Is Alaska homeschoolers’ free ride coming to an end? Homeschooler in Alaska have had an easy ride. Because of the Geography of the state and the difficult commutes of Alaskan children, homeschooling has made good sense to both parents and school districts. For this reason, the state has footed the bill on homeschool correspondence programs, fine arts and music programs, and physical education.
Parents are apparently up in arms because changes are being made to the current subsidies given to homeschoolers. While they are raising percentage of money a parent is allowed to spend on extracurricular activities to 25% from 15%, the fact that there is a cap at all is a problem. Many parents are threatening to pull out of Alaska’s public school at home system and go independent.
Previously each district has made decisions on how much a family is given and for what reason. Now the fact that the state wants everyone to play by the rules, is quite unsettling, especially in those areas with very lax rules.
I have mentioned before that accepting government funds to homeschool your child is akin to having your child in public school. For many Alaskan parents who homeschooled more for logistical reasons than philosophical, the ability to have your kids publicly educated from home is a great coup. Still, public school is public school and homeschooling is homeschooling. When you mix the two, you will certainly lose the freedoms that homeschooling (in the purest sense) is supposed to afford.
In this case, I actually feel that these public homeschoolers are over reacting a bit. This is merely a case of public schools tweaking their rules. Now if the public schools were reaching into the homes of homeschoolers and telling them how much of their own money they can spend, then there would definitely be a problem.
Read: The differences between homeschooling and public school at home
When homeschoolers rely on the state
Biking from Alaska to Argentina: A Homeschooling Road Trip