Lawmakers in the Alaska House and Senate are racing to craft a bill that would allow homeschool programs to continue after a judge, leaving parents of more than 20,000 students wondering what next school year will look like.
A judge said April 12 that Alaska’s current allotment program is not constitutionally sound because it allows parents to use state homeschool funding for tuition at private schools in violation of a section of the state Constitution barring the use of public money for private or religious education. The testing requirement is another source of criticism, including from Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his administration. At a news conference on May 1, Dunleavy said it could be inconvenient for homeschool families who value flexibility.
“I don’t have a concern. In fact, statistically speaking, a 14% return is an excellent way to understand how, you know, a survey or some type of program, if you look at any type of research, is doing,” Bishop said.