State department overseeing Alaska's K-12 public schools, early learning, libraries, archives, and assessment. Distributes state funding to 53 school districts statewide.
333 Willoughby Ave, Juneau, AK 99801, USA
Alaska tells school kitchens cooking produce is safest Cyclospora step
Alaska DEED's Child Nutrition Programs told school food service staff that washing raw produce, including pre-washed items, cannot guarantee removal of Cyclospora. The bulletin says heating produce that can be cooked to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit is the safest option.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Alaska districts can use homeless-education funds for emergency motel rooms, federal guidance says
Updated federal guidance issued Aug. 4 allows Alaska school districts to use Education for Homeless Children and Youth subgrant money for short-term emergency housing, but only case by case and as a last resort. DEED is flagging the change to district homeless liaisons.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Alaska schools could face a choice between internet and teachers if a federal subsidy is cut
The FCC is reviewing the E-Rate subsidy that covered more than $200 million in Alaska school and library internet costs in 2025, and Delta Community Library Director Tiki Levinson says a cut would hit rural connectivity hardest.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Alaska will cover district travel to a school safety summit
Alaska districts can send staff to the FY27 School Safety & Well-Being Summit in Anchorage on Sept. 16-17 without spending federal ESEA money, if they request travel support when they register.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A staffing gap at the state is delaying Alaska school-improvement grants against a hard deadline
Alaska school-improvement grant approvals are delayed by staffing gaps at the state education department, as districts face an Oct. 31 deadline tied to their reimbursement requests.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Alaska News Roundup: Gas pipeline tax fight, Point Thomson trade-off, and McNeil River access debate
This episode covers the week's major Alaska stories: a gas pipeline tax bill that added oil tax increases, the Point Thomson condensate trade-off for pipeline gas, Mount Edgecumbe enrollment crisis, and McNeil River bear sanctuary access proposals.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
State library, archives, and museum mark ten years in shared Juneau building
The Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building, which consolidated state library, archives, and museum operations in 2016, reaches its tenth anniversary with a free public celebration featuring hands-on activities and cake from the Friends group.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's educator apprenticeship program wins permanent federal approval
The U.S. Department of Labor granted permanent approval Wednesday to Alaska's Educator Registered Apprenticeship program, which has grown from 5 apprentices at its January 2025 launch to 96 enrolled for Fall 2026 across 13 school districts.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska school meal reimbursements rise 3.5% for 2026-27 school year
Federal reimbursement for a free school lunch in Alaska rises to $6.98 per meal for 2026-27, a 24-cent increase tied to food-cost inflation and more than $2.60 above the rate for contiguous states.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min readAI
Alaska Special Education Crisis: 200 Teaching Positions Unfilled Statewide
Education officials testified about a severe special education staffing crisis with 200 unfilled positions and a 14% increase in students with disabilities despite steady enrollment.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago1 min readAISeven Western Alaska typhoon evacuees graduate from Anchorage schools
Seven students displaced by ex-Typhoon Halong in October 2025 graduated from Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School Monday, completing a senior year split between their Lower Kuskokwim School District home and Anchorage. A video shown at the school board meeting identified six students; Superintendent Jarrett Bryant put the total at seven.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska passed a federal check that keeps its school funding system intact
Alaska passed federal certification for its school funding formula for fiscal year 2027 — keeping its system of counting federal Impact Aid intact
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
U.S. Education Secretary Tours Mat-Su Career and Charter Schools
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited two Mat-Su schools on May 7 as part of a 50-state tour celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min readAIAlaska school districts could lose unspent federal money if they don't spend it fast
Alaska school districts with unspent 2025 federal education funds must obligate and request reimbursement by Sept. 30, 2026, or forfeit the money, with notifications going out in mid-July.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
House panel debates $113M education funding formula shift
The House Finance Committee heard testimony on a bill that would change how Alaska calculates school funding, using a three-year enrollment average instead of a single October count.
by Alaska News3mo ago6 min readAI
Alaska marks 50 years of regional education attendance areas
The House Education Committee honored the 50th anniversary of Alaska's Regional Education Attendance Areas, with former commissioners reflecting on the system's creation and ongoing challenges with facility maintenance.
by Alaska News3mo ago3 min readAI
Alaska House Weighs $113M Education Funding Overhaul
House Finance Committee debates education funding bill using three-year enrollment averaging to provide budget certainty, but faces questions about $113 million fiscal note and lack of long-term modeling.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min readAI
A June 30 Deadline Decides Who Eats Free at School
Alaska school food authorities must submit Community Eligibility Provision election workbooks and Paid Lunch Equity tool results to DEED by June 30 or lose the ability to offer universal free meals in 2026-27.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Rural students double FAFSA completion with one-on-one advising
Eight rural Alaska school districts achieved 60% FAFSA completion this year through the Career Guide Initiative, more than double the 29% statewide rate. The program pairs students with advisors who guide them through financial aid applications and postsecondary planning.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska districts must submit fiscal 2027 plans by May 15. Many don't yet know what the state will give them.
The Alaska Department of Education has set a May 15, 2026 deadline for designated schools to submit needs assessments, 3-year improvement plans, and budgets into the state's Grant Management System—a concrete administrative requirement affecting struggling schools statewide with immediate compliance stakes.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min readAISenate Education Committee Advances Opioid Awareness Bill, Hears Tribal School Compact Proposal
The committee unanimously moved Senate Bill 228, requiring opioid education in schools, and heard the first presentation on Senate Bill 66, which would allow tribes to operate public schools under state-tribal compacts.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago5 min readAI
State board approves UAS master's program for Native language teachers
The state board approved University of Alaska Southeast's master's program for Alaska Native language teachers, extending the state's academic pipeline for Native language educators into graduate-level teacher preparation.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska schools face May 15 deadline for improvement plans, funding
Alaska school districts must submit three-year improvement plans and budgets by May 15, 2026, a deadline affecting designated schools statewide with potential funding implications.
by Alaska News3mo ago3 min readAIAlaska Universities Report 73% Jump in Teacher Pipeline Enrollment
University of Alaska reports significant growth in teacher education programs, with Ed Rising student participation up 73% year-over-year and over $1 million in scholarships awarded to 109 teacher candidates.
by Alaska News3mo ago4 min readAI
Alaska House panel hears bill to overhaul school funding timelines
The House Finance Committee heard testimony on HB 261, which would allow districts to use three-year average student counts instead of single-year October counts to set budgets months earlier and offer teacher contracts in spring rather than summer.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago4 min readAI
Alaska releases June summer meal bulletin with fraud warning
The Alaska Department of Education released its June 2026 Summer Food Service Program bulletin Monday, highlighting a federal memo warning that fraud cases threaten public confidence in rural non-congregate meal programs and detailing claim deadlines for sponsors.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska districts face June 30 deadline for federal education funds
Alaska school districts must have their FY2027 federal grant applications in substantially approvable form by June 30, 2026, to receive funding by July 1, with DEED verifying required components including budgets and assurances for Title programs.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Task Force Hears Federal Assessment Rules, NAEP Context, and AKSTAR Demo
The Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Funding received presentations on federal testing requirements under ESSA, how to interpret NAEP scores, and a demonstration of Alaska's AKSTAR assessment system.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago8 min readAI
House Finance Advances Mental Health Education Guidelines for Schools
The House Finance Committee moved Senate Bill 41 out of committee, which directs development of mental health education guidelines for Alaska's K-12 schools.
by Alaska News3mo ago3 min readAIAlaska's tribal school compact bill navigates sovereignty and public education law
Senate Bill 66 would authorize five-year pilot agreements allowing tribes to operate public schools under state funding while maintaining tribal governance, requiring new legislation to balance sovereignty with existing education statutes.
by Alaska News3mo ago4 min readAI
House Education Committee advances CPR training bill with rural flexibility
The House Education Committee approved Senate Bill 20, which requires CPR instruction in Alaska public schools, after adopting three amendments to provide flexibility for rural and under-resourced districts.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago3 min readAI
House Finance considers multi-year school funding averaging bill
The House Finance Committee heard testimony on HB 261, which would shift Alaska's education funding to a three-year enrollment average instead of annual counts, giving districts earlier budget certainty but carrying a fiscal note approaching $1 billion over five years.
by Alaska News3mo ago4 min readAI
Alaska Advances Mental Health Education Guidelines Without Mandates
The House Finance Committee moved Senate Bill 41 forward, directing development of mental health education guidelines for K-12 schools while leaving implementation to local districts.
by Alaska News3mo ago4 min readAIHouse Education Committee Advances Bill to Boost Residential School Funding
The committee heard testimony on HB 380, which would increase funding for Alaska's nine residential school programs for the first time since 2015.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min readAIAlaska lowers bar for toddlers to get early intervention services
Alaska Legislature passed a bill lowering the eligibility threshold for early intervention services from 50 percent to 25 percent developmental delay, allowing thousands more young children to receive help.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI52 Alaska districts join safety consortium using federal grant model
Hydaburg City School District is leading 52 Alaska school districts in a safety consortium based on a federal grant program proven on Prince of Wales Island, with participants receiving customized safety handbooks through a working symposium.
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min readAIAlaska School Funding System Favors Wealthy Districts, Senators Say
Senate Finance Committee members raised concerns that Alaska's school construction funding process allows affluent districts to pre-fund projects and jump ahead of poorer communities that have waited years for repairs.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago4 min readAIMt. Edgecumbe names new academic, residential principals as applicant deadline nears
Mount Edgecumbe High School has named new leaders for both sides of its statewide residential school model while reminding new applicants that their applicat…
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
DEED seeks Interior, Northwest parents for migrant education council
DEED recruitment for State Title I-C Parent Advisory Council vacancies in Interior and Northwest regions
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI