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DEED outlines governor’s education priorities and plans for data dashboard in subcommittee briefing
Summary
Commissioner Dina Bishop presented the Department of Education and Early Development’s organizational structure, the governor’s three education priorities, and plans to modernize the department’s data dashboard to improve transparency and accountability.
The Department of Education and Early Development presented an overview of the agency’s mission, organizational structure and the governor’s education priorities to the House Finance Education Subcommittee on Jan. 31.
Commissioner Dina Bishop described three focus areas in the governor’s priorities: empowering families and students with educational options, targeting investments for improved educational results, and ensuring educational rights and safeguards. Bishop said those priorities are aligned with the broader five priorities of “Alaska’s Challenge,” the agency’s statewide strategy created in 2015–16.
Bishop told members the department’s executive and administration functions are funded primarily with state general funds. “These particular positions are all general fund by the state,” she said when asked whether DEED positions on the organizational chart were state funded or federally funded. Bishop and Deputy Commissioner Karen Morrison said the department has federally funded positions as well but that the administration positions are general‑funded.
The department also described plans for a modernized data dashboard to make student achievement information easier to find and analyze. Bishop said the dashboard’s purpose is “to modernize the data collection of the department” and to increase transparency so stakeholders can better monitor performance and accountability. She distinguished transparency from accountability: “accountability comes in the actions you take to be accountable to your goals,” Bishop told the committee.
Lawmakers asked for budget alignments linking these priorities to specific line items in the subcommittee’s budget book. Bishop said the presentation and accompanying materials show how priorities connect to programs and that the governor’s 2026 operating budget will be available for review. She also noted the department uses a mix of state general fund positions and federal funds for certain programs.
The subcommittee pressed for more detailed information about the department’s employee counts, vacancies and which positions are federally funded; DEED agreed to return with a breakdown of exact positions and funding sources.
