NEW! (posted Oct. 14, 2010)
Resolutions Committee Workbook 2010 (doc)
Draft AASB Belief Statements and Core Resolutions with amendments proposed by the Board of Directors and member districts for consideration by the Resolutions Committee on Nov. 11, 2010.
AASB Resolutions Discussion Paper - Oct. 11, 2010 (doc)
This document is intended for use with “Resolutions Committee Workbook 2010,” the draft AASB Belief Statements and Core Resolutions that will be reviewed by the Resolutions Committee on November 11th at the AASB Annual Conference. Various changes proposed by the AASB Board of Directors and our member school districts are explained in this discussion paper.
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CHILD ADVOCACY
3.1 DECLARING CHILDREN THE TOP PRIORITY OF ALASKA
AASB encourages the Alaska Legislature and the Governor to declare children the top priority of the state. This declaration extends to the safety, health, education and future of our children.
Rationale. A declaration of this kind by the state would lend support to prevention and protective services, for all education needs and for a long-range fiscal plan for state government services. Adopted 2004 Sunsets 2013
3.2 PROMOTING STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT
AASB encourages each neighborhood, faith community, civic organization, community, school district, tribal entity and state agency to review the research in order to advocate, create and sustain programs of social and emotional learning and other initiatives that build assets in Alaska’s children and teens, provide positive adult role models and support, and incorporate culturally responsive awareness.
Rationale. Research shows that effective schools, families, faith communities, and all adults in our communities can contribute to the positive development of youth. The difference between troubled teens and those leading healthy, productive, and positive lives, is strongly affected by the presence of what is labeled “developmental assets®.” These assets are additive, meaning that the more a young person has, the better. Forty of these assets were identified – 20 exist in the student’s environment and 20 belong in the head and heart of every child. These developmental assets serve as building blocks for human development in a young person’s life and are developed through positive relationships with adults.
Research shows that the more assets students have the less likely they are to use drugs and alcohol, the less likely they are to be sexually active, to be depressed or have suicidal thoughts, to fail in school, and to exhibit antisocial or violent behavior. The more assets children have the more likely they are to succeed in school, to be involved in their community and to exhibit empathic and caring behaviors.
Research also shows that promoting social and emotional learning leads to reduced violence and aggression among children, higher academic achievement and an improved ability to function both in school and in the workplace. Schools that create socially and emotionally sound learning and working environments and that help students and staff develop greater social and emotional competence, in turn help ensure positive short- and long-term academic and personal outcomes for students and higher levels of teaching and work satisfaction for staff. Amended 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.3 FETAL ALCOHOL AND DRUG EXPOSED STUDENTS
AASB requests that the Alaska Legislature provide and improve effective programs and services aimed at the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) within our state, and to allocate adequate funding necessary to provide parent and guardian training, school staff training, paraprofessional and specialized educational services, including transportation, necessary to serve children with FASD and/or who have suffered from prenatal exposure to illicit drugs.
Rationale. Prevention is the best long-term approach. The public must be educated that the use of alcohol/drugs during pregnancy may severely affect and damage children. The child who has been prenatally exposed to drugs and/or alcohol is at risk for developmental, behavioral, psychosocial and learning problems. Alaska's public schools must provide educational services to all children regardless of developmental impairment. Although Alaska has one of the highest incidence rates of children born with FASD, not all communities have the ability to diagnosis this disease. Not all children with FASD meet the criteria for Special Ed Programs. It is estimated that for every child born with true fetal alcohol syndrome, 10 are born with developmental delay in the context of prenatal alcohol exposure and are difficult to identify.
Children with FASD often require special instructional strategies and materials. The educational identification and service of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is extremely expensive. Funding support for education of children with disabilities is already barely sufficient to meet the needs of those children currently identified. Amended 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.4 PREVENTING ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET
AASB supports efforts to prevent children’s access to pornography on the Internet and encourages efforts to create a more positive, safe interactive electronic communications for children. AASB supports efforts to provide parents with the necessary information about the influence of the Internet in order to assist them in their decisions concerning all Internet access for their child. AASB also supports self-regulation in the industry encouraging providers of pornography to post rating labels and “black-out” pages requiring adult verification before access is granted.
Rationale. Pornography is highly prevalent on the Internet. The Internet allows access to material all over the world with very little regulation. Innocent searches for class or personal information can occasionally lead into pornography. With rating systems in place that would post a rating scale upon a search using an Internet search engine and voluntary “black-out” with adult verification, children’s access to inappropriate material will be limited. Adopted 1997, 2002, Amended 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.5 VIOLENCE IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
AASB supports efforts encouraging and challenging the media, entertainment and advertising industries to develop more positive content for both children and adults that demonstrate nonviolent solutions to problems and respect for human life. AASB supports efforts to provide parents with the necessary information about the influence of media in order to assist them in their decisions concerning all of its influences upon their children. AASB also supports self-regulation within the industry by asking them to post rating labels on all videos and video games rented or sold by video merchants or loaned by public libraries, and prohibiting children under age of 17 from renting R-or X-rated videos, M-rated video games or attending R-or X-rated movies without parental permission.
Rationale. It is estimated that children who regularly watch television are exposed through news and entertainment programming to tens of thousands of violent assaults and deaths by the time they reach adulthood.
Analysis of multiple victim school shootings (Anchorage Daily News, June 21, 1998) indicates a commonality of these four factors: obsession with violent pop culture, a child who felt inferior or picked on (probably suicidal), easy access to guns, and ample warning signs. Reducing the violence will not eliminate the threat, but will work in conjunction with efforts directed at addressing the other three factors. Amended 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.6 INHALANT, ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, METHAMPHETAMINES & OTHER DRUG ABUSE
AASB calls upon the Legislature of the State of Alaska to accept its responsibility to provide leadership, and to provide the funding and support to assist local communities in their strength-based education, prevention and treatment efforts to combat inhalant, alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamines and other drug abuse, and to provide effective law enforcement to ensure laws pertaining to controlled substances are enforced. AASB also requests the State of Alaska make adequate funds available for community-based and residential efforts to address effective substance abuse treatment programs for children, young people and their families.
Rationale: Drug-related problems, including inhalant, alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamines and other drug abuse, are a major debilitating influence on the lives of the youth of Alaska. They have been proven to be the primary contributing factor in the alarming number of dropouts and youth suicides in the State of Alaska. Community-based prevention and intervention efforts are proving effective in combating drug-related problems. The treatment of children and young people is very different from the treatment of adults for substance abuse. Communities need adequate funds for effective substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. Amended 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.7 INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AMONG SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVING CHILDREN
AASB supports interagency information sharing within Federal Rights to Privacy requirements (FERPA, HIPPA) to ensure that children are able to come to school each day ready to learn, and to enable agencies to develop a cooperative treatment plan that involves appropriate school personnel.
Rationale. Children who receive services from social service agencies are already experiencing disruption in their lives. This disruption frequently makes it difficult for them to concentrate on their schoolwork. These students need to have educational skills to succeed in the world. Yet decisions are frequently made about the life of these children that do not take into account their educational needs.
When children are receiving services from multiple agencies, one agency will frequently have information that may be crucial to the service delivery of another agency and/or the child is receiving duplicating and sometime conflicting services from more than one agency. Addressing the needs of the whole child requires an improved delivery system, which is comprehensive, collaborative, child and family centered, and focused on prevention. Amended 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.8 SUICIDE PREVENTION, EDUCATION AND TREATMENT EFFORTS
AASB requests the Legislature to provide funding for statewide suicide prevention efforts coordinated among the peer helper programs, mental health centers, and village based suicide prevention efforts. Prevention efforts should include a statewide program to bring professional mental health counselors on-site to visit schools or support school-based counseling programs.
Rationale. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people 15 -19 years of age, (following unintentional injuries). The rate of teenage suicide in Alaska is much greater than the national average.
Suicide is often precipitated by depression, substance abuse, and separation from a significant other. Coordinated efforts among all agencies will be better able to present programs, which address mental health, coping skills in response to stress, substance abuse, employment, and healthy relationships.
Currently, 57 Alaskan communities participate in the Community-Based Suicide Prevention Program which allows each community to determine and implement the kind of project it believes is most likely to reduce self-destructive behavior. Amended 1998, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.9 SAFE, CARING AND CONNECTED SCHOOLS
AASB supports efforts to provide a school environment that is free from weapons, harassment and intimidation, violence, drugs (including alcohol and tobacco), and other factors that threaten the safety of students and staff. Recognizing the importance of positive school climate and student connectedness to school as powerful influences on student academic success and on reducing youth risk behaviors, AASB urges the Legislature and state agencies to join AASB in supporting school district efforts to improve school climate and increase student connectedness to school.
Rationale. It is common sense that when students feel safe and welcome in school and are encouraged to learn, their attendance increases as well as their academic achievement. Research shows the clear association of school climate and student connectedness with positive academic outcomes and with reduced risk behavior and increased safety. AASB’s School Climate and Connectedness Survey has provided a tool for districts to measure climate and connectedness factors. The survey also has provided Alaska data that aligns with national research. Amended 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.10 SUPPORT OF STATE FUNDING FOR STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES IN ALASKA
AASB recommends the Administration and the Legislature provide funding for school-based student health services.
Rationale. School nurses and other student health services are vitally important supports for student well-being and academic success. Amended 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.11 HIV/AIDS AND OTHER STD EDUCATION
AASB supports providing effective HIV/AIDS and other STD education programs for students and parents, and training for certified and classified school staff. AASB supports an effective and comprehensive education effort that focuses on reducing risk by emphasizing abstinence, healthy decision making and refusal skills. Such instruction may also include the use of barrier methods. An effective way to do this is to bring together a broad consensus of the community in order to develop and implement the district’s HIV/AIDS curriculum on preventing HIV/AIDS and other STD.
Rationale. The impact of all STD’s can be devastating. For instance, the dormancy of the HIV virus can be as long as 10 years and the statistics indicate that many young people are contracting the virus while in their teens. Health education should emphasize the consequences of contracting STDs, many of which are life-long. The instructions should not lull teens into careless and risky behavior. Amended 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.12 EDUCATION OF STUDENTS IN RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIORS RELATING TO HUMAN SEXUALITY
AASB encourages responsible behaviors relating to human sexuality by supporting programs that promote abstinence, develop healthy decision-making skills, teach refusal skills and promote prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Rationale. The Youth Risk Behavior Study of 2007 indicates an increase in the number of students who reported that they had sexual intercourse at least once. In 2007, about 45 percent of high school students reported having had sexual intercourse, compared to 40 percent in 2003.
Research presented by the Search Institute and their “Building Assets in Youth” model has determined that a teen’s belief “in the importance of abstaining from sexual activity and his/her willingness to postpone sexual activity” is significant to their personal and academic development. Amended 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.13 IN SUPPORT OF THE ALASKA CHILDREN’S TRUST
AASB fully supports the work of the Alaska Children's Trust, and urges all member school boards to promote the Trust and its efforts to address the tragic consequences of abuse, neglect, violence, and crime experienced by too many of Alaska's children. AASB urges the Legislature to support and increase the Children’s Trust Endowment.
Rationale. The Alaska Children's Trust was established by the Legislature in 1988 with the mandate to promote initiatives that strengthen families and serve dependent children. The goal of the Children's Trust is to promote and provide opportunities so that Alaska's children can grow to responsible and productive adulthood. The Children's Trust will fund local programs that meet the needs and challenges of Alaska's families and children with innovative, efficient and effective services.
Today, the Trust’s $13 million (2007 annual report) endowment offers the opportunity to create a true "permanent fund for prevention.” Amended 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.14 INCREASED SUPPORT OF ALASKA HEAD START PROGRAMS
Alaska Head Start programs and services are a partnership between federal, state and community-level entities. The Association of Alaska School Boards supports and urges the Congress of the United States, the President, the Alaska Legislature, and the Governor to provide sufficient and consistent funding to make Head Start and Early Infant Learning available to all eligible young Alaskans, regardless of the number of children in the program.
Rationale. Project Head Start has had a beneficial impact on the academic, physical, social, and emotional development of impoverished pre-school students and their families throughout Alaska and the United States since its inception in the 1960's. A significant component of Goals 2000: Educate America and Alaska 2000 education initiatives is that all children will be properly prepared to start school.
Children at-risk who have benefited from a quality early childhood program spend 1.3 years less in some form of special education placement. They have been shown to score higher on such school readiness measures as verbal achievement, perceptual reasoning and social competence than other low-income children attending either another preschool or no preschool.
Head Start has immediate positive effects on children’s socio-emotional development, including self-esteem, achievement, motivation and social behavior. Parents involved in Head Start have been shown to participate more in activities, including transition, than non-Head Start parents.
Within Alaska, 17 Head Start grantee agencies serve children and their families in 101 communities. A large number of eligible Alaskan children (estimated to be nearly 76%) remain unserved, due to lack of sufficient funding. AASB is encouraged by the addition of $600,000 in state general funds to the $6.8 million Head Start budget in FY 2009 and $800,000 addition in FY 2010. The Head Start communities across Alaska contribute over $4.2 million annually through in-kind support. Amended 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.15 SUPPORTING THE SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES ACT
AASB urges the U.S. Congress to continue funding for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act at levels adequate to support effective education, counseling and prevention efforts. The Association recommends that such valuable new initiatives as preventing violence in the schools be funded through separate appropriation.
Rationale. The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act authorized federal appropriations to state and local education agencies to devise programming to provide drug use education, counseling, and abuse prevention services for America's young people. Programs funded through the Act are currently providing valuable services and will be needed for the foreseeable future.
Although violence in the schools is a serious issue and developing programs to combat it is an appropriate federal responsibility, any diversion of resources from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act would cripple important drug education, counseling and abuse prevention programs that are only taking root and becoming effective. Amended 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2013)
3.16 REVISE PARENTAL PERMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS ADMINISTERED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AASB supports modifying the requirements for parental or legal guardian permission for a student to participate in a questionnaire or survey administered in a public school to make it easier for school districts to obtain the necessary permission.
Rationale. To be eligible and/or competitive for state and federal grants, and to effectively target programs to increase student achievement, school districts need school-by-school data to accurately assess the need and success of current efforts. As a result of the passage in 1999 of HB 70, schools are unable to obtain an adequate sample to provide reliable information. HB 130 (Wilson) and SB 101 (Davis) introduced in the 2009 session would modify restrictions to allow greater general information gathering by districts, provide sufficient notification to parents about student surveys and allow parents to opt out of anonymous student surveys. Adopted 2001, Amended 2007, 2009 (Sunset Nov. 2011)
3.17 STUDENT WELLNESS
Good physical and mental health of children is essential if they are to take full advantage of the educational services offered by their school. AASB urges students, parents, educators, guardians, community groups, tribal entities and state and local agencies to collaborate on collective ways to ensure all children are prepared to learn through healthy eating habits, physical activity and access to adequate housing and health care. Due to the federally mandated Child Nutrition Act, funding to school districts should be increased to support adequate school services and programs to address those mandates. Specific school-based measures to reduce child overweight and obesity should include increased funding for school districts.
Rationale. AASB recognizes child wellness is also determined by circumstances outside the school, from the availability of good nutrition and physical activity to the ability of each family to provide housing and health care for their members. Obesity is a growing health threat to all generations of Alaskans; it increases the risks of chronic diseases and conditions such as heath disease, liver failure, diabetes, stroke, hypertension, some cancers and premature death. Therefore, community-based collaboration is essential for long-term success. Adopted 2005, Amended 2006, 2008, 2009 (Sunsets Nov. 2010)
3.18 PROMOTING EARLY CHILDHOOD BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
AASB encourages legislative recognition that brain development in 0-3 year-old children critically impacts educational success. Failure to promote brain development in the very early years is impossible to overcome completely and poses a huge and costly challenge for school districts. AASB supports efforts to inform parents and families about promoting healthy brain development in their very young children and to provide related resources that support early brain development efforts.
Rationale. Success in education is largely dependent on the degree of brain development achieved from birth to age 3. Age appropriate, culturally relevant and native language supported resources need to be made available for families to stimulate proper brain development in order to increase children’s learning potential. Various public and private agencies, including school districts, should encourage collaborative efforts to provide information and effective, research-based resources to parents and guardians of very young children. The benefits of wise investment in young children will be substantial, and the consequences of poor investments costly. Adopted 2005 (Sunsets Nov. 2010)
3.19 SCHOOL ACTIVITY AND STATEWIDE TESTING SCHEDULES IN RELATION TO MAJOR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
In advocating for the respect of cultural differences and in recognition of increasing diversity, AASB encourages the State of Alaska, school districts and the Alaska School Activities Association to schedule major school-sanctioned activities and statewide testing on days that do not conflict with major religious holidays.
Rationale. As of this time, Christmas and Easter do not have major sporting events or other activities for students scheduled for these holidays. In its advocacy role, AASB can influence ASAA, individual school boards and the Department of Education & Early Development to refrain from scheduling student activities, sporting events and statewide testing the Jewish High Holy Days (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah), holidays associated with Islam (Eid, the end of Ramadan), Russian Orthodox Christmas and Easter and other major holidays of our communities’ faith organizations. Adopted 2007 Amended 2009 (Sunsets Nov. 2012)
3.20 INTERVENTIONS AND SANCTIONS THAT REDUCE LOSS OF CREDIT
AASB supports amending AS 14.30.171 to allow school district personnel to reduce or mitigate suspensions or expulsions based on attendance and participation in appropriate interventions.
Rationale. SB 48, an act relating to recommending or refusing psychotropic drugs or certain types of evaluations or treatments for children, was adopted by the legislature in 2006. It does not currently allow school district administration to reduce the number of days for suspensions or expulsions, if there is a program or evaluation in place. The loss of credit and loss of intervention programs negatively impact communities. Adopted 2007 (Sunsets Nov. 2012)
3.21 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FUNDING FOR STUDENT LEARNING & STUDENT NEEDS
AASB member districts thank the Alaska State Legislature for increasing the foundation formula. AASB member districts take seriously their charge to be responsible for state education dollars received and the importance of student learning. Districts agree to provide timely information to AASB when asked to provide information for surveys or other documentation.
Rationale. Legislative members continuously ask AASB to provide information on how districts are spending education funds. AASB member School Districts are urged to compile district information on use of state education funds, to participate in surveys by AASB asking for information in order to advocate for funding for Alaska students. Adopted 2009 (Sunsets Nov. 2014)
