No-budge judge who killed correspondence courses for Alaskans says decision is in effect June 30

The Alaska Superior Court judge who killed state funding for correspondence classes said on Thursday he will only pause his ruling from going into effect until June 30. The Dunleavy Administration had asked for it to be stayed, or set aside, until an appeal is heard at the Supreme Court.

Judge Adolf Zeman ruled in favor of the education industry, and against the governor in his initial decision and in this second decision, determining when his ruling will be in effect.

The state law that allows parents to enroll their students in correspondence or home school programs was struck down by Zeman, who said that the laws governing these programs are unconstitutional.

Over 24,000 students and at about 48,000 parents of Alaska students are impacted by the judge’s decision, which favored the the National Education Association-Alaska, and a cluster of parents who were litigants in the case who are hostile to homeschool and correspondence students.

In denying the extended stay, Zeman said that the Dunleavy Administration was not likely to win on its appeal.

“Accordingly, this Court finds that a limited stay is the best solution to ensure that students, families, and school districts are protected from undue disruption and all parties are protected from unnecessary uncertainty and related harms. A limited stay until the end of the fiscal year will ensure that any correspondence allotments that were taken in reliance on AS 14.03.300-310, will be honored, while minimizing the potential for continued unfettered unconstitutional spending,” Zeman wrote.

Zeman faces a retention vote later this year and will be the subject of a public hearing on May 8 to help the Alaska Judicial Council determine his worthiness to continue serving Alaskans as a Superior Court judge.

An Alaska judge just destroyed correspondence education in Alaska. What else did Judge Adolf Zeman destroy?