NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON 4 AAC 33.605-630
         IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT

The Department of Education and Early Development proposes to adopt regulation changes in 4 AAC 33.600-4 AAC 33.690 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with increased internet speed for districts through the Broadband Assistance Grant (BAG) program, including the following:

(1) 4 AAC 33.605-.630 are proposed to be changed as follows: Increase funding for schools up to a     maximum of 100 Mbps. Under previous AS 14.03.127(a), “[e]ach fiscal year,” a district that              qualifies for a discount under the E-Rate program is eligible to receive “an amount for each school that is equal to the amount needed to bring the applicant’s share to 25 megabits of download a second of the Internet Service.” With the recent amendment by HB193, signed into law as Chapter 1, SLA 2024, AS 14.03.127 now funds Internet support for less than or equal to 100 Mbps and requires amendments of the corresponding regulations, specifically 4 AAC 33.600 – 4 AAC 33.690

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Executive Secretary to the Board, Kathijo Jolin at P. O. Box 110500, 333 Willoughby Ave. 9th Floor, Juneau, AK 99811. Additionally, the Department of Education and Early Development will accept comments by electronic mail at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov. Comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System by accessing this notice on the system and using the comment link. The comments must be received not later than 4:00 pm on October 1, 2024

Oral or written comments also may be submitted at a hearing to be held on October 9, 2024, in Wasilla, Alaska. Location to be determined and posted later. The hearing will be held from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and might be extended to accommodate those present before 10:00 am who did not have an opportunity to comment.

You may provide oral comments relevant to the proposed action via telephone at the hearing to be held on October 9, 2024, by calling 1-253-205-0468 (toll free) and selecting *9 on your phone’s keypad (Meeting ID 993 9148 2721). There will not be in-person attendance provided at the hearing site, so please prepare to share your oral comments by telephone only. The hearing is scheduled from 9:00 am to 10:00 am and priority will be given to commenters on the line before the beginning of the hearing. The hearing may be extended to accommodate those on the line before 9:00 am who did not have an opportunity to comment. Before the start of the hearing, the State Board of Education’s chair of the Board, James Fields, may limit the time allotted for each person providing oral testimony, as reasonably necessary to conclude the hearing in the time provided.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to the Executive Secretary to the Board, Kathijo Jolin at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov, P. O. Box 110500, 333 Willoughby Avenue, 9th Floor, Juneau, AK 99811. 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 https://education.alaska.gov/State_Board.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact eed.stateboard@alaska.gov and 907-269-2802 not later than September 15, 2024, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided
Statutory authority: AS 14.03.127; AS 14.07.020; AS 14.07.060

Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 14.03.127(a)
Fiscal information: It is estimated that the proposed regulation changes will require increased appropriations as follows: FY2025 in the amount of $25,381,000 and $40,600,000 for FY2026 forward.

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 notices of proposed regulation changes. To be added to or removed from the list, send a request to the State Board of Education at eed.stateboard@alaska.gov , giving your name, and either your e-mail address or mailing address, as you prefer for receiving notices.

Individuals can also sign up 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.