Senate Education Committee adopts committee substitute and reports House Bill 69 to the floor

On April 2 the Senate Education Committee considered a committee substitute for House Bill 69, a comprehensive education funding bill that would raise the base student allocation (BSA) and make a range of changes to K–12 policy. Committee staff described the CS as retaining a $1,000 increase in the BSA and adding provisions on career and technical education, charter-school appeals, class-size targets, reading-proficiency grants, and a task force on education funding.

Mike Mason, committee staff, opened with the bill’s premise: “Alaska's public education system is in a crisis. Funding has not kept up with inflation.” The CS keeps the core $1,000 BSA increase to support instructional programs, smaller class sizes and broader public-education options including charter and homeschool programs.

Key policy changes described in the CS include: - A requirement that the Alaska Workforce Investment Board partner with the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education and other education stakeholders to promote career and technical education for secondary students. - Charter-school changes to speed appeals (shortening a decision window) and require local boards to provide written notice before terminating charter contracts. - A class-size target policy that requires districts to set targets, report why targets are unmet, and makes districts unable to meet targets eligible for targeted grants from a fund for school performance improvements. - A reading-proficiency grant structure that authorizes a $450 payment for most K–3 students and for kindergarten entrants who are not kindergarten-ready; the CS expands eligible reading interventions and support. - A task force on education funding charged to analyze funding, accountability and related issues and report findings by the Legislature’s next convening (work product and reporting schedule described in the CS).

Senator Bjorkman offered a conceptual amendment to delay the effective date of one provision (section 15) to July 1, 2026, to allow stakeholders more time to adjust; the amendment was adopted after discussion. Committee leadership then moved to adopt the CS as the committee’s working document and to report the bill; after objections for the purpose of a brief amendment discussion were resolved the committee reported HB 69 with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes.

Committee members and staff emphasized the bill’s fiscal elements and said the CS aims to preserve the original House intent while adding implementation details such as data collection and a graduated set of supports for districts. Members were asked to remain after adjournment to sign the committee report.