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SENATE BILL NO. 277
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY THE SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Introduced: 3/13/26
Referred: Education, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to education; relating to charter school budgets; relating to 1
correspondence study program materials, funding, and student counts; relating to 2
student transportation funding; relating to cooperative arrangements for 3
correspondence study program services entered into by school districts; relating to the 4
base student allocation; relating to eligibility for teacher certification; relating to 5
reemploying retired members of the teachers' retirement system at regional resource 6
centers; relating to reading proficiency incentive grants; requiring the Legislative 7
Budget and Audit Committee to procure an education funding study; and providing for 8
an effective date." 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 10
* Section 1. AS 14.03.260(a) is amended to read: 11
(a) A local school board shall provide an approved charter school with an 12
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annual program budget. The budget shall be not less than the amount generated by the 1
students enrolled in the charter school less administrative costs retained by the local 2
school district, determined by applying the indirect cost rate approved by the 3
department up to eight [FOUR] percent or the specified administrative costs, 4
whichever is less. Costs directly related to charter school facilities, including rent, 5
utilities, and maintenance, may not be included in an annual program budget for the 6
purposes of calculating the four percent cap on administrative costs under this 7
subsection. A local school board shall provide a charter school with a report itemizing 8
the administrative costs retained by the local school board under this section. The 9
"amount generated by students enrolled in the charter school" is to be determined in 10
the same manner as it would be for a student enrolled in another public school in that 11
school district and includes funds generated by grants, appropriations, federal impact 12
aid, the required local contribution, the local contribution under AS 14.17.410(c), 13
special needs under AS 14.17.420(a)(1), and secondary school vocational and 14
technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3). A school district shall direct state aid 15
under AS 14.11 for the construction or major maintenance of a charter school facility 16
to the charter school that generated the state aid, subject to the same terms and 17
conditions that apply to state aid under AS 14.11 for construction or major 18
maintenance of a school facility that is not a charter school. 19
* Sec. 2. AS 14.03.300 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20
(c) A student who ceases to be enrolled in a correspondence study program 21
may retain textbooks, equipment, and other curriculum materials provided to the 22
student through the program, including materials purchased through an annual student 23
allotment provided to a parent or guardian of the student under AS 14.03.310. 24
* Sec. 3. AS 14.09.010(a) is amended to read: 25
(a) A school district that provides student transportation services for the 26
transportation of students who reside a distance from established schools is eligible to 27
receive funding for operating or subcontracting the operation of the transportation 28
system for students to and from the schools within the student's transportation service 29
area. Subject to appropriation, the amount of funding provided by the state for 30
operating the student transportation system is the amount of a school district's ADM, 31
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less the ADM for the district's correspondence programs during the current fiscal year, 1
multiplied by the per student amount for the school district as follows, for the school 2
years beginning July 1, 2026 [2025]: 3
DISTRICT PER STUDENT AMOUNT 4
Alaska Gateway $2,694 [$2,529] 5
Aleutians East 402 [377] 6
Anchorage 564 [529] 7
Annette Island 236 [221] 8
Bering Strait 63 [59] 9
Bristol Bay 3,459 [3,247] 10
Chatham 364 [341] 11
Copper River 2,054 [1,928] 12
Cordova 435 [408] 13
Craig 548 [514] 14
Delta/Greely 2,144 [2,013] 15
Denali 2,340 [2,197] 16
Dillingham 1,577 [1,480] 17
Fairbanks 1,057 [992] 18
Galena 330 [309] 19
Haines 811 [761] 20
Hoonah 387 [363] 21
Iditarod 274 [257] 22
Juneau 781 [733] 23
Kake 352 [330] 24
Kashunamiut 7 [6] 25
Kenai Peninsula 1,185 [1,112] 26
Ketchikan 941 [833] 27
Klawock 757 [710] 28
Kodiak Island 1,035 [971] 29
Kuspuk 846 [794] 30
Lake and Peninsula 497 [466] 31
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Lower Kuskokwim 359 [337] 1
Lower Yukon 2 [1] 2
Matanuska-Susitna 1,178 [1,106] 3
Nenana 761 [714] 4
Nome 805 [755] 5
North Slope 1,450 [1,361] 6
Northwest Arctic 32 [30] 7
Pelican 94 [88] 8
Petersburg 485 [455] 9
Saint Mary's 250 [234] 10
Sitka 554 [520] 11
Skagway 47 [44] 12
Southeast Island 1,496 [1,404] 13
Southwest Region 774 [726] 14
Unalaska 840 [788] 15
Valdez 953 [894] 16
Wrangell 907 [851] 17
Yakutat 963 [904] 18
Yukon Flats 342 [321] 19
Yukon/Koyukuk 388 [364] 20
Yupiit 3 [2]. 21
* Sec. 4. AS 14.14.110(a) is amended to read: 22
(a) When necessary to provide more efficient or more economical educational 23
services, a district may cooperate or the department may require a district to cooperate 24
with other districts, state-operated schools, or the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 25
providing educational or administrative services. However, if a cooperative 26
arrangement requires pupils to live away from their usual homes, the school board 27
shall provide classes within the attendance area when there are at least eight children 28
eligible to attend elementary and secondary school in the attendance area. A 29
cooperative arrangement related to providing correspondence study program 30
services must specify the amount of the administrative services fee paid to the 31
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entity providing the correspondence study program services. The administrative 1
services fee shall be the indirect cost rate approved by the department up to eight 2
percent and may not include costs incurred by the entity providing the 3
correspondence study program for providing special education services, in-4
person classes, career, technical, or vocational course fees, or extracurricular 5
fees. In this subsection, 6
(1) "administrative services" includes supervisory, maintenance, 7
purchasing, or other services that are required for unified administration; 8
(2) "educational services" includes boarding and tuition arrangements, 9
pupil or teacher exchanges, special education services, or curriculum development. 10
* Sec. 5. AS 14.17.430 is amended to read: 11
Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study. Except as provided 12
in AS 14.17.400(b), funding for the state centralized correspondence study program or 13
a district correspondence program, including a district that offers a statewide 14
correspondence study program, includes an allocation from the public education fund 15
in an amount calculated by using [MULTIPLYING] the ADM of the correspondence 16
program reported under AS 14.17.500(a) and 14.17.600(a) [BY 90 PERCENT]. 17
* Sec. 6. AS 14.17.470 is amended to read: 18
Sec. 14.17.470. Base student allocation. The base student allocation is 19
$6,786.54 [$6,660]. 20
* Sec. 7. AS 14.17.500 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 21
(h) A district shall include in the ADM of a statewide correspondence study 22
program offered by the district a student who is enrolled in the program and resides in 23
the district. If a student is enrolled in a statewide correspondence study program but 24
does not reside in the district offering the program, the district in which the student 25
resides shall include the student in the ADM of the school in that district with the 26
lowest ADM, as determined by the most recent student count data for the district. 27
* Sec. 8. AS 14.20.015(a) is amended to read: 28
(a) The department shall issue a preliminary teacher certificate to an out-of-29
state teacher who meets the requirements of this section. To be eligible for a 30
preliminary teacher certificate, a person shall 31
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(1) have received at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of 1
higher education accredited by a recognized institutional [REGIONAL] accrediting 2
association or approved by the commissioner; 3
(2) hold a valid teacher certificate issued by another state; 4
(3) have submitted fingerprints to the department to be used for a 5
criminal history background check and been found by the department to be suitable for 6
employment as a teacher under AS 14.20.020(f); 7
(4) have paid the fee required by the department under 8
AS 14.20.020(c). 9
* Sec. 9. AS 14.20.020(b) is amended to read: 10
(b) A person is not eligible for a teacher certificate unless that person has 11
received at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education 12
accredited by a recognized institutional [REGIONAL] accrediting association or 13
approved by the commissioner and, if applicable, has passed the examination or 14
examinations required by (i) of this section. However, this subsection is not applicable 15
to 16
(1) persons employed in the state public school system on 17
September 1, 1962; 18
(2) persons issued an emergency certificate during a situation that, in 19
the judgment of the commissioner, requires the temporary issuance of a certificate to a 20
person not otherwise qualified. 21
* Sec. 10. AS 14.20.022(b) is amended to read: 22
(b) To be eligible for a subject-matter expert limited teacher certificate, a 23
person shall 24
(1) hold at least a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher 25
education accredited by a recognized institutional [REGIONAL] or national 26
accrediting association or approved by the commissioner and 27
(A) have majored or minored in the subject that the person will 28
be teaching; or 29
(B) have at least five years of experience in the subject matter 30
that the person will be teaching; 31
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(2) have submitted fingerprints and the fees required by the 1
Department of Public Safety under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and 2
a national criminal history record check to the department; the department must have 3
submitted the fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public Safety for a report of 4
criminal justice information under AS 12.62 and a national criminal history record 5
check under AS 12.62.400 and the person must have been found by the department to 6
be suitable for employment as a teacher under AS 14.20.020(f); and 7
(3) be currently enrolled in an approved post-baccalaureate teacher 8
education program at an [A REGIONALLY ACCREDITED] institution accredited 9
by an institutional accrediting association meeting the requirements of 10
AS 14.20.020(b) that provides for completion of the regular teacher certificate 11
education requirements within two years after receipt of a subject-matter expert 12
limited teacher certificate under this section. 13
* Sec. 11. AS 14.20.136(a) is amended to read: 14
(a) Subject to (b) - (d) of this section, a school district or regional resource 15
center established under AS 14.12.150 may reemploy a member who is retired under 16
a retirement plan established in AS 14.25.009 - 14.25.220, or a member who is retired 17
under a retirement plan established in AS 14.25.310 - 14.25.590. In this subsection, 18
"school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350. 19
* Sec. 12. AS 14.20.136(b) is amended to read: 20
(b) A member who is retired under AS 14.25.110(a) may not be reemployed 21
under (a) of this section unless the member 22
(1) certifies that the member and the school district or regional 23
resource center did not arrange before the member retired from the school district or 24
regional resource center for the member to be reemployed by the school district or 25
regional resource center after the member retired; and 26
(2) has been retired for at least 27
(A) 60 days if the member is at least 62 years of age; or 28
(B) six months if the member is less than 62 years of age. 29
* Sec. 13. AS 14.20.136(c) is amended to read: 30
(c) Before reemploying a retired member under (a) of this section to fill a 31
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position, a school district or regional resource center shall 1
(1) by resolution, adopt a policy that describes the circumstances of a 2
shortage or anticipated shortage of applicants, other than retired members, who are 3
qualified for particular positions and permits rehiring that complies with the 4
requirements of this section; and 5
(2) publicly advertise the position for 10 business days and actively 6
recruit to fill the position by hiring a person other than a member who is retired. 7
* Sec. 14. AS 14.20.136(e) is amended to read: 8
(e) A school district or regional resource center that reemploys a member 9
under this section who is retired under the defined benefit retirement plan established 10
in AS 14.25.009 - 14.25.220 is required to 11
(1) provide the administrator with 12
(A) a copy of the resolution and policy adopted under (c) of 13
this section; and 14
(B) for every retired member who is rehired, a report 15
identifying the member by name and describing the 16
(i) circumstances of the shortage that necessitated the 17
rehire; and 18
(ii) actions taken by the school district or regional 19
resource center to comply with [SCHOOL DISTRICT] policy adopted 20
under (c) of this section and the requirements of this section; and 21
(2) make contributions under AS 14.25.070. 22
* Sec. 15. AS 14.25.043(f) is amended to read: 23
(f) If a member who retired under AS 14.25.110(a) is reemployed by a school 24
district or regional resource center under AS 14.20.136, 25
(1) the member does not become an active member; 26
(2) the member shall continue to receive retirement benefits from the 27
plan as though the member were not reemployed by the school district or regional 28
resource center; 29
(3) deductions from the member's salary may not be made under 30
AS 14.25.050; and 31
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(4) the member may not receive credited service in the plan during the 1
period of reemployment. 2
* Sec. 16. AS 14.25.043(g) is amended to read: 3
(g) Notwithstanding (f) of this section, a member who is retired under 4
AS 14.25.110(a) and reemployed by a school district or regional resource center 5
under AS 14.20.136 is eligible to receive the group health plan coverage provided to 6
active members employed by that school district or regional resource center. 7
* Sec. 17. AS 14.30.773(a) is amended to read: 8
(a) A [SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION, A] school district is eligible to 9
receive a reading proficiency incentive grant of not less than $450 for each student in 10
kindergarten through grade six who, at the end of the school year, 11
(1) performs at grade-level reading proficiency; or 12
(2) demonstrates improvement on a reading screening tool approved 13
by the department, on a standards-based assessment in language arts approved by the 14
department, or on a student portfolio in language arts approved by the department. 15
* Sec. 18. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 16
read: 17
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE STUDY OF PUBLIC 18
SCHOOL FUNDING. The Legislative Budget and Audit Committee shall procure a study to 19
be completed not later than January 1, 2027, by an entity or entities with expertise in school 20
finance to evaluate the current education funding provisions and either recommend changes to 21
the current funding provisions or recommend alternative methods of education funding. The 22
study must 23
(1) be produced in consultation with the Institute of Social and Economic 24
Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage; and 25
(2) include consideration of 26
(A) stable and predictable funding for basic education needs and an 27
ancillary system of providing funding above basic education needs; 28
(B) geographic location and specific student subpopulations, as 29
appropriate; 30
(C) appropriate proportions and mechanisms for state and local 31
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contributions to public school funding; and 1
(D) methods for funding alternative public school options, including 2
charter schools, residential schools, and correspondence programs. 3
* Sec. 19. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 4
read: 5
APPLICABILITY. Sections 11 - 16 of this Act apply to contracts made on or after the 6
effective date of this Act. 7
* Sec. 20. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 8