Alaska rule makes pre-K mental health consultants and coaching optional for state funding

Alaska school districts will no longer have to provide mental health consultation or coaching in their pre-K programs to draw state funding for 4- and 5-year-olds, under a revised state rule that takes effect Nov. 7.

The lieutenant governor's office filed the rule Oct. 8. It sets the standards a district must meet to count each pre-K child as half a student in the state school funding formula.

Education Commissioner Deena Bishop's cover memo to the State Board of Education and Early Development says the change moves two standards, social and emotional support and coaching, into a supplemental section "not required for formula funding."

Deborah Riddle, an operations manager in the department's Division of Innovation and Education Excellence, told the board that mental health consultation went from required to recommended, according to draft state board minutes. They summarize her as saying coaching remains important, with districts getting more time and support to meet it. The minutes also say the department found some original standards "created barriers for districts seeking to qualify for the .5 ADM funding."

The memo's wording is broader than the standards themselves. In the September 2025 draft standards.pdf) the board reviewed, the ban on expelling a pre-K child for behavior and the limits on suspension stay required. What moves out is the requirement that mental health consultants assist the program. A program weighing a suspension now engages a consultant "if available." An Alaska News comparison with the 2023 standards also found two required home visits become an "opportunity" for two, and assessment data is analyzed twice a year instead of three times.

The filed rule adopts an edition dated January 2025, and the records do not establish whether it matches the September draft.

The board approved the revision unanimously on Oct. 9, 2025, without discussion. The memo and the adoption orders say no public comments were received.

The standards trace to the 2022 Alaska Reads Act.