Governors office outlines omnibus education legislation; borough staff fields questions on homeschool funding

Todd Smolden, representing the governor's office, told the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly the governor had introduced omnibus education legislation that combines several changes to school funding and policy, and described features the office hopes the Legislature will consider.

Smolden said the governor’s package differs from a stand-alone bill (HB 69) that he described as a pure BSA (base student allocation) increase. According to Smolden’s summary of legislative fiscal estimates, HB 69 would raise education spending by roughly $1.2 billion over three years — about $300 million in the first year, $600 million in the second year, and about $700 million in the third year if the BSA change were made permanent.

Why it matters: Smolden said the governor’s plan ties funding to specified outcome goals (literacy and career and technical education among them), increases multipliers for homeschool correspondence students so districts that serve those students receive additional funding when those students use district services, and includes proposals to add charter authorizers and increase transportation dollars. The governor’s office framed the proposals as combining additional funding with reforms used successfully in other states, and Smolden said officials had been monitoring national assessment (NAEP) results in discussing the package.

Assembly members asked whether the governor had engaged with the federal delegation about Department of Education policy changes and how homeschool funding would be implemented. Smolden said the governor has regular conversations with Alaska's congressional delegation and that federal Department of Education guidance could change; he described possible federal policy shifts that would send more flexible funds to states but said details remained uncertain.

On homeschool funding specifically, Smolden described the governor’s proposal to treat homeschool correspondence students as eligible for base funding and then to run those counts through the multiplier steps so districts receive additional money when public schools provide services — for example when homeschooled students take a career and technical education class at a district high school.

Smolden invited assembly members and constituents with questions to contact the governor’s office for more detail, and said staff could provide further information on the package and on related federal education developments.