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Families who use Alaska鈥檚 homeschool program will soon have clarity on how they may spend their allotments of state education money.

Lawmakers directed Alaska鈥檚 Board of Education and Early Development to write temporary regulations for the state鈥檚 correspondence school program that comply with the state鈥檚 constitution on Wednesday night. The law also requires that the education department begin to for the first time in a decade. It was approved unanimously by both the House and Senate.

The move comes after a Superior Court ruling found two components of the laws that govern the state鈥檚 correspondence program to be in April, which left the families of more than 22,000 students for curriculum, tutoring and physical education. The state has appealed the decision; the Supreme Court scheduled the hearing for June 25.

Lon Garrison, director of Alaska Association of School Boards, said the advocacy group supports the new law. 鈥淚t is simple and similar to what existed prior to 2014,鈥� he said by text on Wednesday. He referred to the year then-Sen. Mike Dunleavy changed state law to allow families to spend homeschool allotments on materials from private and religious institutions 鈥� the pieces of statute a judge found to violate constitutional prohibitions against spending state money on private education.

House Education Committee Co-Chair Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, initially proposed the language in and said his office worked into the wee hours of the morning to get approval between the bodies without drama and contention. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good fix,鈥� Ruffridge said after the Senate approved it. 鈥淚 think it鈥檒l be important to come back next time around and continue to take up the question,鈥� he added.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the education department signaled support for the bill.

Its language was rolled into a widely supported bill to require in schools in a late-session amendment.

Senate Education Committee Chair Sen. L枚ki Tobin said she supports the change 鈥渃autiously鈥� with the recognition that lawmakers have more work to do to make the programs viable after a Supreme Court decision.

The law does not include some changes in the Senate鈥檚 proposal.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, told lawmakers that unspent homeschool allotment money would rollover to the next year and that students would not be required to take standardized tests. Those items generated pushback from families that use the program.

鈥淚 would hope that homeschool students would like to show off and showcase what they know and how much they know,鈥� he said. State data shows less than 20% of correspondence school students choose to take standardized tests, which has led to questions about how well the programs work.

Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, underlined two popular effects of the fix that led to the compromise: 鈥淚t is important to have stability and the removal of the disruption and anxiety for the families. But I also selfishly appreciate the fact that this will avoid a special session.鈥�

Alaska Beacon reporter James Brooks contributed reporting to this story.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: [email protected]. Follow Alaska Beacon on and .

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