House panel advances Alaska Native languages task force bill after rejecting university, state agency seats

The Alaska House Education Committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill creating a legislative task force to review the state's Alaska Native language programs, but rejected amendments that would have added university administrators and state education officials to the panel.

House Bill 387 establishes the Joint Legislative Alaska Native Languages Academic Task Force to conduct a comprehensive review of the University of Alaska's Native language programs after 50 years. The task force would examine research capacity, teacher training pipelines, and archival work across the state's 23 officially recognized indigenous languages.

The committee moved the bill from committee without objection after adopting two amendments and rejecting three others.

The most contentious debate centered on whether to include the dean of the College of Indigenous Studies at the University on the task force. Representative Schwanke proposed adding the dean, arguing the review would be more effective with program administrators at the table.

"It would be really helpful to have them at the table and have an opportunity for them to weigh in," Schwanke said. "I think we would be just a much more clear and transparent process if we were able to add to the task force at least one staff member from the university."

But supporters of keeping the task force limited to legislators said the dean and other stakeholders should testify as witnesses rather than serve as members.

"I do know that the task force has reached out to stakeholders. I consider the dean a stakeholder, and so I think there are ways to incorporate the dean's input outside of actually having them as part of the task force," said Representative Himschoot, the committee co-chair.

Representative Story, who introduced the bill, said the legislative task force should remain independent. "I do believe that it is a legislative task force and it is important to have people coming before the task force representing so many different things having to do with the Tlingit language and culture and many other languages," Story said.

The amendment to add the university dean failed 4-2, with Representatives Schwanke and Underwood voting yes.

A similar amendment to add a Department of Education and Early Development representative also failed 4-2. Story opposed that amendment as well, noting the original authorizing statute did not put the Alaska Native Language Center under DEED.

The committee did adopt two amendments. One required bipartisan representation on the task force, ensuring at least one minority member from each chamber serves on the six-member panel: three from the House and three from the Senate. The other removed a line concerning morale and statements pertaining to staff.