Alaska’s second-largest school district is looking to officially oppose a proposed bill in the State Senate, which critics say will divert funds from popular homeschooling and charter schools, in order to funnel additional money into shrinking traditional state schools.

On March 18, the Mat-Su School Board introduced a resolution against Senate Bill 277, which is being pushed by Democrat legislators in the Senate Education Committee.

The Mat-Su resolution, which won’t be voted on until the April 1 meeting, begins by affirming that Alaska has a long-standing tradition of affirming a parent’s right to direct the education of their child, including choosing correspondence programs without unnecessary administrative barriers or compulsory enrollment in a local school district.

The resolution takes issue with proposed changes in SB 277 that would “impose new financial and administrative burdens on families participating in correspondence programs, appearing to remove parents from their present role as primary decision-makers in their children’s education.”

It also notes that SB 277 increases a school district’s ability to divert funds away from charter schools, while placing “severe restrictions” on homeschool students’ ability to utilize funding for special education services, in-person classes, career and vocational courses, or extracurricular activities, thereby isolating correspondence students and denying vulnerable students essential support.”

The resolution also criticizes the proposed bill’s attempt to divert funding away from the district that a student chooses to enroll in and to send that money to the district where the child resides, regardless of whether they receive educational services there.

“Under this model, families may be required to enroll in a district that does not directly provide instructional services, teachers, or resources, raising serious questions about the justification for administrative overhead charges and effectively forcing districts to dismantle their statewide correspondence offerings,” the proposed resolution states.

The resolution concludes by urging lawmakers to protect and affirm the rights of parents to direct their children’s education without unnecessary requirements, allow funding to follow the student, ensure geographical freedom and educational choice, and to preserve Alaska’s long-standing correspondence education tradition.

TAKING ACTION

— Click here to read SB 277.

— To contact members of the Senate Education Committee, click here.

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