Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday directed a comprehensive review of how the Department of Defense supports homeschooling among military-connected families.
In a memorandum, Hegseth instructed the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness to conduct a department-wide review that will examine current practices and identify new ways the military can assist families who choose to homeschool their children. The directive also calls for an evaluation of best practices, including whether Department of Defense facilities or other resources could be made available to homeschooled students within military communities.
“Through these efforts, the department will uphold the directive to improve the education, well-being and future success of military-connected students, supporting parents in choosing the best educational options for their children,” Hegseth wrote. “Ensuring that military-connected families receive strong educational support maintains morale and readiness, reinforcing the overall stability and effectiveness of our military communities. This is vital to the department and the quality of life of our service members, who deserve no less.”
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy called it a positive step for the large military community of Alaska.
“Alaska welcomes the support for our homeschooling families. Alaska has one of the most robust public homeschool systems in the country as well as private non-affiliated homeschool. With close to 22,000 students enrolled in Alaska’s public homeschools, Alaska does homeschool as well or better than any anywhere else in the nation, and we want to be known as the state where homeschool families are welcomed and supported,” he said.
The move is part of a broader Trump Administration effort, initiated in January through Executive Order 14191, which directed federal agencies to review how they can expand educational freedom for American families.
The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump, tasked the Department of Defense with assessing mechanisms that would allow military families to use DOD funds for school options of their choice, including private, faith-based, and public charter schools.
“The secretary of defense shall review any available mechanisms under which military-connected families may use funds from the Department of Defense to attend schools of their choice … and submit a plan to the president describing such mechanisms and the steps that would be necessary to implement them beginning in the 2025-26 school year,” the order states.
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell [not the same Parnell as the former Alaska governor] said in a statement that the review reflects the department’s commitment to both military readiness and family well-being.
“The department recognizes the vital role parents play in the education of their children and remains committed to providing military families with the flexibility and support necessary to choose the educational path that best meets their needs,” Parnell said. “Through this effort, the DOD will strengthen support for military-connected students and reinforce the readiness and quality of life of service members and their families.”
Military families, often facing frequent relocations and deployments, have increasingly turned to homeschooling for flexibility and stability in their children’s education. The Pentagon’s new initiative is expected to generate recommendations later this year.
Gov. Dunleavy has a long history of promoting homeschooling. As a state senator in 2013, he sponsored legislation (SB100, passed in 2014 as part of HB278) that created Alaska’s correspondence school allotment program, allowing parents to use state education funds for educational materials and services from public, private, or religious organizations. This program aimed to increase flexibility for homeschooling families to tailor education to their children’s needs.
Dunleavy considers public homeschooling and correspondence programs as part of Alaska’s public school system, emphasizing that they serve public school students with certified teachers to achieve public educational outcomes. He has defended the constitutionality of these programs, particularly the use of allotments, arguing they provide an “indirect benefit” to private or religious institutions rather than a direct one, which he believes aligns with the Alaska Constitution.
In 2024, when a Superior Court judge ruled that the allotment program violated the state constitution by allowing public funds to be used for private or religious education, Dunleavy appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, which reversed the ruling, affirming the legality of the program.
In 2025, Dunleavy introduced education legislation (HB 76, SB 82) that included provisions to fund homeschool students at the same level as the Base Student Allocation for brick-and-mortar schools, increasing funding from 90% to 100% of the BSA. His proposals often tie increased education funding to reforms that boost homeschooling and charter schools, which he sees as high-performing alternatives to traditional schools.
Public schools are failed institutions.
“In 2024, when a Superior Court judge ruled that the allotment program violated the state constitution by allowing public funds to be used for private or religious education, Dunleavy appealed the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, which reversed the ruling, affirming the legality of the program.”
As I recall, Scott Kendall, Esq. had something to do w/that suit. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
Now if Dunleavy and Hegseth would support the airmen in the 176th Wing who are being denied re-enlistment because they refused to get the Covid shot.
As a long time homeschooling family in Alaska, we are still wondering if Trump is going to make good on his $10k per student School choice he made from the campaign trail. The alternative is that we are destined to die on the mound of a program we don’t enjoy being linked with or suffer paying taxes in a muni we don’t receive anything from in turn having to pay for our own curriculum since most programs will not reimburse anything that even mentions God or faith?! Looking forward to that July deadline and we are praying Dunleavy and our conservative representatives don’t Rhino with our children’s education.