Alaska Supreme Court sides with state, allows correspondence school laws to stand

The Boney Courthouse successful Anchorage connected June 27, 2024. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

The Alaska Supreme Court has reversed a little tribunal ruling that threw nan early of homeschooling successful Alaska into question. 

In an eight-page summary opinion, Alaska’s highest tribunal unanimously sided pinch nan authorities Friday successful a lawsuit that challenged laws astir rate payments to homeschool families, known arsenic allotments. A superior tribunal judge ruled successful April that because immoderate families were allowed to walk their allotments connected backstage schoolhouse classes, nan laws violated a law prohibition connected utilizing authorities costs astatine backstage schools.

The tribunal said plaintiffs successful nan lawsuit had grounded to show that a 2014 rule reforming nan state’s correspondence schoolhouse strategy violated nan authorities Constitution. It said that because location are a scope of permissible uses for allotment funds, nan parents who sued to propulsion retired nan rule had not met nan precocious barroom basal to situation a statute.

But, astatine nan aforesaid time, nan tribunal declined to opportunity whether nan usage of allotments astatine backstage schools is constitutional. 

The tribunal said that because schoolhouse districts o.k. vendors to beryllium paid pinch allotment funds, nan authorities was nan incorrect statement to sue. The tribunal remanded nan lawsuit to nan little tribunal for further proceedings connected that point.

A afloat determination will travel astatine a later date, nan tribunal said. The ruling comes conscionable days earlier nan little tribunal ruling was group to return effect and conscionable a time aft the lawsuit was based on successful Anchorage.

This is simply a processing story. Check backmost for updates.