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HB256

HB 256: Military-Connected Students and School Funding

Last scannedSep 12, 2026, 4:46 AM

In one sentence

This bill adds the 'purple star funding factor' to Alaska's public school funding formula while keeping existing rules that help districts when student numbers drop or schools merge.

What it does

  • Adds the purple star funding factor to the list of items used to calculate basic need for state aid, alongside special needs and vocational instruction factors.
  • Keeps a rule allowing school districts to use past enrollment numbers as a base if their adjusted student count drops by 5% or more in one year.
  • Allows this protection for up to three years after the drop occurs, provided the district's student count stays below the original level each year.
  • Maintains protections for schools that lose funding when they close and merge with other nearby schools within the same community.

Who it affects

  • Alaska public school districts
  • Schools eligible to receive state aid based on military-connected student designations

Limits and unknowns

  • The bill text does not define exactly which students qualify as military-connected or eligible for the purple star designation.
  • The specific dollar amount or percentage value of the new purple star funding factor is not stated in this excerpt; it only references a separate statute (AS 14.17.420(a)(4)).
  • The effective date for when these changes begin is listed as blank in the provided metadata.

Plain language

Terms to know

Purple Star Funding Factor
A new factor added to the funding formula for schools with purple star designations.
ADM (Average Daily Membership)
The count of students in a school used as the base for calculating state aid, which is adjusted by factors like school size and cost.

Official record

Sources

Validated
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text

Official summary

MILITARY-CONNECTED STUDENTS & SCHOOLS An Act relating to public school students connected to the military; relating to school funding for purple star designations; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (H) COSPONSOR(S): GRAY1739
  2. (H) Heard & HeldText
  3. (H) MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS at 10:15 AM BARNES 124Text
  4. (H) REFERRED TO MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS1451
  5. (H) MLV, EDC, FIN1451
  6. (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS1451
  7. (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/16/261451