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Title 14. Education, Libraries, And Museums


Published: 2015

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Title 14. EDUCATION, LIBRARIES, AND MUSEUMS
Chapter 14.03. PUBLIC SCHOOLS GENERALLY

Article 01. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 14.03.010. Establishment of school system.

There is established in the state a system of public schools to be administered and maintained as provided in this title.

Sec. 14.03.015. State education policy.

It is the policy of this state that the purpose of education is to help ensure that all students will succeed in their education and work, shape worthwhile and satisfying lives for themselves, exemplify the best values of society, and be effective in improving the character and quality of the world about them.

Sec. 14.03.020. School year.

The school year begins on the first day of July and ends on the 30th day of June.

Sec. 14.03.030. School term.

A school term begins and ends on the dates fixed by the governing body of a school district. A school term shall include not less than 180 days in session unless, with the approval of the commissioner,

 (1) a day used for in-service training of teachers is substituted for a day in session, up to a maximum of 10 days;

 (2) an "emergency closure day" is substituted for a day in session because of conditions posing a threat to the health or safety of students; or

 (3) the school board adopts a different school term that includes at least 740 hours of instruction and study periods for pupils in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade and at least 900 hours of instruction and study periods for pupils in grades four through 12 if the commissioner finds that the school board has submitted an acceptable plan under which students will receive the approximate educational equivalent of a 180-day term.

Sec. 14.03.040. Day in session.

Each day within the school term is a day in session except Saturdays, Sundays, and days designated as holidays by or according to AS 14.03.050 . A school board may approve Saturdays as a day in session. The day in session in every school shall be at least four hours long, exclusive of intermissions, for the first, second, and third grades and five hours, exclusive of intermissions, for all other grades. The commissioner may approve a shorter day in session for any grade. The period of the day in session shall be devoted to the instruction of pupils or to study periods for the pupils.

Sec. 14.03.050. School holidays.

 (a) Public schools may not be in session on school holidays, which are Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day immediately following Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July. If one of these holidays falls on a Saturday, the Friday immediately preceding is a school holiday. If one of these holidays falls on a Sunday, the Monday immediately following is a school holiday. A teacher may not be required to perform employment services on these holidays, nor may the salary of a teacher be diminished because the teacher does not perform employment services on a school holiday.

 (b) The public schools shall be in session on all other holidays falling upon school days and shall conduct appropriate exercises in recognition of the day.

 (c) The governing body of the school district may declare additional holidays.

Sec. 14.03.060. Elementary, junior high, and secondary schools.

 (a) Except as provided in (e) of this section, an elementary school consists of grades kindergarten through grade eight or any appropriate combination of grades within this range.

 (b) A secondary school consists of grades seven through 12 or any appropriate combination of grades within this range. The establishment of one or two grades beyond the 12th grade is optional with the governing body of the school district.

 (c) Grades seven through eight, nine, and ten or any appropriate combination of grades within this range may be organized as a junior high school.

 (d) This section does not prevent a high school from issuing a diploma to a student who has completed the 12th grade.

 (e) In addition to the grades enumerated in (a) of this section, an elementary school consists of a pre-elementary program supervised by the department under AS 14.07.020 (a)(8), operated by the department as a head start program under AS 14.38.010 , or located in a public school for federal funding purposes. Except for a child with a disability who is receiving special education or related services under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350, pre-elementary students may not be counted in a school's average daily membership under AS 14.17.

Sec. 14.03.070. School age.

A child who is six years of age on or before September 1 following the beginning of the school year, and who is under the age of 20 and has not completed the 12th grade, is of school age.

Sec. 14.03.072. Early literacy information.

 (a) Each school district shall annually provide to parents and guardians of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade three in a public school in the state current information on the importance of early literacy, including

 (1) intervention strategies;

 (2) home literacy plans;

 (3) grade retention standards and policies for the elementary school attended;

 (4) strategies and resources to help children learn to read.

 (b) In partnership with local media outlets, the department shall create and implement a communications campaign to educate parents and guardians about the importance of early literacy. The campaign shall include an Internet website that provides access to current research on early literacy, book recommendations, and vocabulary-building exercises.

Sec. 14.03.073. Secondary school course credit.

 (a) A school district shall provide the opportunity for students enrolled in a secondary school in the district to challenge a course provided by the district by demonstrating mastery in mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, and world languages at the level of the course challenged. A school district shall give full credit for a course to a student who successfully challenges that course as provided under this section.

 (b) A school district shall establish, within a reasonable time, an assessment tool and a standard for demonstrating mastery in secondary school courses provided by the district under this section.

 (c) The board shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

 (d) In this section, "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350 .

Sec. 14.03.075. College and career readiness assessment; retroactive issuance of diploma.

 (a) A school may not issue a secondary school diploma to a student unless the student takes a college and career readiness assessment or receives a waiver from the governing body.

 (b) A school shall award a certificate of achievement to a student who fails to qualify for a diploma under (a) of this section by the end of the student's final semester of attendance but who has met all other graduation requirements of the governing body and the state.

 (c) The department shall provide funding for the fee for a single administration of a college and career readiness assessment for each secondary student within two years of the student's expected graduation.

 (d) At the request of a student, a school district shall issue a high school diploma to a student who did not receive a high school diploma because the student failed to pass all or a portion of the secondary school competency examination but who received a certificate of achievement under this section as it read before July 1, 2014.

 (e) In this section,

 (1) "college and career readiness assessment" means the SAT, ACT, or WorkKeys assessment;

 (2) "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350 .

Sec. 14.03.077. High school diploma for certain veterans.

 (a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, the commissioner shall award a high school diploma to a person who

 (1) makes application under (b) of this section; if a person is deceased or incapacitated, an immediate family member may apply on behalf of the person;

 (2) never received a high school diploma; and

 (3) actively served in the United States armed forces or the Alaska Territorial Guard during the period of August 7, 1940, through July 25, 1947, and

 (A) died in active service;

 (B) was honorably discharged; or

 (C) was released from active duty because of a service-related disability.

 (b) The commissioner shall provide a form or electronic format for a person to apply under this section. The commissioner may accept an affidavit to support the award if documentation is not readily available from the military or other sources.

Sec. 14.03.078. Annual progress reports.

 (a) The department shall provide to the legislature by February 15 of each year by electronic means an annual report regarding the progress of each school and school district toward high academic performance by all students. The report required under this section must include

 (1) information described under AS 14.03.120 (d);

 (2) progress of the department

 (A) toward implementing the school accountability provisions of AS 14.03.123; and

 (B) in assisting high schools to become accredited;

 (3) a description of the resources provided to each school and school district for coordinated school improvement activities and staff training in each school and school district;

 (4) each school district's and each school's progress in aligning curriculum with state education performance standards;

 (5) a description of the efforts by the department to assist a public school or district that receives a low performance designation under AS 14.03.123;

 (6) a description of intervention efforts by each school district and school for students who are not meeting state performance standards; and

 (7) the number and percentage of turnover in certificated personnel and superintendents.

 (b) By December 31 of each year, the department shall provide to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority established by AS 47.30.011 a report on the progress of school districts in the state toward the objective of AS 14.30.278 (b), based on performance indicators included in the most current plan submitted by the state to the United States Secretary of Education as required under 20 U.S.C. 1412(a).

Sec. 14.03.080. Right to attend school.

 (a) A child of school age is entitled to attend public school without payment of tuition during the school term in the school district in which the child is a resident subject to the provisions of AS 14.14.110 and 14.14.120.

 (b) A person over school age may be admitted to the public school in the school district in which the person is a resident at the discretion of the governing body of the school district. A person over school age may be charged tuition by the governing body of the school district.

 (c) A child under school age may be admitted to a public school in the school district of which the child is a resident at the discretion of the governing body of the school district if the child meets minimum standards prescribed by the board evidencing that the child has the mental, physical, and emotional capacity to perform satisfactorily for the educational program being offered. A district's educational program must prescribe that under school age students advance through the curriculum or grade level by the following school year. A governing body may delegate the authority granted under this subsection to the chief school administrator of the school district.

 (d) A child who is five years of age on or before September 1 following the beginning of the school year, and who is under school age, may enter a public school kindergarten.

 (e) A child under school age shall be admitted to school in the district of which the child is a resident if immediately before the child became a resident of the district, the child was legally enrolled in the public schools of another district or state.

 (f) This section does not require a school district to admit a child or person currently under suspension or expulsion under AS 14.03.160 in that or another school district.

Sec. 14.03.083. Contracting for services.

 (a) A school district may contract for educational services provided to students in the district by an agency that is accredited by the department under AS 14.07.020 and (b) of this section.

 (b) The department shall adopt regulations and establish program standards for educational services that may be contracted for by a school district.

 (c) Expenses incurred by the department in accrediting the agency and program shall be borne by the agency seeking accreditation.

 (d) The department and the state Board of Education and Early Development may not enter into or renew a contract or agreement, or participate, with any organization, entity, group, or consortium after July 1, 2014 that requires the state to cede any measure of autonomy or control over education standards and assessments, including the determination of passing scores.

Sec. 14.03.085. Procurement preference for recycled Alaska products.

A school district shall comply with AS 29.71.050 , except that in AS 29.71.050 (b), "AS 29.71.040 " is read as "AS 36.15.050 ," and in AS 29.71.050(a) - (c) and (e), "municipal" and "municipality" are read as "school district." In this section, "school district" does not include regional educational attendance areas.

Sec. 14.03.090. Partisan, sectarian, or denominational doctrines prohibited.

Partisan, sectarian, or denominational doctrines may not be advocated in a public school during the hours the school is in session. A teacher or school board violating this section may not receive public money.