By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO
Alaska’s education system is broken. It has failed our children, our parents, and our communities. Despite having one of the highest per-student spending rates in the nation, Alaska’s students rank at or near the bottom in national education performance metrics. Graduation rates, literacy levels, and college or career readiness remain shockingly low, despite decades of increased funding and bureaucratic oversight.
Our current public education system, governed by Title 14 of the Alaska Statutes, has become an expensive, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucracy that prioritizes compliance over outcomes, administration over instruction, and institutional self-preservation over student success. It is time for a fundamental transformation that restores the power of education to parents, local communities, and students rather than a failing state-run bureaucracy.
The solution: “The Alaska Education Freedom and Local Control Act.” I’ve done all the legwork for any legislator who wants to be its prime sponsor:
This proposed bill would repeal Title 14’s failed framework and establishes a new education model that:
- Directs funding to parents through Parental Education Accounts, ensuring that funding follows the child rather than being trapped in a failing bureaucracy.
- Empowers local governments and communities to determine their own education policies, school structures, and instructional methods without state-mandated interference.
- Eliminates wasteful bureaucracy, dissolving the Department of Education and Early Development as a management entity and redirecting resources to students and teachers.
- Encourages innovation and competition, allowing for a diverse education landscape that includes public, private, charter, homeschool, online, and vocational pathways tailored to Alaska’s unique needs.
Rationale: The Failure of Alaska’s Current Public Education System
- Abysmal student performance despite high costs
- Alaska ranks among the worst in the nation in math, reading, and science proficiency.
- Only 29% of Alaska’s fourth graders are proficient in reading—a foundation for all future learning.
- Despite per-student spending exceeding $19,000 per year, outcomes remain stagnant or in decline.
- A bloated bureaucracy that diverts resources away from the classroom
- Administrative spending has skyrocketed, while teacher pay has remained stagnant.
- School districts employ more bureaucrats than teachers in some cases, creating layers of inefficiency.
- Compliance-driven mandates, rather than student-centered policies, dictate classroom instruction.
- Lack of accountability for failing schools
- The state has no effective mechanisms to intervene in persistently failing schools.
- Parents have no real choice when their children are stuck in underperforming schools.
- Schools receive funding regardless of performance, creating no incentive for improvement.
- One-size-fits-all policies that fail to serve Alaska’s unique student population
- Rural and urban education challenges require different solutions, but the current system treats them the same.
- Vocational and technical education remains underfunded, despite Alaska’s strong career and trade economy.
- Special needs and high-performing students alike are neglected under an outdated, bureaucratic system.
The Alaska Education Freedom and Local Control Act: A New Vision for Education
1. Parental Education Accounts: Funding Follows the Student
- Every child in Alaska will receive a direct education funding allocation into a Parental Education Account (PEA).
- Parents can use these funds for public school tuition, private school tuition, homeschooling resources, online learning, vocational training, and more.
- Accountability measures will ensure funds are spent only on approved educational expenses.
2. Local Control: Communities Determine Their Own Educational Models
- Boroughs, cities, and local school cooperatives will have full authority to design and manage their education systems.
- State-mandated curriculum and oversight will be eliminated, allowing local innovation.
- Charter schools and private school expansion will be streamlined, offering more choices to families.
3. Eliminating Bureaucracy & Reinvesting in Teachers
- The Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) will be dissolved as a regulatory body.
- Funding that currently pays for bureaucrats and compliance enforcement will be redirected toward teacher salaries and student programs.
- Schools will be free to hire and pay teachers competitively, rather than adhering to state-mandated contracts that discourage performance-based pay.
4. Expanding Educational Choices for Families
- Public school choice will allow students to attend any school statewide.
- Charter and private school expansions will remove artificial caps and restrictions, allowing more high-quality options.
- Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs will receive equal funding treatment to traditional academic programs.
Restoring the True Purpose of Public Education
Article VII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution states:
“The legislature shall by general law establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the state and may provide for other public educational institutions. Schools and institutions so established shall be free from sectarian control. No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.”
This bill fulfills this constitutional mandate while ensuring:
- A system of education exists for all students, but parents—not the state—decide the best educational path for their children.
- Public funds remain in public control but are used efficiently to benefit students directly.
- Education is free from excessive government control, fostering local innovation and community-led solutions.
Alaska has the opportunity to lead the nation in education reform that puts students first, eliminates bureaucracy, and empowers parents and local communities. For decades, politicians and special interests have promised improvements while pouring billions into a failed system. It is time to fund students, not bureaucracies and return education to those who care about it most: parents, teachers, and local communities.
Alaska Education Freedom and Local Control Act
An Act to Repeal and Replace the State’s Public Education System Under Title 14
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
Section 1: Repeal of Title 14 Public Education Management and Operation
(a) The following provisions of Title 14 of the Alaska Statutes are hereby repealed in their entirety:
- AS 14.03 (General Provisions)
- AS 14.07 (Powers and Duties of the Department of Education and Early Development)
- AS 14.08 (Regional Educational Attendance Areas)
- AS 14.12 (School Districts and Teachers)
- AS 14.14 (Local Administration of Schools)
- AS 14.17 (State Aid to Public Schools)
- AS 14.20 (Teachers and School Personnel)
- AS 14.30 (Students and Educational Programs)
- AS 14.43 (Scholarships, Grants, and Loans)
- Any other statutory provisions that grant direct management, funding control, or oversight authority of public education to state agencies.
(b) The Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) shall be dissolved as a managing entity of public education, retaining only advisory and reporting functions to track compliance with constitutional requirements.
(c) School districts are dissolved as state-mandated entities. Local governments, school cooperatives, and parent-led initiatives may establish schools consistent with local community values and educational needs.
Section 2: Localized Education Management and Parent-Controlled Funding Model
(a) Parental Education Accounts (PEAs)
- Direct Funding to Parents
- The State of Alaska shall allocate Education Empowerment Funds (EEF) directly to Parental Education Accounts (PEAs) for each child.
- PEAs shall be used for:
- Tuition at public, private, charter, or homeschool programs.
- Educational resources, materials, or technology.
- Special education services and tutoring.
- Extracurricular programs and career training.
- Annual Allocation & Accountability
- The per-student amount shall be equivalent to the current Base Student Allocation (BSA)adjusted for local cost differentials.
- Unused funds shall remain in the account until the student graduates or transfers out of state.
- Mandatory annual audits of PEAs ensure funds are used solely for educational purposes.
(b) Local Government Authority over Education
- Municipal Control
- Cities, boroughs, and local communities may establish, fund, and operate schools according to their unique needs.
- No state-imposed curriculum mandates. Local education providers determine academic programs.
- School Choice and Competition
- Parents may choose any accredited school or program without geographical restrictions.
- Public, private, homeschool, and hybrid models may compete for students and funding.
(c) Teacher Employment and Accountability
- End of State-Mandated Tenure & Certification Requirements
- Teachers shall be employed at the discretion of local schools, cooperatives, or parent-led institutions.
- Schools set their own hiring and retention standards.
- Performance-based pay structures replace tenure-based employment.
- Local Oversight of Educator Effectiveness
- Parents and local governing bodies shall determine teacher accountability and retention policies.
- Funding to underperforming schools may be reallocated by parent or community vote.
Section 3: Constitutional Compliance and Transition Provisions
(a) This Act shall be implemented consistent with Article VII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution, ensuring:
- Equal access to education for all children.
- Protection of public funds for legitimate educational purposes.
(b) The transition period shall commence July 1, 2025, with full implementation by July 1, 2026.
(c) Any remaining funds held by dissolved school districts shall be redistributed to PEAs and local education initiatives.
Conclusion
The Alaska Education Freedom and Local Control Act empowers parents, removes bureaucratic waste, and returns education oversight to communities. This funding-first, government-last model prioritizes student success, efficient spending, and meaningful local control.
Michael Tavoliero writes for Must Read Alaska.
WOW! This would be transformational!!!
A great plan…now…do we have some house and senate members bold enough to run with it?
If not…can we do it by initiative?
We don’t want Alaska to become illiterate and uneducated like the Deep South states that also rely on religious books that contain far fetched stories and view technology as bad, though todays public education teaches how to get along, DEI and anti founding fathers instead of reading writing and arithmetic.
Summarize; Parents are not academic based teachers.
Most parents don’t want to/can’t homeschool their kids and choose to send their kids to school. This proposal includes verbiage that schools or programs have to be accredited to receive funds. As far as your religious education smears, currently some of the best performing schools, testing wise, are religious based.
Alaska kids need practical, rigorous basics to thrive, not social engineering experiments. The Deep South jab is a distraction—Alaska’s not drowning in Bibles or shunning tech. It’s about funding and focus, not fairy tales. Parents aren’t teachers, but they see the system’s flaws and demand better.
You my friend are a product of social engineering.
I agree with you on system flaws, that’s why we need reform which is what Trump is working on now at the national level., Alaska needs to do the same.
My only criticism is with Section 2.2 – per student amount shall be the BSA amount.
As the author notes, Alaska spends over $19,000 per student on education, but the BSA is currently $6000. There would be a disparity in allocated and dispersed funds for education. Would either need to change the definition of BSA or change it to just “per student allocation”.
The way funding is currently done for school districts can really only be described as fraud. Districts essentially tell the state they have twice as many students that are actually in school, because of the BSA adjustment formula.
Nice write-up. I will read it when I have time. There will be points I disagree to be sure. Right now a national melee is occurring in real time and MRAK hasn’t commented so I’m trying to think of how it will come out the occupant in the White House was not brazenly braying a glaring lie when he said Ukraine started the war between Russia and the Ukraine.
AEA and NEA are in denial. They believe that throwing millions of dollars year after year is making a difference. The data is CLEAR! Increasing the BSA is not the solution to educating our students and it shows in the state testing results! Accountability for all; students, teachers, parents, district and state partners; will help us realize the outcomes we
want to see! Appropriating more money is the easy, cop-out way that keeps lining the pockets of unions and employing unnecessary people who earn a paycheck but don’t change a damn thing!
It is either ignorant or dishonest to say that our schools are some of the highest funded in the nation.
We do spend quite a lot on education, but that is in part because we also ask our schools to be community centers and power plants, and those additional functions are quite expensive. What other school district in the nation operates a power plant and buys all the diesel to do so? This is the nature of life in the Alaska bush, stuff costs more than it does in Nebraska, even rural Nebraska. If the state wants to build and operate powerplants to serve schools OUTSIDE of ‘Education’ funding, I’d be all for it. But we are constitutionally obligated to operate schools if there are enough students to trigger the requirement, and in the absence of someone to buy power from, that means we also stand up a powerplant. As an AK voter, I’m not sure how I feel about operating community centers in villages around AK – but if we are going to do so, I fully support double-purposing the school rather than building and maintaining a separate facility for elections and whatever other official business we use schools for.
Plus, those tiny/barely-constitutionally-required schools? No shitake sherlock, running a school with 15 students costs WAY more per pupil than running a school with 1500 students.
We don’t fund our schools the VERY lowest in the nation, but we are darn close, I think the most recent figure I saw was that controlled for unique AK costs, our effective school funding puts us at 49 out of 50, second LOWEST in the Nation.
I actually like a lot of your proposal… but your intro leaves me convinced that you’re lazy, dumb, or dishonest when it comes to diagnosing the current state of our schools.
It’s a proposal, starting point, costs proportionally for rural and urban will be negotiated. Transportation can change a little or a lot. Teachers will get paid better, parents will be defaulted more responsibility resulting in behavior and academic improvement. The current system is broken! as stated.
Great beginnings!
Sounds like the state is off the hook for transportation and families will be forced to be more active in their children’s education (with taking kids to/from school).
I wonder if some of the wholesome homeschoolers will go on annual WWII field trips to Hawaii to firsthand learn about Pearl Harbor with their PEA’s?
A huge part of schools budgets are gobbled up by speech, OT, resource, etc., and related services. This PEA most likely won’t cover all costs for some students meaning we taxpayers won’t be on the hook.
One question: are we worried about districts lowering teacher qualifications considerably to be competitive in the job market? I could imagine some needy districts having very few qualifications to “win” the hire. It may all shake out on its own…just a thought.
This is very comprehensive! thanks for the effort injected here. It’s a plan that can evolve. Pressure on our current lawmakers that insist on throwing money at the current dying system will have to be constant. Let’s call it the “T Plan”. It will soon be referenced that way all throughout our state. T for teacher, T for transition, T for Tavoliero, what does it matter?
Beautiful work, Michael. So many good things here.
You may still run into issues with the last part of the State Constitution: “No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.” Might need an amendment or to expressly designate the funds as a voucher program which would render the State Constitution’s verbiage ineffective?
Also, can there be something in there to limit the size of administrative bureaucracy? ASD is very bloated with non-teaching admin.