April 16, 2024
Dear Copper River School District Families,
Over this past weekend, we became aware of a situation that affects every correspondence school program in Alaska: Allotments were ruled to be unconstitutional. Allotments were enacted as a means for Homeschool families to help purchase educational materials and curricula going back to 2014. Through this letter and future updates, we will put forth any news from DEED (Dept. of Education) and the State of Alaska in regards to this situation. Please see the link below, taken from the Alaska Beacon Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in regards to this situation. Please be aware that this link to the article will change as the situation changes or moves towards resolvement:
The crux of the issue involves “what can an allotment be used to pay for”. It may be easier to explain what it cannot be used for, and that is paying for private school tuition. Paying for private schools using public school funds has been described through the court case as a school-voucher program. That was not the original intent of why the allotment system was created. For the Copper River School District, allotments are used to help our families purchase educational materials and curricula for homeschooling. As a district, we are not linked to any private schools.
For now as the article states, there will need to be some mitigation of where things are. Both the Plaintiffs and DEED have agreed to make things work through the end of the 2023-2024 school year, as that is what is best for our students.
We ask for patience as the Plaintiffs and DEED reach a resolution. We will update you as we receive more information.
Thank you for your time and consideration on behalf of our students.
Sincerely,
Theresa Laville
Superintendent
Copper River School District