BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The proposed regulation is in response to the statutory changes to teacher certification requirements made by House Bill (HB) 19 Limited Teacher Certificate; Languages that became law on October 5, 2022 (Chapter 73, SLA 2022). The effective date of this new law was December 15, 2022.
The State Board of Education and Early Development proposes to adopt regulation changes to 4 AAC 12.388 Limited world language immersion teacher certificate, and corresponding updates to 4 AAC 12.397(e) (Mandatory training requirements) and 4 AAC 12.405 (Renewal of certificates).
A copy of the proposed regulation changes are available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm, and by contacting Janell Andrews at (907) 465-2800 or at deed.commissioner@alaska.gov.
The Department of Education and Early Development invites the public to submit written comments during the written comment period, which begins with the date of this notice and ends on January 20, 2023, at 4:30 p.m. The written comment period closes in advance of the meeting of the State Board of Education and Early Development at which the board will consider the adoption of the proposed regulation change. This allows the Department of Education and Early Development an opportunity to prepare changes based on written comment and to distribute any proposed changes to the board for its consideration prior to the meeting.
You may comment in writing on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to the Commissioner’s Office, Department of Education and Early Development, Attn: Regulations Review, 333 Willoughby Ave. 9th Floor, SOB, P.O. Box 110500, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0500. You also may submit written comments by electronic mail to deed.commissioner@alaska.gov and online at the website of the Department of Education and Early Development at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm. Written comments also may be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System by accessing this notice on the system and using the comment link.
All written comments must be received not later than 4:30 p.m. on January 20, 2023.
After the written comment period has ended, you may submit oral comments to the State Board of Education and Early Development at a hearing to be held by the board March 16, 2023, by audio-conference or in person at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff (APK) Building, 395 Wittier Street, Juneau, AK 99801. The public comment period will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. but may be extended to accommodate those present before 8:35 a.m. who have not had an opportunity to comment before 9:45 a.m.
You may submit oral comments at this hearing, during this time only, via Zoom virtual platform or in person. You may join the online Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/99391482721 or by calling 1-253-215-8782 and selecting *9 on your phone’s keypad. When public comment is over, the meeting will continue to be broadcast at the above link.
You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Janell Andrews at deed.commissioner@alaska.gov or the Department of Education and Early Development, Attn: Regulations Review, P.O. Box 110500, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0500. If a question is relevant to the proposed change in the regulations and the question is received by January 10, 2023, which is ten days before the end of the public comment period, the department will make a good faith effort to answer the question before the end of the public comment period. The Department of Education and Early Development will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and on the website of the Department of Education and Early Development at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm. The Department of Education and Early Development may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after the ten-day cut-off date and before the end of the comment period.
If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Janell Andrews at (907) 465-2800 or deed.commissioner@alaska.gov not later than January 15, 2023, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.
After the public comment period ends, the Department of Education and Early Development will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected. Written comments received are public records and are subject to public inspection.
Statutory authority: AS 14.07.060, AS 14.20.020
Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 14.20.023
Fiscal information: The proposed regulation change is not expected to require an increased appropriation.