Alaska Still Denying Rural Students in Struggling Schools


Last Updated: March 12, 2009
 

This article appeared in the February 2009 Rural Policy Matters.
 
Superior Court Judge Sharon Gleason has ruled that the state of Alaska is continuing to deny students in struggling rural schools the education they are guaranteed under the Alaska Constitution. The ruling is part of the ongoing lawsuit Moore vs. State of Alaska.
 
Gleason found that the state should provide pre-kindergarten and provide more oversight and assistance to under-performing school districts. She also wrote that difficult community conditions do not “diminish the State’s constitutional duty.”  
 
In 60 days Gleason can order the state to take specific actions. Governor Sarah Palin and the Education Department are asking for an additional $2.8 million for preschool programs.
 
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Read more from the February 2009 Rural Policy Matters.