Our vision is an Alaska that continuously grows prosperity by maximizing individual opportunities and freedom
School closures and uncertainty in 2020 and 2021 certainly did no favors for Alaskan students. The 2021 Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) results are now available, and they reveal particularly worrisome trends in proficiency, especially in mathematics. More than […]
With the 2020 election behind us, it might be tempting to declare mail-in voting a success, given that 46 percent of voters across the nation and 48 percent in Alaska voted by mail. However, the contention surrounding the […]
Nearly every state has deliberated one or more bills dealing with virtual care since the pandemic, Alaska included. Unfortunately, few states have seriously considered allowing out-of-state providers to permanently provide telehealth services to […]
The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) recently received a $1 million grant, funded by the federal CARES Act, to research a “legal and practical pathway” for tribal compacting of education. Tribal compacting is an education agreement between the state and tribes where local authority for K-12 schools is vested […]
It is a sad fact, but it is true: children who cannot read by nine rarely catch up to their peers. In 2019, only 25 percent of Alaskan fourth-graders were proficient in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and almost […]
Project Nickel is a tool that makes it easy for parents and policymakers alike to understand how much is spent per student at a school by bundling together the most informative statistics and […]
Advocates of higher school spending often frame the problem as a no-brainer solution to assist struggling students. However, the school funding issue in Alaska is far more complicated; a recent report by the […]
What if, instead of a sky-high deductible, paying outrageous premiums, and waiting months for a doctor’s appointment, it was possible to pay a membership fee for unlimited visits, routine testing and treatment, and […]
Alaska is facing a budget dilemma, and as the years pass it becomes increasingly clear this financial emergency cannot be ignored. To help combat the crisis, join Alaska Policy Forum for a virtual […]
Alaska has 17 medically underserved areas (MUAs) that would stand to benefit greatly from increased access to health care at lower costs than in-person visits. In fact, all Alaskans would benefit greatly since […]
The Tax Foundation has released a series of articles examining the reliance of state budgets on property taxes, sales taxes, and individual income taxes. Alaska does not yet have an income tax on individuals, although several bills have been introduced in […]
The Texas Public Policy Foundation has released an interactive tool that classifies programs at universities based on average annual earnings, monthly loan payments, students’ average debt-to-earnings ratio, and gainful employment equivalent status. The debt-to-earnings ratio is calculated by dividing the median debt […]
Given the recent budget woes of the University of Alaska (UA) system and falling enrollment for nearly a decade, it is reasonable to wonder if earning a degree in Alaska is a sound economic investment for students. In other words, do Alaskan students leave […]
Alaskans suffer from some of the most expensive health care costs in the nation. Medicare enrollees comprise about 14 percent of Alaska’s population and increases in Medicare spending from 2008 to 2018 have […]
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on Alaska’s economy and businesses are scrambling to keep up with ever-changing, and sometimes conflicting, public health guidelines. Currently, the threat of expensive and unexpected virus-related litigation makes […]
Given the necessity of roads in helping Alaskans travel, investing taxpayer dollars in roads seems to be one of the few legitimate functions of government. But according to the Reason Foundation, Alaskans aren’t […]