What started in 1939 to ensure students in even the most remote areas of Alaska got access to public education is now at the center of a court battle over access to education choice.

Known as correspondence school programs, they allowed public schools to send assignments by mail or float plane to students, who would complete course packets and return them for grades.

When the homeschooling movement began in the 1970s and '80s, correspondence programs became popular with parents who used them as part of their children’s education plans.

In 1997, the law was broadened to allow families to design customized learning plans for their children and be reimbursed for certain expenses. Funding allotments range between about $3,000 to $5,000 depending on which of the 34 correspondence schools families choose.

In 2014, Alaska lawmakers approved legislation that allowed parents to spend the money to send their children to nonpublic schools. Prominent families, including the wife of Alaska Attorney General Treg Tayor, took advantage of this option.

Seven months after Jodi Taylor published a blog post in 2022 encouraging families to use their allotments this way, a group of plaintiffs sued the state and argued that the legislation violated the Alaska Constitution.

The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, is helping three families to intervene in the case and defend the program. Funding allotments equal 90% of the state’s base funding for education.

Kirby Thomas West, the lead attorney on the case for the Institute for Justice, sat down recently to discuss the case. A judge is expected to hear motions from the parties on Oct. 24. (Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

Q. One might presume that Espinoza v. Montana, Carson v. Makin, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not exclude private religious schools from participating in education choice programs, would have stripped a case like this of any merit. What legal arguments are the plaintiffs using to justify it?

A. Alaska’s constitution is a little bit different than Montana and other states that have Blaine Amendments in that it does not prohibit state funding of sectarian institutions. It actually says that the state cannot give direct funding to private educational institutions. So, the argument of plaintiffs is that this is a direct payment to private schools. So, it’s a little broader than the Blaine Amendments that target religious schools.

Q. But doesn’t this money go to the family?

A. The state can’t write checks to private schools and choose to maintain the private schools, but certainly, the state can give a benefit to families who are allowed to use it in a variety of ways. Many universities offer online courses popular with correspondence program families. The state doesn’t even know if the money is going to a private institution. We analogize to a food stamp program. No one says this is a program for the direct benefit of Safeway or Aldi. The state’s not choosing an institutional beneficiary. The beneficiary is the individual who needs help getting food. And in this case, it’s the families who need help with educational expenses.

Q. What arguments are the plaintiffs using to make the case that this is a direct benefit to private institutions?

A. The case plaintiffs are relying on, Sheldon Jackson v. State, involves a scholarship tuition grant program for college students attending private universities in Alaska. The program was struck down as a violation of Article 7, Section 1, which is known as “the education clause” of the state constitution. In this case, only students going to private schools were eligible to participate in the program. All money given to students was used for tuition at private universities.

Q. What is the Alaska Department of Education and the Institute for Justice using as a defense?

A. Our argument is that even if you maintain that the Sheldon Jackson case was correctly decided, here, the families, in this case, have the ability to choose between public and private goods and services and use their allotments in a wide variety of ways. It’s not limited as it was in that case.

Q. What happens if the court sees it differently and sides with the plaintiffs?

A. If the court is inclined to read the Alaska Constitution in a much broader way, if it prevents any funding that might end up at a private institution, they are bringing the Alaska Constitution into direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court said in case law that is 100 years old that parents’ fundamental liberty interest in the control and upbringing of and education of their children is protected by the U.S. Constitution. And case law says part of that is the choice to send a child to private schools. If you read the Alaska Constitution in a very broad way to say the Legislature can never give any benefit to families that choose private schools, you are making it so that a group of people who are exercising a fundamental liberty interest that is protected by the U.S. Constitution explicitly in case law  can never get benefits from the state in the same way that other groups can, and that’s unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution.

Alabama: Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, says the Alabama Accountability Act, which allows students in failing districts to transfer to private schools, is a failed experiment (Anniston Star). A lower court dismisses a suit filed by students to stop the state's school choice program (Associated Press).

Alaska: A private school tax credit bill passes through the House (Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch).

Arizona: School districts are worried about education savings accounts expanding (Ahwatukee Foothill News). Applications for state voucher programs doubled over last year (Associated Press).

California: More students in southern California are switching to virtual schools (Daily Press). Two charter schools in LA are given permission to enter into negotiations with the school district to take over vacant school buildings (LA Times).

Connecticut: A group called Connecticut Voices for Children reports that school choice programs segregate special needs and English Language Learners (New Haven Register, Connecticut Mirror). However, that same report shows charter schools are far more likely to serve minority students.

D.C.: The district releases the full data on parental school choice lottery preferences (Washington Post). Mayor Vincent Gray outlines a new school boundary proposal that includes lottery-based open enrollment (Washington Post).

Delaware: Stacie Beck and Eleanor Craig, associate professors of economics at the University of Delaware, make the case for tax-credit scholarships (The News Journal).

Florida: A bill to expand Florida's tax credit scholarship program and create education savings accounts for special-needs students  advances out of the House on a mostly party-line vote (Capital Soup, Orlando Sentinel, WFSU, Sun Sentinel, Florida Current, redefinED). (The scholarship program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.) Earlier in the week, a House committee voted to strip the tax credit proposal of additional funding but the bill will still increase the income eligibility (Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Tampa Bay Times, Associated Press, News-Journal, redefinED). (more…)

Alabama: A bill to eliminate the $7,500 cap limit on individual tax-credit scholarship donations advances in the state legislature (Decatur Daily).

Alaska: Tony Knowles, the former governor of Alaska, says vouchers have never  improved student achievement or graduation rates, so the state should spend more money on public schools (Alaska Dispatch).

Arizona: The Arizona Education Association opposes the education savings account expansion, calling them "vouchers in disguise" and claiming vouchers do not improve student achievement (Arizona Republic). Matthew Ladner, the "inventor" of education savings accounts, says school choice allows students to match their needs with the strengths of the appropriate school (Arizona Republic). State and national groups write legislation at home and abroad, including the state's education savings account bill (Arizona Republic).

Arkansas: The Blytheville School District votes to opt out of the Public School Choice Act again (Courier News).

Colorado: Parents in Jefferson County pack a school board meeting to show their support for increasing charter school funding (9 News).

Connecticut: The state Department of Education approves four new charter schools for Bridgeport and Stamford (Connecticut Post, Fox CT).

D.C.: District officials release the lottery results; 85 percent of students were accepted to a school in their top three choices (Washington Post).

Delaware: The Delaware Charter School Network says charter schools offer students choices (The News Journal).

Georgia: A group of parents sue the state over the tax-credit scholarship program (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). (more…)

Alabama: Lawmakers approve an increase in individual tax credits for donations to scholarship granting organizations (Gadsden Times). Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal stopped in the state to give a speech about school choice and more (Bayou Buzz).

Alaska: Ben Walker, a math teacher, says the school reform movement is based on a false fear of bad public schools (Anchorage Daily News).

Arizona: The state earned an A rating for charter school laws (Arizona Republic). The state Supreme Court refusal to hear a case on the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts means the program remains constitutional (Capitol Media Services, Associated Press).

California: LA charter schools post big learning gains (Hechinger Report, Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog). Parents are frustrated with school performance in Redwood and two charter school operators hope to fill the need for high quality schools in the district (The Daily Journal).

Colorado: The State Supreme Court will hear a case on the constitutionality of the Douglas Co. voucher program (WRAL, Associated Press).

D.C.: The mayoral race doesn't have any of the heated rhetoric about charter schools that was present in New York last year and that might be due to the lack of a charter school cap in the city (Education Week). A parent, and education reporter, experiences school choice through charter schools (The Atlantic).

Florida: A bill to expand the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program advances (Heartland News, News Service of Florida, Tampa Bay Times, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, redefinED). Mandating FCAT testing for all private scholarship students is debated (Tampa Tribune). Only a day after the tax-credit scholarship expansion bill is sent to the House floor, the Senate sponsor withdraws the bill from consideration in the state's upper chamber (Palm Beach Post, Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Associated Press, Politifix). Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill issues a statement about the expansion bill being withdrawn (redefinED). School choice supporters debate mandating private school voucher students take the FCAT (Watchdog). The Florida Citizens for Science want private schools accepting tax-credit scholarships to teach evolution (Tampa Bay Times).  Jason Bedrick of the Cato Institute, sees a silver lining in the tabling of the tax-credit scholarship expansion bill. Rita Solnet, president of Parents Across Florida, believes vouchers hurt a parents choice for a good public school (Huffington Post, Washington Post). The Washington Post reprints an error filled op-ed against school choice (redefinED). The president of Fund Education Now, a group  arguing for more money for public schools, writes an op-ed opposing the expansion calling the program unaccountable (Orlando Sentinel). A bill to create education savings accounts for special needs students advances in the Senate (redefinED). Education in the state has been improving (Saint Peter's Blog). Military style charter schools become more popular in the state (redefinED).

Illinois: The Chicago Tribune editorial board endorses school choice candidates.

Republicans look to expand charter schools and vouchers (Tampa Bay Times). One out of every 10 students in Palm Beach attend charter schools (Palm Beach Post).

Kansas: Debate over school funding of poor districts begins after high court ruling on the adequacy suit (Education Week). To address the adequacy funding issue Republicans plan to increase low-income district funding and allow more public charter schools (Wichita Eagle). Lawmakers consider education tax credit scholarships (Heartland News). (more…)

Alabama: A bill advances to increase the individual tax credit for donations to private scholarship organizations (Montgomery Advertiser).

Alaska: Vic Fischer, a former delegate to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, opposes any amendment that would allow public funds for private and religious schools (Alaska Dispatch). A bill to allow the public to vote on such an amendment is pulled from the Senate (Alaska Dispatch).

Arizona: A plan to expand Education Scholarship Accounts advances in the legislature (Arizona Republic, Fox News). A special needs parent says public schools work great for her child and she worries that giving options to parents who aren't satisfied will make her child's education worse (Arizona Daily Star).

California: The court rules against Rocketship Education, arguing the Santa Clara County School Board cannot override local zoning ordinances to place charter schools (San Jose Mercury News). The CEO of the California Charter School Association says completion rates for college preparatory coursework is twice as high in Oakland-area charter schools than in local district schools (Contra Costa Times). A CREDO report reveals LA area charter schools outperform traditional district schools (KPCC 89.3).

Colorado: School choice critics in Jefferson County might want to tone down their rhetoric, according to columnist Vincent Carroll (Denver Post).

D.C.: Eight education groups apply to open new charter schools (Washington Post).

Florida: The Tampa Tribune editorial board argues in favor of expanding tax credit scholarships. The Miami Herald editorial board says tax credit scholarships drain public school funding. Columnist Frank Cerabino says tax credit scholarships don't help the poor (Palm Beach Post). The Ocala Star Banner editorial board says the state should increase funding to public schools before funding private scholarships. Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up for Students, says tax-credit scholarships help poor students and are functionally no different to a neighborhood school's budget than a magnet or IB school (Palm Beach Post). Watchdog writes up the proposed expansion bill. The Jewish Leadership Coalition lobbies for tax credit scholarships for Jewish Day Schools (Jewish Journal). Nan Rich, a Democrat candidate for governor, blasts current Gov. Rick Scott and primary challenger Charlie Christ over their support for school choice (Sunshine State News). The state Senate advances a bill that would encourage military bases to explore charter schools (redefinED, Tampa Bay Times). Duval County School District may soon allow open enrollment for all public schools in the district (Florida Times-Union, First Coast News, Florida Times Union). Florida Virtual School holds a demonstration at the state Capitol (WCTV). A charter school in Miami-Dade opens a junior college on the campus (Miami Herald). The League of Women Voters draws criticism for opposing school choice and other issues (Tampa Tribune). Tax Credit Scholarships, ESAs and charter schools are among the bills being considered by the state legislature (Miami Herald). The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship cap may  triple in size over the next five years and if it does, so will the state allowances to scholarship granting organizations (Palm Beach Post).

Idaho: The House passes a tax credit scholarship bill (The Friedman Foundation). (more…)

Alaska: A bill will allow citizens to vote to remove a Blaine Amendment from the state constitution but it may not have enough votes to pass (Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage Press). A mom says public education needs more money not school choice (Alaska Dispatch).

Arizona: House Democrats oppose expanding the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (Tucson Weekly). Proposed legislation may allow hundreds of thousands of Arizona students to become eligible for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (Associated Press).

D.C.: Enrollment at St. Ann's Academy has fallen to 139 students so the Catholic diocese will shut down the school this fall (Washington Post).

Florida: A bill to expand the state's tax credit scholarship program passes out of the House Tax and Finance Committee (Sunshine State News, News Service of Florida, Associated Press, Gainesville Sun, Miami Herald). A Florida mom drives to Tallahassee to speak before the legislature about how much tax-credit scholarships mean to her and her family (redefinED). A Republican lawmaker wants to require all private school voucher students to take the state assessment (Tampa Bay Times, Sun Sentinel). A charter school in Broward County was nearly shut down after failing to obtain the proper building permits (Sun Sentinel). Frank Biden, the brother of Vice President Biden, advocates for charter schools (Post on Politics). A House panel proposes education savings accounts for special needs students (Orlando Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times). Rev. Robert Ward says tax credit scholarships help the poor (Tampa Bay Times). The school board in Palm Beach will consider a plan to allow full public school choice within the district (1230 AM WBZT, Sun Sentinel). Writer Julie Delegal says private school voucher students should take the state test because researchers can't compare different tests (Florida Today). Jon East from Step Up For Students says the debate on accountability is about which test to use (redefinED). The superintendent of Broward County Public Schools focuses on building bridges with the community and charter schools (Education Week).

Idaho: A bill to create tax credit scholarships advances in the House (Idaho Reporter). (more…)

Alaska: A lack of capital funding impedes charter school growth in the state (Anchorage Daily News). Gov. Sean Parnell wants to allow charter schools to have access to district transportation funds (KTUU, Associated Press). School choice will benefit rural students (Juneau Empire).

Arizona: A former high school teacher says vouchers for private tuition are like privately run prison systems (Ahwataukee Foothills News).

California: A virtual school student wins a school video contest sponsored by the White House (The Cambrian).

D.C.: Rocketship charter schools expand to the city (Education Week).

Florida: House Speaker Will Weatherford releases a bill to expand the tax-credit scholarship program (The Ledger, News 13, Tampa Bay Times, Associated Press, WEAR TV). School choice gets support from the Jewish community in south Florida (Jewish Journal). Private schools and parents may not want to take the FCAT (Orlando Sentinel). A lecturer at the University of Central Florida says private schools accepting tax credit scholarships should administer standardized tests to students (note: the law already requires tax credit scholarship students to take national norm-referenced standardized tests) (Orlando Sentinel). The Orlando Sentinel editorial board says private school scholarship students should take standardized tests (state law already requires tax-credit scholarship students to take norm-referenced standardized tests). So does the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board. The Tampa Tribune supports the expansion. Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano says tax-credit scholarships have no accountability and reduce public school per-pupil spending. Charter Schools USA operates 34 schools in the state, but one "F" and one "D" rated school encouraged Orange and Seminole County school districts to repeatedly deny applications to expand (Orlando Sentinel). Broward County school superintendent Robert Runcie collaborates with charter schools (Education Week). (more…)

Alaska: The state's Blaine Amendment prohibits voucher programs which is why the state legislature seeks to pass a constitutional amendment (Anchorage Daily News). Vouchers discussed in the state assembly (The Frontiersman). Support for the amendment decreases (Alaska Dispatch).  Even though the proposed amendment does not create a voucher program, Dermot Cole, the editor of the Alaska Dispatch, says supporters must estimate the costs of a voucher program. The charter school movement grows statewide (Coolidge Examiner). Rural parents voice concerns about school choice (The Seward Phoenix Log). Should voters decide the amendment (Alaska Dispatch)? Two Democrats argue that magnet and charter schools are enough choice for parents (Anchorage Daily News). The mayor of Anchorage argues that many western democracies fund public and private schools (Anchorage Daily News).

Arizona: The non-profit running the phone calls to parents informing them of their right to school choice says the phone numbers were bought from a private agency, not the state Department of Education (Arizona Republic).

Connecticut: Gov. Dannel Malloy wants charter schools to access the school safety grant fund (West Hartford News).

D.C.: The charter school board postpones its vote to close a low-performing charter school (Washington Post).

Delaware: Two charter schools could serve as models for Rep. Eric Cantor (Daily Caller).

Florida: In a column at The Ledger, former state Sen. Paul Dockery argues for more school spending, less testing and that tax credit scholarship students take the FCAT. A new bill on the tax credit scholarship program looks to increase the scholarship amount and cap while allowing higher-income families access to partial scholarships (redefinED, News Service of Florida, Associated Press). Two school choice advocates argue that forcing private schools to administer the FCAT may weaken the appeal of private schools (Orlando Sentinel). The Florida League of Women Voters opposes expanding the tax credit scholarship program, arguing that private schools are too different from public schools (Orlando Advocate). Financial errors between district and charter schools will cost the Broward County School District $1.7 million in fines (Miami Herald, NBC 4). Julie Young led the Florida Virtual School for 16 years before retiring (Education Next). (more…)

Alaska: Not all Republicans agree on changing the constitution to allow private school vouchers for students to attend religious schools (Anchorage Daily News, Education Week). Could private schools discriminate based on religious beliefs if they accept public funds (Anchorage Daily News)? The editorial board of the Anchorage Daily News argues that the constitutional amendment to allow public funding of private schools should be vetted in the state's education committee.

Arizona: A proposed bill in the state legislature will allow students eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch access to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts and increase the household income cap by 15 percent per year (East Valley Tribune, Arizona Daily Sun). Opponents of school choice are upset that the state superintendent is making low-income parents aware of all of their educational options, including the right to attend a private school (Arizona Republic, Washington Post, Tucson Weekly, Tucson Weekly).

Arkansas: Americans United for the Separation of Church and State complains about two charter schools teaching creationism in biology class (Arkansas Times).

California: The superintendent of LA public schools speaks favorably of school choice (Joanne Jacobs). The state leads the nation in charter school growth and enrollment (Contra Costa Times). The school district in San Diego makes requirements for charter schools more difficult if the charters want access to public construction dollars approved by voters (The Voice of San Diego). A city employee who vandalized a public school, which was being taken over by a charter school, may lose her job (Hechinger Report).

Connecticut: Public support grows for a new charter school in Bridgeport (Connecticut Post).

Florida: After failing to get a public middle school built in the neighborhood, parents in Woodville now support a proposed charter middle school (Tallahassee Democrat). Some members of the Florida legislature want to add a FCAT testing requirement to school choice students (Orlando Sentinel). The state saw the 4th highest growth in charter school enrollment nationwide (Palm Beach Post). School choice and civil rights takes center stage at a debate on education (South Florida Times). The Palm Beach Post editorial board favors requiring charter schools to post a $250,000 bond in case they close or are shut down. U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) visits a private school serving low-income tax-credit scholarship students to talk about school choice (redefinED, Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Creative Loafing). Potential changes to the state's tax-credit program may be coming, including partial scholarships and sales tax credits (Tampa Bay Times). The state's tax credit scholarship program provides opportunities to disadvantaged students in the state (WEAR TV). (more…)

Alabama: The Southern Poverty Law Center says school choice hurts students who can't leave their public school (Montgomery Advertiser).

Alaska: More Republicans sign on to support the governor's constitutional amendment proposal to allow public funding of private religious schools (Anchorage Daily News). You can pick your grocery store and you can pick your coffee shop, so why can't you pick your school (Alaska Dispatch, Alaska Daily News)?

Arizona: The state leads the nation with the newest school choice innovation: education savings accounts (Watchdog.org).

California: High Tech High charter school in San Diego wishes to buy a building owned by the local school district in order to open a new elementary charter school (Voice of San Diego). Parents unhappy with their local schools are using Parent Trigger to make changes (NationSwell).

D.C.:  City charter schools may soon be sharing space with district public schools (Washington Post).

Florida: 1.5 million students choose a school other than their assigned neighborhood school (redefinED). Catholic schools in Florida see small growth in enrollment for the second year in a row (Florida Times Union). A public boarding school for at-risk students prepares to open this fall (Miami Herald). The owners of a private, voucher-accepting school that abruptly closed its doors in Milwaukee have opened a similar school in Daytona Beach (News-Journal). House Speaker Will Weatherford wants to increase the number of low-income children allowed onto the state's tax-credit scholarship program as well as increase private school accountability (Tallahassee Democrat, Tampa Bay Times, Palm Beach Post, WFSU). Florida's high rate of return on its education investment may be due, in part, to the many diverse education options available to students, says William Mattox a research fellow at the James Madison Institute (Orlando Sentinel). The Manatee County School District holds a school choice fair to feature the district and charter schools in the area (Bradenton Herald). The city of Hollywood is pushing local district schools to market themselves better in order to lure students and families back into the schools (Sun Sentinel).

Idaho: More than 55,000 students attend charter schools, private schools or home schools in the state (Idaho Press). Renee McKenzie, president of the Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families, says every family deserves school choice (Idaho Press).

Illinois: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel addresses critics who said it was unfair to approve seven new charter schools while shutting down 47 public schools last year (Chicago Tribune).

Indiana: The state's voucher program more than doubles in size over last year (Indianapolis Star, Journal Gazette, Northwest Indiana Times). The number of voucher students who never attended public school increases (Indiana Business Journal, The Star Press, Indianapolis Daily Star). The editorial board for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette wants voucher schools to follow the same rules as public schools. A proposed bill to allow private schools to use a state-approved standardized test rather than the state's official test is quickly rejected (Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis Star, JCOnline). School choice supporters in the state say the voucher, worth $4,700 this year, is too low for most private schools (State Impact). Robert Enlow, president of the Friedman Foundation, says parents should not be forced to send their kid to a public school before gaining access to vouchers (Indianapolis Daily Star). Critics of school choice argue that vouchers can't be used at private schools which teach creationism or intelligent design (Journal-Gazette). The senate passes a bill to allow charter schools for returning adult students (The Statehouse File). (more…)