Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson of Anchorage, a leading Democrat in the Alaska Senate, has announced some of her early-filed legislation, some of which interferes with schools’ ability to improve students’ basic skills.
Three items involve education mandates that take students away from core courses and the fourth puts law enforcement officers in danger, by not allowing them to subdue a dangerous subject with a chokehold, if necessary.
Here are some of Gray-Jackson’s early bills for the legislative session that gavels in on Jan. 21:
Asian American/Pacific Islander Program: This bill will mandate the inclusion of Asian American/Pacific Islander history and culture in the curriculum of all Alaskan public schools. “It’s crucial that our students have a comprehensive understanding of the diverse history and contributions of all communities that make up our state,” she said.
Alaska is home to some Pacific Islanders, about 19,000 or about 3% of the state’s population. Some areas of the state have few Pacific Islanders, while other areas, like Anchorage, have more. The Asian American population is about 65,000 people, or up to 5% of the population.
Just .37% of the population in the Nome Census Area is Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander. The reading and math scores in this same region are abysmal. At Nome-Beltz Middle/High school, only 8% of students score at or above proficient in reading, compared to the state average of 27%.
In Valdez-Cordova Census Area, just .26% of the population is Pacific Islander.
Alaska schools are already required to include Alaska Studies, including social, economic, and political history of Alaska, as well as the history of Natives.
CPR Curriculum: Gray-Jackson wants to require school districts to teach CPR to students “at appropriate grade levels.” This is another distraction from reading, writing, math, science, and other life skills needed by students, who can learn these skills in extra-curricular settings.
According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 39 out of 50 states have passed laws requiring CPR and automated external defibrillator training for high school students. But researchers found that rates of bystander CPR were barely higher in states requiring CPR education in high school versus those that did not: 41.6% vs 39.5%, respectively.
Mental Health Education: Gray-Jackson wants to require all school districts to integrate age-appropriate mental health curriculum into the mandated health curriculum. Many conservatives see this as a dog-whistle for woke education that may include gender politics and sexual-orientation indoctrination.
Chokehold Ban: For a third time, Gray-Jackson wants to ban the use of carotid holds and tracheal holds, as well as any restraint that impedes a person’s breathing or circulation in a way that could produce a loss of consciousness.
“This legislation aims to enhance public safety and prevent tragic outcomes,” she says.
What she does not say is that by hamstringing public safety frontline people, she puts their lives in danger, as the drug addicts on the streets become more and more dangerous. The senator is offering this legislation for the third time time; it failed in 2021-22, 2023-24, and has a better chance in 2025, since the Legislature has been taken over by the Democratic Party.
Deaths resulting from neck restraints are less than 1% of officer-involved killings. Eliminating them as an option would have little impact, other than requiring an officer to use even more deadly force.
