Alaska judge finds correspondence school reimbursements unconstitutional

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Reimbursements made to parents for education-related expenses for students in Alaska correspondence schools are unconstitutional, a state court judge has ruled, adding a new twist to a debate over education that lawmakers say may not be quickly resolved.

The decision Friday by Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman came in a case filed last year that challenged a state law that allowed correspondence student allotments to be used to “purchase nonsectarian services and materials from a public, private, or religious organization.”

Under state law, over the past decade, families with kids in correspondence schools have been allowed to receive thousands of dollars a year in reimbursements, paid with public money, for education-related expenses, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The provisions that were ruled unconstitutional came from a bill that became law in 2014 from former Sen. Mike Dunleavy, who is now governor. The Republican also had introduced a companion constitutional amendment that would have removed limits on the use of public funds for religious or private education institutions but that went nowhere.