Education

A farmer pours milk into a container, with dairy cows in the background, in an undated photo. (Getty Images)

U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools 

BY: - June 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and health care, but regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to shelter undocumented people, a […]

U.S. Capitol is seen in an undated photo. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

U.S. Senate votes to block student loan relief, White House will veto

BY: - June 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is on hold due to a pending Supreme Court decision. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, but the 52-46 vote forced vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024 to take a public […]

A statue of Charles Bunnell, the first president of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, as the University of Alaska Fairbanks was once known, is seen on Sept. 18 on the UAF campus. An administrative order issued by Gov. Mike Dunleavy removes college-degree requirements for most state jobs. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy appoints figure behind illegal loyalty-pledge scheme to university board

BY: - June 1, 2023

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Tuckerman Babcock, a longtime Republican and former aide, to the University of Alaska Board of Regents. Babcock, together with the governor, orchestrated an illegal loyalty pledge scheme, a federal judge ruled two years ago. The governor’s office announced Babcock’s appointment late Wednesday after the Alaska Legislature rejected a prior pick […]

The Atwood Center at the Alaska Pacific University campus is seen on April 24. A U.S. Department of Labor grant of nearly $3 million will be used by APU to vastly expand the university's nursing program. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Pacific University poised to expand nursing program, thanks to U.S. Department of Labor grant

BY: - June 1, 2023

A federal grant of nearly $3 million over five years will enable Alaska Pacific University to vastly expand its nursing-education programs, the university announced on Wednesday. The grant, from the U.S. Department of Labor, was one of 25 given to public-private partnerships across the nation to expand nursing training, APU said. While the entire nation […]

A formline drawing of a thunderbird is seen above a basketball hoop and backboard

Alaska state school board considers rule that would limit transgender athletes

BY: - May 31, 2023

The state of Alaska is proceeding with plans to limit transgender students’ ability to participate in sports and activities. On June 8, the state board of education will consider a regulation that would bar transgender student-athletes from participating in school sports and activities under their gender identity. It would limit students to either multi-gender sports […]

A child plays in an undated photo. (Getty Images)

Alaska child care providers say funds approved by Legislature are crucial to staying open

BY: - May 27, 2023

The Legislature put an additional $7.5 million towards grants for child care providers in this year’s budget. The funding is half the amount advocates say it would take to boost wages and stabilize the industry. Some lawmakers say they have more work to do.

Catherine Walker shows students how to use an underwater drone at Dimond High School. Walker was named Alaska's 2024 Teacher of the Year. (Photo by Kenley Hampton)

Department of Education names Alaska’s 2024 Teacher of the Year

BY: - May 22, 2023

Catherine Walker planned to be a surgeon. She took pre-med classes, interned with a surgeon and was an EMT in college. But after two years teaching in the Peace Corps in Mali, she was hooked. Now, nearly two decades later, the Anchorage science teacher is Alaska’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Sen. Bert Stedman speaks about the budget at a news conference on Thursday. Pictured with him are Senate President Gary Stevens and Sen. Bill Wielecowski. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Senate passes major one-time education funding increase

BY: - May 18, 2023

The Alaska Senate passed what lawmakers described as the largest one-time education funding increase in state history on Wednesday night. It will cost the state roughly $175 million in a $6.1 billion budget.

Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, motions to advance Senate Bill 140, an education measure, from the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Legislature unlikely to pass major education policy changes in session

BY: - May 17, 2023

A bill to increase broadband access in rural schools and a major school funding bill were combined in the final days of the session, likely leaving neither in a position to pass.

Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, speaks during a hearing on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 and the Parents Bill of Rights Act, March 8, 2023. (Screenshot from committee’s livestream)

U.S. House GOP questions education secretary on transgender athletes, student loans

BY: - May 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the secretary of education about student debt cancellation and protections for transgender student athletes during a lengthy hearing on the president’s proposed budget request for the Department of Education. While the subject of the five-hour House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing was the fiscal 2024 budget […]

Alaska senators approve permanent increase to public school funding, with House support in question

BY: - May 11, 2023

Alaska’s public schools will receive their largest-ever funding increase if the Alaska House and Gov. Mike Dunleavy agree with a bill passed Thursday by the state Senate. In a 16-3 vote on Thursday, the chamber approved Senate Bill 52, which permanently increases the state’s per-student funding formula, known as the base student allocation, by $175 […]

An empty hallway at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in Juneau, Alaska, on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)

Senators seek to increase support for Alaska student transportation costs as part of school funding bill

BY: - May 9, 2023

An empty hallway at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in Juneau, Alaska, on July 20, 2022. On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced support for student transportation. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)