Education
Both sides of Alaska homeschool case want programs in place, disagree over how it should happen
The administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy and plaintiffs in a court case whose outcome struck down key components of Alaska’s homeschool programs have different ideas for how to get families who use those programs through the next year. Earlier this month, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman ruled that the law allowing the state to […]
Alaska House approves social media ban for young kids, online pornography ID checks for all
The Alaska House of Representatives voted by a wide margin and with bipartisan support on Friday to ban children younger than 14 from using online social media. House Bill 254, from Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, also requires companies that provide internet pornography to check whether an Alaskan viewing that pornography is at least 18 years […]
New Alaska research projects focus on climate change, mercury and workforce development
Four new research projects selected for funding in a University of Alaska Anchorage program will address some of the most pressing problems facing the state: climate change, marine ecosystem health and losses in the labor force. The projects, each designed to run for two years, were winners in an annual competition that uses an endowment […]
Alaska Senate plans fast action on correspondence problem, but House is ‘fundamentally divided’
As the Alaska Senate prepared on Wednesday to launch a legislative blitz intended to quickly fix a looming problem with the state’s remote education programs, the Alaska House of Representatives signaled that it is so split that it may need more than a year to act on the topic. House lawmakers spent more than three […]
Alaska Senate considers plan that would allow teens to independently seek mental health care
To address a surge in mental health problems among young Alaskans, the Alaska Senate is considering whether to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to seek therapy without their parents’ permission. On Wednesday, the Senate is scheduled to vote on Senate Bill 240, a proposal introduced by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and amended by Senate Majority Leader Cathy […]
BIA boarding schools’ devastating legacy continues to echo in Alaska
There was only one purpose for the boarding school system in Alaska. In fact, there was only one purpose for the Bureau of Indian Affairs educational program in America. It was all about white power. White supremacy. Assimilate the savage Natives by force. The Inupiat people of our Bering Straits region, first subjugated by the […]
Lawmakers to wait on Alaska Supreme Court as families reel in wake of correspondence ruling
Over the last 26 years, Penelope Gold has used the state’s correspondence school program to homeschool six of her seven children. Most have graduated, but her youngest daughter is in fifth grade. For all that time, Gold said she has gotten cash from the state to round out her kids’ education with things like sports, […]
Alaska House members propose constitutional amendment to allow public money for private schools
After a court ruling that overturned a key part of Alaska’s education correspondence programs, members of the state Legislature have proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow public money to go to private and religious schools. House Joint Resolution 28 is scheduled for hearings Wednesday and Friday next week in the House Judiciary Committee. If […]
House committee advances bill to require overdose-reversing drug in Alaska schools
A proposal to require Alaska schools to keep opioid-overdose-reversing drugs on campus advanced out of the House Education Committee on Monday. Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, has said House Bill 202 is intended to save student lives as opioid overdoses have begun to happen on Alaska campuses. “These are drugs that are easily accessible, they’re easily […]
Alaska House committee advances, expands proposal to bar trans girls from girls sports
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded and advanced a bill that would limit Alaska students’ sports participation to teams that match their sex at birth. Twenty-four states have passed similar laws. House Bill 183 was amended in the committee’s Friday meeting to include collegiate sports as well as elementary and middle school sports. […]
Alaska correspondence students to ‘finish out the year’ while officials grapple with ruling
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is advising state school districts to continue business as usual after a legal decision struck down the core of the state’s correspondence school programs. “I will be sending out a letter today to all school districts with some direction,” said Deena Bishop, the agency’s commissioner, on Monday […]
Alaska judge strikes down state’s cash payments to families using correspondence school programs
An Anchorage Superior Court judge on Friday struck down an Alaska law that allows the state to distribute cash payments to the parents of homeschooled students on the grounds that it violates constitutional prohibitions against spending state money on private education. “This court finds that there is no workable way to construe the statutes to […]