Section 14.07.180 - [Effective Until 7/1/2025] Curricula approval and review; pilot program; incentives(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board shall establish standards and a procedure for the review, ranking, and approval of mathematics and English and language arts curricula for school districts to use in each grade level as provided in this section. The board may include curricula delivered through virtual education in the standards and procedure established under this subsection. Standards established for the review, ranking, and approval of language arts curricula for early education programs and grades kindergarten through three must be based on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, oral language skills, and reading comprehension.(b) The department, in consultation with school districts, shall review mathematics and English and language arts curricula used in schools in the state and in other states and countries and may include in the review curricula delivered through virtual education. Not later than July 1, 2019, the department shall identify the best mathematics and English and language arts curricula and the best teaching practices for each of the curricula. The department may identify the best mathematics and English and language arts curricula delivered through virtual education.(c) The department shall submit the curricula and teaching practices that the department identifies as the best under (b) of this section to the board for approval, including evidence supporting the department's selection, if the department concludes that the curricula and best practices (2) are in compliance with the nondiscrimination standards established under AS 14.18.060 (b);(3) are aligned with state education standards; and(4) result in improved academic achievement for students.(d) The board may approve curricula submitted under (c) of this section if the curricula are consistent with the standards established by the board under (a) of this section. The department shall place the curricula approved by the board into two categories as follows:(1) incentivized curricula for the best curricula for each subject, based on evidence provided to the department; the department may place not more than two curricula in this category for each subject;(2) designated effective curricula for the curricula for each subject that are not incentivized curricula but that the department finds appropriate and effective based on factual and other evidence provided to the department.(e) A three-year pilot program is established in the department, starting in the 2019-2020 school year, to test the appropriateness and effectiveness of the incentivized curricula approved under (d) of this section. In conducting the program, the department shall(1) establish an application process for school districts to apply for participation in the program;(2) select four school districts from those that apply to participate in the program, including two rural and two urban school districts, basing the selection of the school districts on the readiness and capacity of each district;(3) assign to each participating school district the incentivized mathematics curriculum or the incentivized English and language arts curriculum; the department shall assign the mathematics curriculum to one rural and one urban school district and the English and language arts curriculum to one rural and one urban school district;(4) starting in the 2019-2020 school year, distribute incentive payments, not to exceed $10,000,000 in total, to the four school districts to assist with the purchase and implementation of the curricula, including best teaching practices and professional development, and purchase of instructional materials.(f) At the completion of the pilot program under (e) of this section, the department shall(1) if the department finds that the incentivized curricula tested in the pilot program are appropriate and effective, submit the findings to the board; and(2) if the board finds that the curricula tested in the pilot program are appropriate and effective, make the curricula and one-time incentive payments under (g) of this section available to all school districts starting in the 2022-2023 school year and ending in the 2024-2025 school year.(g) The department may distribute an incentive payment available to a school district in an amount that is not more than the school district's ADM multiplied by 150, subject to availability of funding, if the governing body of the school district(1) selects one of the incentivized curricula for implementation in the school district in an eligible school year under (f)(2) of this section;(2) requests an incentive payment from the department;(3) has not previously implemented the incentivized curricula; and(4) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department the readiness and capacity of the school district to implement the curricula.(h) In addition to any unexpended money under (e)(4) of this section, the department may distribute not more than $9,500,000 in incentive payments under (f) and (g) of this section.(i) The department shall publish on the department's Internet website and make available to the public(1) all curricula used by school districts in the state for all subjects, whether or not the curricula are approved; and(2) the curricula approved under (d) of this section.(j) The department shall submit an electronic report to the legislature and make the report available to the public on the department's Internet website. The report must provide information on the pilot program and the curricula that each school district has adopted. On or before January 15, 2019, and each year thereafter, the department shall submit the report required under this subsection to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available.(k) Each school district shall submit to the department the relevant information needed for the department to carry out its duties under this section.(l) Payments for curricula implementation under the pilot program described in (e) of this section and incentive payments under (f) and (g) of this section are subject to appropriation. If insufficient funding is available to distribute payments to all school districts that request funding in a year under (g) of this section, the department may distribute payments to the remaining school districts the following school year.(m) If the applications for participation in the pilot program are insufficient to meet the requirements under (e) of this section, the department may select four school districts from those that apply, taking into consideration geographical diversity.(n) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the department may distribute incentive payments to school districts that use curricula reviewed and approved by the board under AS 14.07.165 (c). The department may provide incentive payments, subject to appropriation, to school districts based on the readiness and capacity of the school district as determined by the department.(o) In this section,(1) "rural" has the meaning given in AS 14.43.700;(2) "school district" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350;(3) "school district's ADM" has the meaning given to "district ADM" in AS 14.17.990;(4) "urban" means a community other than a community described in AS 14.43.700;(5) "virtual education" means instruction delivered through telecommunications or other digital or electronic methods.Amended by SLA 2022, ch. 40,sec. 24, eff. 7/1/2023.Added by SLA 2018, ch. 73,sec. 3, eff. 10/28/2018.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.