BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The Department of Education and Early Development proposes to supplement changes to limited teacher certificate regulations previously noticed on December 20, 2022 including adoption of material by reference and proposed amendments to the seal of biliteracy regulation.

This is a SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE adding to the NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES issued on December 20, 2022, concerning changes to limited teacher certificate regulations contained in Department of Law file 2022200596. The department has released this SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE to advise the public that additional regulation changes amend the seal of biliteracy regulation and adopt by reference the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language’s publication titled Proficiency Guidelines 2012. The proposed amendments would

            (1) adopt new regulation 4 AAC 04.225 to incorporate by reference the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language’s publication titled Proficiency Guidelines 2012, to provide     standards for alternative foreign language proficiency assessment under 4 AAC 12.388 and 4       AAC 06.079;

            (2) amend the seal of biliteracy regulation at 4 AAC 06.079 to incorporate the alternative foreign language proficiency standards of proposed 4 AAC 04.225;

            (3) amend 4 AAC 06.079(c) to clarify the definition of "world language"; and

            (4) make additional amendments to 4 AAC 12.388 as proposed for repeal and readoption in the    December 20, 2022 public notice, including incorporation by reference of the alternative foreign            language proficiency standards of proposed 4 AAC 04.225.

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 November 17, 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, State Office Building, P.O. Box 110500, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0500. You also may submit written comments by electronic mail to eed.stateboard@alaska.gov and online at the website of the Department of Education and Early Development at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm. 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 November 17, 2023.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Heidi Teshner at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov or 333 Willoughby Ave. 9th Floor, State Office Building, P.O. Box 110500, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0500. The questions must be received at least 10 days 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 agency website at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Heidi Teshner at (907) 465-2800 or eed.stateboard@alaska.gov not later than November 26, 2023, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Heidi Teshner at (907) 465-2800 or at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov.

A copy of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language’s publication titled Proficiency Guidelines 2012, proposed to be adopted by reference, is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, at https://education.alaska.gov/regs/comment.cfm, and by contacting Heidi Teshner at (907) 465-2800 or at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov.

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.

Statutory authority: AS 14.07.020, AS 14.07.060, AS 14.20.020, AS 14.20.023

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.

The Department of Education and Early Development keeps a list of individuals and organizations interested in its regulations. Those on the list will automatically be sent a copy of all of the Department of Education and Early Development’s notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to or removed from the list, send a request to the Department of Education and Early Development at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov, giving your name, and either your email address or mailing address, as you prefer for receiving notices.

Individuals can also signup to receive automated notifications of all State of Alaska notices, including public notice for regulation changes, by subscribing to the Alaska Online Public Notices System: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Default.aspx.