Education
U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction […]
Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]
Alaska Supreme Court declines definitive decision on law intended to protect college scholarship fund
The Alaska Supreme Court has deferred a decision on the effectiveness of a new law intended to protect the state fund that pays for high school scholarships and Alaska’s equivalent of medical school. In a Nov. 4 court order, the state’s high court deleted part of a footnote contained within a September court decision. Before […]
Alaska’s economy is recovering, but it is hampered by negative demographic trends
Alaska’s economy shows signs of prosperity. But it’s also facing an emerging crisis. A veteran economist described these contradictory forces in a presentation Wednesday at an industry conference in Anchorage. “We have the strangest and weirdest economy that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been following the economy for a long, long time,” Neal Fried of […]
Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and […]
Anchorage schools will close on Election Day in response to elections officials’ request
Anchorage schools will be closed on Election Day, with students working from home because of a request from the Alaska Division of Elections, officials from both agencies said this week. Gail Fenumiai, director of the elections division, said the request was not related to security concerns. Elections officials in other states have received violent threats […]
University of Alaska administration and faculty union reach tentative contract agreement
The University of Alaska’s administration and its faculty union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract Monday, ending 14 months of negotiations. The sometimes contentious process resulted in both parties filing unfair labor practice complaints, which are still ongoing. Faculty union president Abel Bult-Ito said he’s “relieved” negotiations are over, “but I don’t think […]
Alaska Supreme Court takes another look at security of university investment fund
The Alaska Supreme Court is taking a second look at a September decision on a new state law intended to protect the state Higher Education Investment Fund from being automatically drained under a provision of the Alaska Constitution. On Oct. 7, the Alaska Department of Law asked the court for a rehearing, effectively a do-over, […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices cast doubt on affirmative action in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday questioned the legality of race-conscious policies in college admissions, as the justices weighed two cases that could upend the admissions process many colleges use to try to boost diversity on campus. At issue are two cases that challenge the lawfulness of affirmative action at Harvard […]
Here’s where Alaska’s governor candidates stand on the state’s growing child care problem
The cost of preschool child care is a growing problem in Alaska, one of 33 states where the annual cost of day care exceeds the cost of college tuition. Here, the University of Alaska Fairbanks charges $9,870 per year; the latest available estimates of child care costs predate the COVID-19 pandemic and range between $10,000 […]
Alaska students stay steady in reading but decline in math since pre-pandemic, says national assessment
Math scores were down this year for students in Alaska from pre-pandemic 2019, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress released Monday. The change in math scores mirrored a trend seen across the country. Reading scores, on the other hand, for Alaska students stayed about the same. The national average score declines […]
Former ‘Into the Wild’ bus now considered an ‘American treasure’
The National Park Service and the Institute of Museum and Library Services has donated $500,000 to the University of Alaska Museum of the North to help preserve the former Fairbanks transit bus that served as the setting for the book and film “Into the Wild.” The grant was announced Wednesday by the University of Alaska […]