JBER liaison reports DoD homeschooling guidance and says base summit affected school bus routes

Colonel Dustin Hansen, the mission support group commander at Joint Base Elmendorf‑Richardson (JBER) and the base’s primary school liaison, briefed the Anchorage School District board on Aug. 19 about services for military‑connected students and a recent high‑profile base event that affected bus operations.

Hansen told the board JBER is home to more than 1,600 students, including roughly 650 who attend off‑base schools; he gave grade‑level breakdowns of approximately 280 high‑school students, about 380 middle‑school students and roughly 950 elementary students on base. He said base leadership has organized monthly home‑instructed (homeschool) community meetings to listen to families new to homeschooling and noted families expressed appreciation for district supports such as Frontier Charter School.

Hansen referenced a Department of Defense memorandum dated May 15 titled “homeschooling support for military connected students,” and said the directive aligns with Executive Order 14191 (referenced in his remarks) in directing departmentwide support for military families’ education choices. Hansen offered to provide the memorandum to district staff.

He also described logistical impacts from a recent summit on base that required heightened security and disrupted bus routes during school release times. Hansen said the last‑minute movement of a dignitary along a security route caused buses to be stopped briefly; he praised the district transportation staff for coordination and said the event was a useful exercise in interagency planning.

Board members asked whether the base could supply local data on the number of recent graduates entering the armed forces; Hansen agreed to contact local recruiting offices and report back. No formal action resulted from the report.