The Republican-led Majority continued its commitment to excellence in education. We fully funded education, expanded opportunities for higher education, increased parental control, and ensured that students have a safe environment in which to learn and succeed.

Funding Education (FY 2001 Budget)

• The FY01 budget fully funds the education of Alaskan children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
• Our budget increased funding for the University of Alaska by $8.5 million.
• In order to have the maximum flexibility in using federal education dollars, the Legislature passed SJR 11 urging Congress to provide federal education funds as a block grant to the State.
• We approved a measure to permit Alaska to renew participation in the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education (WICHE) Professional Student Exchange Program. Through the program, student loans will be made available through WICHE that will be repaid to the State.
• SB 275, changes the defintion of a “school year” for the purposes of state grants and scholarships, allowing students who complete more than one academic year during a calendar year to receive student loans for all of their education costs.

• Our budget uses funds from the tobacco settlement to educate children about the dangers of smoking.
• SB 186 allows donors to place up to $50,000 into a tax-deferred higher education savings account for a beneficiary.

Fostering School Reform and Parental Rights

• HB 70 respects family privacy, by barring schools from gathering personal or family information from students without receiving and renewing their parents’ explicit permission.
• SB 9 made changes to the Public Employees Retirement System retirement plan to allow non-certified school employees to contribute to their retirement to reflect a full-year’s service instead of just nine months.
• SB 27 requires school districts to allow parents access to their child’s records. This bill also requires school districts to transfer certain information about potentially dangerous students from one district to another.
• SB 98 changes the window of time a school district has for evaluating tenured teachers new to the district. It gives the district sufficient time to evaluate the teacher and enhances the teacher’s opportunity for tenured employment.

Planning for School Safety

• HB 253 would require schools to develop behavior standards and safety programs in collaboration with local communities.