; (B) use of appropriations under this title for distribution to a district; (15) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, redirect public school funding under AS 14.17 appropriated for distribution to a school district, after providing notice to the district and an opportunity for the district to respond, (A) when necessary to contract for services to improve instructional practices in the district; (B) when the district has failed to take an action required by the department to improve instructional practices in the district; if funding is redirected under this subparagraph, the department shall provide the redirected funding to the district when the department has determined that the required action is satisfactorily completed; or (C) in accordance with AS 14.07.070 , when the district has failed to comply with the school laws of the state or with the regulations adopted by the department. (b) The department may not require a school district to review textbooks, instructional materials, or curricula more frequently than once every 10 years. Sec. 14.07.032. Definition for AS 14.07.020 — 14.07.032. In AS 14.07.020 — 14.07.032, “instructional practices” means the strategies and methods used in teaching or delivering information, skills, material, and student learning management tools to a student to help the student achieve intended educational outcomes. Sec. 14.07.035. Accounting and disposition of receipts. [Repealed, § 28 ch 90 SLA 1991.] Sec. 14.07.040. Supplies and equipment for state-operated schools. [Repealed, § 34 ch 46 SLA 1970.] Sec. 14.07.050. Selection of textbooks. Textbooks for use in the public schools of the state, including a district-offered statewide correspondence study program, shall be selected by district boards for district schools. Nothing in this section precludes (1) a correspondence study student, or the parent or guardian of a correspondence study student, from privately obtaining or using textbooks or curriculum material not provided by the school district; (2) the department from selecting and purchasing supplementary reading textbooks and materials for school districts to support reading intervention services provided under AS 14.30.765 and 14.30.770. Sec. 14.07.052. State Textbook Commission. [Repealed, § 2 ch 96 SLA 1970.] Secs. 14.07.053 — 14.07.054. [Renumbered as AS 14.07.058 — 14.07.059.] Sec. 14.07.055. Expenses and per diem. [Repealed, § 19 ch 53 SLA 1973.] Sec. 14.07.057. Transmittal of textbook selections. A school board that selects its own books shall forward a list of the selections to the department. Secs. 14.07.058 , 14.07.059. Alaska School Activities Association; activities fund. [Repealed, § 13, ch 43 SLA 1994.] Sec. 14.07.060. Regulations. The board shall adopt regulations that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this title. All regulations shall be adopted under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act). Sec. 14.07.070. Withholding state funds. State funds may not be paid to a school district or teacher that fails to comply with the school laws of the state or with the regulations adopted by the department. Article 2. State Board of Education and Early Development. Sec. 14.07.075. Creation. There is created at the head of the Department of Education and Early Development a Board of Education and Early Development consisting of seven members. Sec. 14.07.080. Creation and term of office. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 1967.] Sec. 14.07.085. Appointment of members. (a) The seven members of the board, no more than four of whom shall be members of the same political party as the governor, shall be appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by a majority of the members of the legislature in joint session. In appointing board members, the governor shall consider recommendations made by recognized educational associations in the state. (b) One member shall be appointed from each of the four judicial districts and three from the state at large with at least one member representing regional educational attendance areas. (c) The members are entitled to the expenses, travel, and per diem allowances provided by law. (d) A member may act and receive compensation from the date of appointment until confirmation or rejection by the legislature. Sec. 14.07.090. Appointment of members. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.095. Term of office. The members of the board shall be appointed for overlapping five-year terms commencing on the March 1 following the date of the member's appointment. Except as provided in AS 39.05.080 (4), a member appointed to fill a vacancy serves for the unexpired term of the member whose vacancy is filled. A vacancy occurring during a term of office is filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Sec. 14.07.100. Executive officer. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.105. Quorum and chair. (a) Four members constitute a quorum. (b) The board shall designate one member of the board as the chairperson who serves as chair of the board at the pleasure of the board. Sec. 14.07.110. Appointment of commissioner. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.115. Removal. Members of the board serve at the pleasure of the governor. Sec. 14.07.120. Term of office and vacancy. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.125. Meetings. The board shall meet at least quarterly. Meetings may be called by the chair or by a majority of the members of the board. Meetings shall be held in Juneau unless a majority of the members of the board changes the place of a meeting. Sec. 14.07.130. Removal of commissioner. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.135. Legal assistance. The Department of Law shall provide all legal services for the board. Sec. 14.07.140. Commissioner administers department. [Repealed, § 14 ch 96 SLA 1967.] Sec. 14.07.145. Commissioner of education and early development. (a) The board shall appoint the commissioner of education and early development subject to the approval of the governor. The commissioner shall be the principal executive officer of the department. (b) The commissioner shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and shall have at least a master's degree with five years' experience in the field of education since receiving it, with at least three of the five years in an exclusively administrative position. (c) The commissioner serves at the pleasure of the board and may not be appointed by the board for a fixed term. (d) The commissioner shall receive the salary set out in AS 39.20.080 . (e) The commissioner shall employ and remove all classified personnel in the department subject to AS 39.25 (State Personnel Act). The commissioner may employ and remove personnel in the exempt or partially exempt service subject to the approval of the board. Personnel in the exempt or partially exempt service have a right of appeal to the board if they are removed. (f) [Repealed, § 5 ch 14 SLA 1996.] Sec. 14.07.150. Budget and fiscal authority. The commissioner has responsibility and authority for the preparation and execution of a budget and for the other fiscal affairs of the department, subject to the approval of the board. Sec. 14.07.155. Partisan candidacy prohibited. A member of the board may not be a candidate for partisan political office while serving as a member of the board. Sec. 14.07.160. Bylaws. (a) The board may adopt bylaws for the management of the department. (b) The bylaws shall be written and distributed in a manner so as to be readily available to personnel of the department. (c) This section may not be construed to allow the use of a bylaw rather than a regulation where the subject is of statewide importance or interest. Sec. 14.07.165. Duties. (a) The board shall adopt (1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written goals that are consistent with local needs; (2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under AS 14.03.125 ; (3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014 (b); (4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; (5) regulations establishing standards for an early education program provided by a school district for children who are four and five years of age; the regulations must include (A) standards for a locally designed, evidence-based program that meets federal standards required for early education programs to receive federal funding; (B) a requirement that a teacher in charge of a program hold a valid teacher certificate issued under AS 14.20 and (i) have satisfactorily completed a minimum of six credit hours in early childhood education or complete the minimum credit hours within two years of the date the teacher's employment with the early education program begins; or (ii) have two or more years of experience teaching kindergarten or another early education program and have completed additional coursework related to reading instruction, as required by the department; (C) developmentally appropriate objectives for children four and five years of age rather than academic standards appropriate for older children; the objectives must allow school districts to adapt the content of an early education program to be culturally responsive to local communities; (D) accommodations for the needs of all early education children and their families regardless of socioeconomic circumstances; and (E) standards for day in session requirements appropriate for children four and five years of age; (6) regulations establishing standards for day in session requirements appropriate for kindergarten students. (b) [Repealed, § 25 ch 2 SSSLA 2015.] (c) Every five years, the board shall review the mathematics and English and language arts curricula used in the state to ensure the curricula are still effective and are being taught using best practices. Sec. 14.07.168. Report to the legislature. Not later than the 30th legislative day of each regular session of the legislature, the board shall prepare and present in person to the legislative committees having jurisdiction over education an annual report that describes the efforts of the board to develop, maintain, and continuously improve a comprehensive quality public education system, as provided for under the bylaws of the board. The report must include (1) a summary of the resolves and rationales provided in support of policy decisions made under AS 14.03.015 ; (2) program and curriculum changes made, discussed, or recommended in meetings held under AS 14.07.125 ; (3) additional information relevant to efforts made to improve and maintain the public education system; (4) a summary of implementation and utilization of the consortium established under AS 14.30.800 , including a review of consortium effectiveness and the participation rates of districts, teachers, and students. Sec. 14.07.170. Additional powers and duties of board. (a) The board may (1) appoint unpaid advisory commissions; (2) require school boards or school personnel to submit to the department, in the form the board may require, the district budget or any information or reports that are reasonably necessary to assist the department in carrying out its functions. (b) The board shall review grant applications recommended under AS 14.11.013 and may approve grant applications under AS 14.11.015 . Sec. 14.07.175. Development of statewide assessment plan; review of education laws and regulations. Sec. 14.07.180. Curricula approval and review; pilot program; incentives. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board shall establish standards and a procedure for the review, ranking, and approval of mathematics and English and language arts curricula for school districts to use in each grade level as provided in this section. The board may include curricula delivered through virtual education in the standards and procedure established under this subsection. Standards established for the review, ranking, and approval of language arts curricula for early education programs and grades kindergarten through three must be based on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral language skills, and reading comprehension. (b) The department, in consultation with school districts, shall review mathematics and English and language arts curricula used in schools in the state and in other states and countries and may include in the review curricula delivered through virtual education. Not later than July 1, 2019, the department shall identify the best mathematics and English and language arts curricula and the best teaching practices for each of the curricula. The department may identify the best mathematics and English and language arts curricula delivered through virtual education. (c) The department shall submit the curricula and teaching practices that the department identifies as the best under (b) of this section to the board for approval, including evidence supporting the department's selection, if the department concludes that the curricula and best practices (1) are appropriate; (2) are in compliance with the nondiscrimination standards established under AS 14.18.060 (b); (3) are aligned with state education standards; and (4) result in improved academic achievement for students. (d) The board may approve curricula submitted under (c) of this section if the curricula are consistent with the standards established by the board under (a) of this section. The department shall place the curricula approved by the board into two categories as follows: (1) incentivized curricula for the best curricula for each subject, based on evidence provided to the department; the department may place not more than two curricula in this category for each subject; (2) designated effective curricula for the curricula for each subject that are not incentivized curricula but that the department finds appropriate and effective based on factual and other evidence provided to the department. (e) [See delayed repeal note.] A three-year pilot program is established in the department, starting in the 2019-2020 school year, to test the appropriateness and effectiveness of the incentivized curricula approved under (d) of this section. In conducting the program, the department shall (1) establish an application process for school districts to apply for participation in the program; (2) select four school districts from those that apply to participate in the program, including two rural and two urban school districts, basing the selection of the school districts on the readiness and capacity of each district; (3) assign to each participating school district the incentivized mathematics curriculum or the incentivized English and language arts curriculum; the department shall assign the mathematics curriculum to one rural and one urban school district and the English and language arts curriculum to one rural and one urban school district; (4) starting in the 2019-2020 school year, distribute incentive payments, not to exceed $10,000,000 in total, to the four school districts to assist with the purchase and implementation of the curricula, including best teaching practices and professional development, and purchase of instructional materials. (f) [See delayed repeal note.] At the completion of the pilot program under (e) of this section, the department shall (1) if the department finds that the incentivized curricula tested in the pilot program are appropriate and effective, submit the findings to the board; and (2) if the board finds that the curricula tested in the pilot program are appropriate and effective, make the curricula and one-time incentive payments under (g) of this section available to all school districts starting in the 2022-2023 school year and ending in the 2024-2025 school year. (g) [See delayed repeal note.] The department may distribute an incentive payment available to a school district in an amount that is not more than the school district's ADM multiplied by 150, subject to availability of funding, if the governing body of the school district (1) selects one of the incentivized curricula for implementation in the school district in an eligible school year under (f)(2) of this section; (2) requests an incentive payment from the department; (3) has not previously implemented the incentivized curricula; and (4) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department the readiness and capacity of the school district to implement the curricula. (h) [See delayed repeal note.] In addition to any unexpended money under (e)(4) of this section, the department may distribute not more than $9,500,000 in incentive payments under (f) and (g) of this section. (i) The department shall publish on the department's Internet website and make available to the public (1) all curricula used by school districts in the state for all subjects, whether or not the curricula are approved; and (2) the curricula approved under (d) of this section. (j) [See delayed repeal note.] The department shall submit an electronic report to the legislature and make the report available to the public on the department's Internet website. The report must provide information on the pilot program and the curricula that each school district has adopted. On or before January 15, 2019, and each year thereafter, the department shall submit the report required under this subsection to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available. (k) Each school district shall submit to the department the relevant information needed for the department to carry out its duties under this section. (l) [See delayed repeal note.] Payments for curricula implementation under the pilot program described in (e) of this section and incentive payments under (f) and (g) of this section are subject to appropriation. If insufficient funding is available to distribute payments to all school districts that request funding in a year under (g) of this section, the department may distribute payments to the remaining school districts the following school year. (m) [See delayed repeal note.] If the applications for participation in the pilot program are insufficient to meet the requirements under (e) of this section, the department may select four school districts from those that apply, taking into consideration geographical diversity. (n) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the department may distribute incentive payments to school districts that use curricula reviewed and approved by the board under AS 14.07.165 (c). The department may provide incentive payments, subject to appropriation, to school districts based on the readiness and capacity of the school district as determined by the department. (o) In this section, (1) [See delayed repeal note.] “rural” has the meaning given in AS 14.43.700 ; (2) “school district” has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350 ; (3) [See delayed repeal note.] “school district's ADM” has the meaning given to “district ADM” in AS 14.17.990 ; (4) “urban” means a community other than a community described in AS 14.43.700 ; (5) “virtual education” means instruction delivered through telecommunications or other digital or electronic methods. Sec. 14.07.181. Pamphlet concerning controlled substances. [Repealed, § 19 ch 6 SLA 1998.] Sec. 14.07.182. Curriculum improvement and best practices fund. Article 3. Council for Alaska Native Languages. Sec. 14.07.200. Council for Alaska Native Languages. (a) The Council for Alaska Native Languages is established in the department for the purpose of recommending the establishment or reorganization of programs to support the preservation, restoration, and revitalization of Alaska Native languages. (b) The council established under this section shall (1) advise both the governor and legislature on programs, policies, and projects to provide for the cost-effective preservation, restoration, and revitalization of Alaska Native languages in the state; (2) meet at least twice a year to carry out the purposes of the council; members may participate in meetings telephonically; and (3) prepare reports of its findings and recommendations for the governor's and the legislature's consideration on or before January 1 of each even-numbered year. (c) The governor shall appoint to the council established in this section seven voting members who are professional language experts and who represent diverse regions of the state. In addition, one member of the senate appointed by the president of the senate and one member of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives shall serve on the council as nonvoting members. In appointing the nonvoting members of the council, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint a member of the bush caucus, if a bush caucus exists. In this subsection, “bush caucus” means a group of legislators that represents rural areas of the state. (d) The members appointed by the governor shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. (e) Members of the council shall serve without compensation but are entitled to per diem and travel expenses as provided under AS 39.20.180 . (f) The department shall provide staff as needed to support the council; the staff must demonstrate competency in an Alaska Native language.