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

3.2 PROMOTING STUDENT SUCCESS THROUGH SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING
AASB encourages each neighborhood, congregation, community, school district, tribal entity and state
agency to review the research in order to advocate, initiate and sustain programs of social and emotional
learning that build assets in Alaska’s children and teens and incorporate culturally responsive awareness.

Rationale. Research (What Kids Need to Succeed–40 Developmental Assets by Benson, Galbraith &
Espeland); (Developmental assets: A synthesis of the scientific research on adolescent development,
Scales and Leffert, 1999) 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 cumulative, meaning that the more a young person
has, the better. Forty of these assets were identified – 20 exist in the teen’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 teens 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 teenagers have the more likely they are to
succeed in school, to be involved in their community and to exhibit empathic and caring behaviors.
Amended 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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)/Fetal
Alcohol Effect (FAE) 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 FASD/FAE children.

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, psycho-social and
learning problems. Alaska's public schools must provide educational services to all children regardless of
handicap. 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 FAS, 10 are born with FAE, and are
difficult to identify.

Children with FASD/FAE often require special instructional strategies and materials. The educational
identification and service of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder/Fetal Alcohol Effect children is
extremely expensive. Funding support for education of handicapped children is already barely sufficient to
meet the needs of those children currently identified. Amended 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
(Sunset Nov. 2008)

3.4 PREVENTING ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET
AASB supports all efforts to prevent children’s access to pornography on the Internet and encourages
efforts to create a more positive, safe computing environment 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 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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. 2008)

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 drugrelated
problems. The treatment of children and young people is very different from the treatment of
adults for inhalant, alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamines and other drug abuse. There is a need for
adequate funds for effective substance abuse treatment programs, particularly for inhalant abuse. In
addition, law enforcement and judicial agencies are under-staffed and under-funded, and are thus unable
to address the illegal use of drugs and alcohol in many of Alaska’s communities. Amended 1998, 1999,
2001, 2005, 2006, 2007 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

3.7 INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AMONG SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVING CHILDREN
AASB supports the development of a state policy on children and youth to ensure that the needs of the
whole child are addressed in a comprehensive manner. This can be done by:
• Urging the State of Alaska to develop protocols protecting each family’s right to privacy but
establishing criteria for need to know;
• Partnerships between schools, behavioral health, and other services to ensure that children are
able to come to school each day ready to learn, and enable agencies to develop a cooperative
treatment plan that involves appropriate school personnel;
• Incentives for interagency cooperation, including the removal of barriers that limit interagency
collaboration and the flexibility to coordinate funds.

Rationale. Children who need to or are receiving services from social service agencies are already
experiencing dislocation in their lives. This dislocation 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 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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 onsite
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. 2008)

3.9 SAFE SCHOOLS/SAFE COMMUNITIES
AASB supports efforts to establish a positive school climate–by training children in peaceful conflict
resolution and youth violence prevention–that reinforces nonviolent solutions to problems and respect for
all students and staff. 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. AASB supports school districts and their communities in
developing plans and strategies to implement “Safe Schools” plans in all schools.

Rationale. All children have a right to attend schools that are safe and free from violence. Recent reports
and surveys document an alarming increase in the incidence of school violence in all types of communities, particularly student-on-student violence. As school board members we must share the
responsibility by involving the resources of the community to work for solutions.

Designated School Safe Zones are just one example of programs and laws that work, and have been
supported by schools. Amended 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

3.10 SUPPORT OF STATE FUNDING FOR STUDENT HEALTH CENTERS IN ALASKA
AASB recommends the Administration and the Legislature provide funding for school-based Student
Health Centers.

Rationale. Of the 45 states that have school-based health centers, Alaska is one of only 12 states that
does not provide financial support for these activities.

The Juneau Teen Health Center is a collaborative effort of four local agencies, started in 1992. The
Health Center, located in the Juneau-Douglas High School, has provided approximately 700 health care
visits each year to students. 45% of the total visits have been for emotional health reasons. A majority of
student health care visits are made solely because the Health Center is sited in the high school.
Amended 2002, 2004, 2007 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

3.11 HIV/AIDS EDUCATION
AASB supports providing effective HIV/AIDS education programs for students and parents, and training
for certified and classified school staff. AASB supports an effective education effort that focuses on
reducing risk by emphasizing abstinence, healthy decision making and refusal skills. 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.

Rationale. 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 that
advances in medical treatment that prolong and improve life with AIDS not lull teens into careless and
risky behavior. Amended 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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 2003 indicates a substantial improvement in the behavior of
youth in a statewide survey, with rates for smoking, consumption of alcohol and marijuana, and sexual
intercourse dropping. In 2003, about 40 percent of high school students reported having had sexual
intercourse, compared to 47 percent in 1995. About 28 percent of students were currently sexually active,
compared to 30 percent in 1995. Teen birth rates have also decreased, from a high of 72 births per 1,000
15-19-year-old girls in 1991 to 43 births per 1,000 in the same age group during 2001.

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 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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 $9.2 million endowment offers the opportunity to create a true "permanent fund for
prevention.” Amended 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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 selfesteem,
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. The Head Start communities across Alaska contribute over $4.2 million annually
through in-kind support. Amended 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

3.15 SUPPORTING THE DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES ACT
AASB urges the U.S. Congress to continue funding for the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. The
Association recommends that such valuable new initiatives as preventing violence in the schools be
funded through separate appropriation.

Rationale. The 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 significant problem, and developing programs to combat it is an
appropriate federal responsibility, any diversion of resources from the 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 (Sunset Nov. 2008)

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. 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 207 (Wilson) introduced in the 2007 session would loosen
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 (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, 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.

Rationale. School districts participating in federally subsidized nutrition programs will be required to
establish a local school wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year, under terms of the
2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. The policy must include goals for nutrition education,
physical activity and other school-based programs that are designed to promote wellness in a manner
deemed appropriate by local districts. But AASB recognizes that 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. Therefore, community-based
collaboration is essential for long-term success. These additional requirements will incur costs to districts
contrary to AASB Belief Statement B.7 Unfunded Mandate. Adopted 2005, Amended 2006

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

3.19 SCHOOL ACTIVITY SCHEDULES IN RELATION TO MAJOR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
In advocating for the respect of cultural differences and in recognition of increasing diversity, AASB
encourages school districts and the Alaska School Activities Association to schedule major schoolsanctioned
activities on days that do not conflict with major religious holidays.

Rationale. Christmas and Easter do not have major sporting events or other activities for students
scheduled for these holidays. As its role for advocacy for our students, AASB can influence ASAA to look
at the schedule to accommodate those students who are adversely affected by continuing to schedule
events on the Jewish High Holy Days (Yom Kippur), holidays associated with Islam (Eid, the end of
Ramadan) and other major holidays of our communities’ faith organizations. Adopted 2007

3.20 INTERVENTIONS AND SANCTIONS THAT REDUCE LOSS OF CREDIT
AASB, as an advocate for children, supports amending AS 14.30.171 to any extent that it prohibits school
district personnel from reducing or mitigating 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 Mat-Su community had a Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) that
was supported as an intervention for students at no cost to the students or families who participated. The
JAC was a valuable service to the community, students, families, school and law enforcement. This
particular program is no longer in effect as a direct result of this law. The loss of credit and loss of the
intervention program impacts the community. Adopted 2007