Here come the strings

Education: Alaska's groundbreaking support for homeschools may be buried in state audits and new rulings | Mark Bergin

Since 1997, parents in Alaska have enjoyed state support for homeschool expenses with almost no academic restraint—provided any religious-themed teaching materials were purchased with private money. No more. "Here come the strings," said Peter Torkelson, a former state legislator who, along with his wife Lisa, is one parent who has resisted taking government money to homeschool his daughters. "They managed to avoid for a while what I thought would happen a long time ago."

Armed with a new application of an old statute, Alaska's Department of Education and Early Development (EED) declared that teaching a majority of core subjects with religious-based materials—even those privately purchased—disqualifies parents from receiving government funds. It employed a 1966 law, which states, "Partisan, sectarian, or denominational doctrines may not be advocated in a public school during the hours the school is in session."