After a court ruling struck down statutes allowing public funds to be spent at private and religious schools, attorneys for the Alaska Legislature have suggested that public homeschool programs can continue operating constitutionally with a relatively simple change in state law. The Legislature’s attorneys argue that while the struck-down statutes are not in effect, correspondence programs are mentioned numerous other times in state law, and those statutes are currently in effect. The state Board of Education and Early Development could propagate regulations allowing correspondence programs to continue, they said. Legal opinions from the Legislature’s attorneys contradict the stance of Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, who said that the court’s decision appeared to end all correspondence school programs. The Legislature is considering two options: relying on the state board to write regulations or enacting changes through legislation. Over 22,000 Alaska students are currently enrolled in correspondence programs, and parents, school administrators, and legislators have expressed concern about the future of these programs following the court’s ruling. The Anchorage School District has temporarily paused reimbursement requests from parents of homeschooled students, and the Juneau School District has made a similar decision.
