A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.A Better Alaska
Alaska has changed since 2018. Not every headline mentions it. Here's the record.Education
Reading, funding, teachers, and schools — measured against where Alaska stood before.
School funding
+$700per student
Alaska raised the Base Student Allocation by $700 per student — the largest statutory increase in the history of the Foundation Program.
The allocation rose from $5,960 to $6,660 per pupil effective July 1, 2025 under House Bill 57, an 11.7 percent permanent increase to K-12 funding.
Alaska State Legislature — House Bill 57, enacted text
Early literacy
60%reading at grade level
Under the Alaska Reads Act, the share of K-3 students reading at grade level rose from 44 percent to 60 percent across one school year.
Among students who scored below proficient on the fall screener, 38.6 percent reached proficiency by spring in 2024-25, up from 34.0 percent the year before.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Alaska Reads Act Evaluation Report, Year Two
Pre-kindergarten
3,619students
Public pre-kindergarten enrollment has grown by nearly a quarter since 2021.
Enrollment rose from 2,933 students in the October 2021 count to 3,619 in October 2024 — 686 more children, a 23.4 percent increase.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Enrollment by School by Grade, 2024-25
Charter schools
1stin the nation
Alaska ranked first in the nation for charter school performance.
A Harvard-affiliated Education Next study ranked Alaska No. 1 of 35 states and the District of Columbia on background-adjusted charter-sector performance using NAEP data. Alaska ranked 7th without that adjustment.
Education Next — The Nation's Charter Report Card
Teacher pipeline
96apprentices
Alaska built a registered apprenticeship program for teachers and principals from nothing in under two years.
The program launched in January 2025 with 5 apprentices and reached 96 enrolled for fall 2026 across K-12, Special Education, and Principal pathways, with 13 districts approved as employers. Federal approval became permanent on July 13, 2026.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Permanent federal approval announcement
School construction
$442Min school projects
Alaska funded 98 school construction and major maintenance projects since 2019.
21 construction projects totaling $262.6 million and 77 major maintenance projects totaling $179.8 million, from FY2019 through FY2026. FY2027 funding is not yet final.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — School Capital Project Funding Under SB237|
Rural college advising
41.4%FAFSA completion
Rural students with a Career Guide completed federal aid applications at well above the statewide rate.
The Career Guide Initiative serves eight rural districts, 20 schools, and 208 seniors. FAFSA completion in participating schools reached 41.4 percent against a statewide rate of 29.1 percent, and the share of seniors selecting a postsecondary pathway rose from 75 to 95 percent.
Alaska State Board of Education — Alaska Career Guide Demonstration Project
School broadband
100Mbps standard
The minimum internet speed the state funds for schools went from 10 megabits per second to 100.
The School Broadband Assistance Grant standard rose to 25 Mbps in 2020 and to 100 Mbps in 2024, reaching 126 schools in FY2026. Per-pupil transportation grants rose 10 percent. Total State Aid and one-time K-12 funding came to roughly $11.0 billion from FY2019 through FY2027.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — FY2027 Governor's Amended Budget Overview
Educator certification
30rule changes
Alaska rewrote 30 certification regulations to open more paths into the classroom.
Approved by the State Board between 2017 and March 2025, including a paraprofessional "grow your own" route and expanded out-of-state reciprocity, while maintaining professional standards.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Alaska's Education Challenge Review (December 2025)
Statewide assessment
+1.2points in reading
Statewide proficiency rose in both reading and math for the first time since the pandemic lows.
English Language Arts proficiency rose from 31.5 to 32.7 percent and mathematics from 31.1 to 32.2 percent between 2023-24 and 2024-25, across grades 3 through 9.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Statewide Assessment Results, 2024-25|Nation's Report Card: Alaska
Also on the record
Additional Achievements
Career and Technical Education expansion
13 districts received Programs of Study grants from a $925,000 pool in February 2024, and 14 development grants followed in 2024-25. Six statewide student organizations have received dedicated state funding since 2023.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Alaska's Education Challenge Review (December 2025)
Statewide assessment redesign (AK STAR)
Interim and summative testing were combined into one system beginning in 2021-22, cutting required testing events and returning scores to teachers immediately. Federal peer review in 2025 found the system substantially meets Every Student Succeeds Act requirements.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — AK STAR|Federal peer review determination
Alaska Native language literacy screeners
The first literacy screeners for Alaska Native languages are in development for Iñupiaq, Tlingit, and Yugtun, with up to ten languages planned over five years. K-3 Alaska Native Language Arts reading standards were adopted in June 2025.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Literacy Screeners for Alaska Indigenous Languages
Teacher Retention and Recruitment initiative
A working group surveyed more than 4,000 educators, producing an action plan in April 2021 and a playbook in August 2023 that now guides recruitment and retention policy statewide.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Teacher Retention & Recruitment
Office of Education Advocacy
A centralized office for education stakeholders opened in 2025, with a program coordinator appointed in October and quarterly reports documenting growing engagement from parents, teachers, students, and school leaders.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development — Office of Education Advocacy Standing Report
Girls’ high school athletics eligibility standard
The State Board adopted regulation 4 AAC 06.115, effective November 11, 2023, setting a statewide eligibility standard for separate female high school athletics teams. Before it, Matanuska-Susitna Borough was the only district in Alaska with such a policy.
Alaska State Board of Education — Statement of Decision, Amendments to 4 AAC 06
Health & Family Services
Children in care, mental health, nutrition, and coverage.
Alaska Psychiatric Institute
2025full compliance
The Alaska Psychiatric Institute went from facing federal termination to passing its survey at full compliance.
In 2018-19 the hospital was cited for more than 80 deficiencies, drew two Immediate Jeopardy findings, faced an active federal termination action, and lost its accreditation. As of September 23, 2025 its CMS survey closed at full compliance with deemed status restored and no outstanding regulatory issues. It is listed as an active Medicare provider with 95 certified beds.
Alaska Department of Family and Community Services — API Governing Body minutes, September 2025|
Child welfare
545fewer children
545 fewer Alaska children are in out-of-home care than in 2018.
The count fell from about 2,898 children at the end of 2018 to 2,353 in July 2026, a decline of 18.8 percent, reflecting family-preservation reforms. Federal data show a parallel 14.1 percent decline in Alaska foster care between FY2020 and FY2024.
Alaska Office of Children's Services — Statistical Information|Child Welfare Outcomes: Alaska
Child nutrition
1,077,078meals served
More than a million meals reached Alaska children in 2025 — a 74 percent jump in a single year.
Up from about 619,000 meals in 2024. The Meals to You program delivered 1,057,190 of them across 31 school districts to 9,238 students, run as a USDA Summer Food Service Program by Food Bank of Alaska with the Department of Education and Early Development.
Food Bank of Alaska — Programs for Children
Medicaid and CHIP
243,000average monthly enrollment
Average monthly Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment in FY2025 remained above pre-expansion levels.
About 205,000 people were enrolled at a point in time in 2018. Average monthly enrollment reached roughly 243,000 in state fiscal year 2025.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCMS Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data
