The first round of pre-filed legislation was released on Friday, giving us a preview of what will be in store on everything from rules regulating AI to campaign finance limits when the Alaska Legislature convenes later this month.
Alaska’s public education system drew the most attention from lawmakers, with nearly a dozen bills proposing everything from new courses and improved education for deaf and hearing-impaired students to a far-right Republican’s bill requiring all schools to allow employees and volunteers to carry concealed handguns.
Members of the incoming House and Senate bipartisan coalitions — comprising Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans — have proposed legislation ranging from Fairbanks Democratic Rep. Maxine Dibert’s bill making breakfast and lunch in public schools free to bills pushing for courses on civics, financial literacy and the history and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The slate includes other priorities, such as a ban on students’ cell phones as well as CPR training and bringing back defined-benefit teacher pensions.
Dibert, a longtime school teacher, said the financial well-being of public schools is one of the key uniting issues of the House’s incoming bipartisan coalition.
“I know that my colleagues and I committed to supporting our schools. We believe in education, and it’s one of the reasons we have the bipartisan coalitions,” she said. “I think all of our constituents in our coalition want great neighborhood schools more than anything else.”
School Meals for Students
Dibert’s House Bill 12 would provide universal free breakfast and lunch in public schools statewide. The policy has gained attention from legislators nationwide after pandemic-era funding for free meals showed promise in educational outcomes, attendance and overall student health.
“It was just so stress-free, and all kids were happy,” Dibert recalled about teaching during the COVID era when school meals were free, and teachers and administrators didn’t have to worry about whether students would have enough to eat. Sometimes, Dibert said, she was paying for her students’ lunches from her own account.
“And I remember when (free student meals) ended, it returned to being very stressful again. You know, parents had to figure out how to pay their lunches again, and kids couldn’t line up and enjoy just going down to get fed.”
Free and reduced meals in schools are connected to a family’s eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In recent years, Alaska’s program has faced massive delays in approving SNAP applications and delivering benefits. Legislators approved changes to the program last year that make it more difficult for families to get bumped from eligibility by small pay raises or gifts, Dibert said, but that still frequently leaves teachers picking up the slack.
Some people might not understand, said Dibert, how critical school meals can be for students — how it can be the only consistent and healthy meal some kids get each school day — recalling how some of her students often were hungriest when returning to school after the weekend. It’s more challenging for kids to learn when they are hungry, she said. Early research on universal free meals has found that more students are being fed at schools, marking improvements in student health and attendance along with drops in suspensions.
“We are so concerned about outcomes, a kid’s performance, then people should be for this bill, this legislation,” she said. “If we want good outcomes, we need to feed our kids.”
Guns for Classrooms
Meanwhile, far-right Republicans in the legislature’s minority caucuses have proposed just three school-related bills. Two are identical bills dealing with health insurance at school districts, while the third, by Palmer Sen. Shelley Hughes, would require school districts to allow qualified employees and volunteers to carry firearms in schools.
Senator Shelley Hughes
Already, Alaska school districts have the option of allowing some handguns on school premises — which is typically in the form of trained “school resource officers.” But, Senate Bill 3 would force all districts to do so.
The concept has been popular among conservatives as a response to school shootings but has frequently run into concerns about accidents and overall liability. Hughes’ bill requires school districts to set up a process whereby any school employees and volunteers can become qualified to carry a concealed handgun. It would also force public schools to cover the cost of all required training by employees and volunteers.
Additionally, Hughes’ bill addresses the liability issue by offering blanket immunity for any problems arising from concealed handguns in schools in all cases except for “gross negligence.”
The legislation also had been proposed in the 2023-2024 legislative session but didn’t gain significant traction amid a massive backlash from the public. Among those who pushed back was Anchorage trauma surgeon Dr. Charles Ross Baldwin, who opposed the legislation.
“As a trauma surgeon, I see a large number of self-inflicted and accidental gun-related injuries,” he wrote to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee in January 2024. “While there are a lot of emotions around protecting children, the reality of putting guns in schools, in the hands of inadequately trained civilians, would likely increase risk of harm to students more than it would help prevent violence.”
All the rest
- HB9 by Rep. Carrick – Updates charter funding rules and clarifies students’ access to required medical devices and treatment
- HB12 by Rep. Dibert – Universal free meals in public schools
- HB29 by Rep. Vance – Changes to public school health insurance
- SB3 by Sen. Hughes – Authorizes concealed handguns at schools
- SB5 by Sen. Hughes – Changes to public school health insurance
- SB6 by Sen. Gray-Jackson – Requiring schools to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history and contributions
- SB8 by Sen. Gray-Jackson – Outlining protections and rights for deaf and hearing-impaired students
- SB18 by Sen. Wielechowski – Banning cellphones and other non-educational electronic devices from schools except for use in emergencies
- SB20 by Sen. Gray-Jackson – CPR training in schools
- SB22 by Sen. Wielechowski – Financial literacy program in schools
- SB23 by Sen. Stevens – Civics education
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
