"Alaska Reads Act"

The bill would increase the base per-student state funding to school districts by $680, the first substantial increase since 2016.

School district leaders and parents across the state testified at the weekend hearing, with a large majority telling lawmakers that the $300 per-student increase wasn’t enough.

In 2022, only one state, Arizona, had more chronically absent students than Alaska. Nearly half of Alaska students missed at least 10% of the school year, in the most recent available data.

According to a plan approved by the school board on Tuesday, elementary schools will release students at 2 p.m., and optional programs will get out at 2:30 p.m.

Skeptics question whether the reading academy would effectively address the lagging reading abilities of Alaska children where the need is greatest.

The late start would give teachers more time to work together without students. Administrators say it would also help elementary school teachers meet the new requirements of the Alaska Reads Act.

“The morale of the young teachers, a lot of them that are single wage earners just getting started, are so low,” said Fairbanks teacher Thomas Kennedy. “They’re the lowest that I’ve seen in all my years of teaching.”

Seventy percent of third through ninth graders were not proficient in English, while 77% were not proficient in math.

The problem has been developing for years, but the end of COVID financial aid has triggered a crisis.

The act aims to improve student reading outcomes across the state by third grade.