News from Hughes » February 16, 2021

This week the Senate Education Committee heard my bill which is intended to close the serious achievement gap in Alaska and increase student success.

Although we have pockets of excellence, our state ranks at the tail end in the nation in reading literacy. SB 42 would institute “Read by 9” across our districts. It also aims to improve the quality, creativity and standards of virtual education opportunities to better engage students when learning online.

It’s all about our students. We can do better, and we must do better!

Alaska received over $6 billion in federal funds related to the COVID-19 response from March to December of 2020 as a result of 5 acts passed by Congress last year. Another congressional act is under consideration in our nation’s capital and could result in an additional $1 billion for Alaska in 2021.

See the following 3 “pies” provided by the State of Alaska Office of Budget and Management to learn where the $6 billion was directed in 2020.

Some of the $6 billion in federal COVID-19 funds went to businesses and individuals. A portion went directly to organizations and government agencies (both state and tribal), with some then redistributed further for particular purposes (which is shown in greater detail in the second pie chart).

The descriptions for each of the smaller “slices” provide at least a general indication of how the federal funds were directed. More detail about the large blue slice (Coronavirus Relief Fund) is shown in the next pie chart.

The $1.25 billion in Coronavirus Relief Funds was allocated as shown above. The dark blue slice (“Other Covid-19 Costs…”) is further detailed to the right of the pie chart

As many of you know, the current Covid-19 restrictions in the Capitol set by the previous legislature closed the building to the public. Certain members of the administration are able to enter, however. This has made face-to-face meetings relatively rare with folks outside the legislature.

Here I am with two of my staff meeting with University of Alaska Interim President Pat Pitney and UA Legislative Liaison Chad Hutchison. This visit was a perfect opportunity to display the deep University of Alaska ties in my office, including with current students and my aide Dawson Mann and intern Riley Nye. I am an alumnus of UA as well.

On Monday the 15th, aide Dawson Mann and I had the privilege to present my bill SB 42 before the Senate Education Committee. Read below to hear my thoughts on the importance of this bill to increase student achievement in Alaska.

Alaska has had a large achievement gap for too many years, resulting in some of the lowest reading scores, graduation rates, and testing results in the nation, putting our students in a poor position on a global basis. Granted, we have pockets of excellence sprinkled throughout the state, but we must face the fact that far too many of our students are far, far behind where they should be. We can do better; it is our obligation to do better and for the sake of our youth, we must do better.

The goal of this bill is to improve our schools and increase academic outcomes for students by providing tools and incentives to districts and the department to improve classroom instruction and reduce administrative costs. Guided by the principle that every Alaskan student matters, SB 42 takes steps toward positive transformation of our education system in Alaska to better meet the needs of our students in the 21st century.

First, this legislation will require district focus and accountability on K-3 reading instruction to ensure children are fluent readers by 4^th grade in order to increase their success and achievement in all subject areas in the remaining grades and beyond. The bill requires districts to employ proven and effective literacy teaching methods and provide intensive reading intervention in partnership with parents. The goal is that students will master the objectives at each grade level prior to promotion to the next grade.

SB 42 will also create the Alaska Virtual Education Consortium to allow districts to offer high quality virtual education courses through an online database to students in other districts for a fee. The consortium will also conduct teacher training, including specific instruction for conducting creative and engaging online delivery. Students will gain access to great teachers statewide and to a wider variety of course offerings as districts choose to participate.

SB 42 will require the State School Board to periodically adjust the minimum score needed to pass the Praxis exam so that Alaska has the highest testing standards for teacher certification among the 50 states. SB 42 will also work to provided recognition to the best of our teachers through greater acknowledgement of National Board-Certified teachers and staff.

This bill provides districts an opportunity to increase the carry-forward limit of their unreserved fund balance from 10% to 25%, not including savings resulting from a cooperative arrangement grant.

The department will provide a report each year to the legislature regarding academic progress of schools and districts. SB 42 requires the department to provide this report to the school districts and to the public.

The state spends (which means “we the people spend”) roughly $1.6 billion each year on K-12 education. Let’s make sure we’re getting our bang for our buck, that districts are held accountable, and most importantly, that students are achieving academic success. SB42 is key.

A hearing on SB42 is scheduled this morning at 9:00 a.m., Monday, February 15, in the Senate Education Committee. To watch the hearing, click here. To read this bill and follow the committee process, click here. Please contact my Committee Staff, Dawson Mann, at 465-1173 or Dawson.Mann@akleg.gov with your ideas, questions, or concerns regarding SB 42.

Last Friday’s action on the senate floor signals what I believe is an overdue transition in Alaska from a “disaster” to a recovery phase on our return to a state of normalcy. Click this image to hear my remarks on your behalf (and thanks to the hundreds of you who have weighed in on this issue the past couple of weeks).

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Catch our latest  #Telling_it_like_it_is Facebook Live video from Juneau. Capitol Series #4 aired February 15, 2021. Questions and comments from live viewers are always part of our format.