Bill > SB277

This bill makes several changes to Alaska's education laws, including increasing the maximum administrative cost rate that local school boards can retain from charter school budgets from four percent to eight percent, and allowing students to keep textbooks and materials from correspondence study programs even after they leave the program. It also adjusts the per-student funding amounts for student transportation and updates the base student allocation, which is the foundational amount of state funding per student. The bill clarifies how students enrolled in statewide correspondence study programs are counted for funding purposes, and modifies the requirements for out-of-state teacher certification by changing the accreditation standard from "regional" to "institutional." Additionally, it allows retired teachers to be reemployed by regional resource centers, not just school districts, under specific conditions and with certain limitations on their retirement benefits, and makes changes to eligibility for reading proficiency incentive grants. Finally, the bill mandates that the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee commission a study on public school funding by January 1, 2027, to evaluate current provisions and recommend potential changes or alternatives, considering factors like stable funding, geographic location, student needs, state and local contributions, and funding for various school options.