All Roll Calls
Yes: 159 • No: 101
AlaskaHB 2834th Legislature (2025-2026)HouseWALLET
EDU: SCHOOLS/TEACHERS/SCHOOL BD/LOAN PRGM
Sponsored By: Andi Story (Democratic)
Became Law
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Loan repayment help for Alaska teachers
Alaska creates a loan repayment pilot for full-time, certificated public school teachers in special education, English as a second language, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Teachers must have completed a college degree or certificate and owe a qualifying student loan for that program. They must exhaust other eligible federal and state repayment programs and apply using the commission's form by its deadline. Annual grants equal one-third of the outstanding qualifying balance, up to $5,000, for no more than three years. Payment comes after teachers finish their contract term; the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education may require refinancing with the commission. Grants depend on appropriations, with a $1 million program-wide limit each fiscal year. The pilot ends June 1, 2030.
Retired educators gain regional rehiring options
Alaska regional resource centers can rehire eligible retired members while their retirement benefits continue unchanged. Rehired retirees do not become active retirement-system members, earn added service credit, or have retirement contributions deducted from pay. They may also receive the center's group health coverage. Before hiring, centers must adopt a resolution describing a shortage or expected shortage of other qualified applicants. They must advertise the job for 10 business days and actively recruit nonretired applicants. Members retired under AS 14.25.110(a) must certify that no rehiring arrangement existed before retirement. These members must wait at least 60 days if age 62 or older, or six months if younger. Centers must report the retiree, shortage, and recruitment steps to the retirement administrator and make required employer contributions. These rules apply to contracts made on or after the effective date of the law's retiree-reemployment sections.
Families can keep correspondence school materials
Students leaving an Alaska district-run correspondence program can keep qualifying textbooks, equipment, and other learning materials. This includes items bought with the annual student allotment. The items must be types that students leaving a physical school in the same district can keep.
Board members can fill emergency classrooms
Alaska regional school board members can work as substitute teachers during an emergency of limited duration. This gives schools a short-term staffing option and allows board members to take substitute-teaching work. It does not give board members general permission to work as teachers.
Districts can reopen consolidated schools sooner
Beginning July 1, 2026, eligible districts can reopen schools closed for consolidation after four years instead of seven. This applies to consolidation within the same community and district when the district uses the law's consolidation funding adjustment. Districts must show the education department that the schools affected by consolidation are over capacity. The related waiting period for reopening and reconsolidating schools for funding calculations also falls from seven years to four.
Certain felonies limit school board service
People convicted of a felony involving conduct the law calls “moral turpitude” cannot serve on an Alaska school board. Eligibility returns only after unconditional discharge from the felony and at least 10 years have passed since that discharge.
School energy aid brings reporting duties
Beginning July 1, 2027, Alaska provides annual heating-fuel and electricity reimbursements to eligible school districts, subject to appropriations. Each payment equals average actual spending from the first three of the preceding four fiscal years. Districts must make reasonable efforts, as the education department determines, not to increase energy use from the prior year. The department must give notice and a chance to respond before withholding reimbursement; insufficient funding reduces all payments proportionally. Beginning the same date, every district's audit must include the information the department needs to calculate reimbursement.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Andi Story
Democratic • House
Cosponsors
Jesse Bjorkman
Republican • Senate
Jeremy Bynum
Republican • House
Matt Claman
Democratic • Senate
Mike Cronk
Republican • Senate
Maxine Dibert
Democratic • House
Forrest Dunbar
Democratic • Senate
Zack Fields
Democratic • House
Alyse Galvin
Not • House
Cathy Giessel
Republican • Senate
Elvi Gray-Jackson
Democratic • Senate
Carolyn Hall
Democratic • House
Rebecca Himschoot
Not • House
Andy Josephson
Democratic • House
Scott Kawasaki
Democratic • Senate
Bert Stedman
Republican • Senate
Gary Stevens
Republican • Senate
Loki Tobin
Democratic • Senate
Bill Wielechowski
Democratic • Senate
Robert Yundt
Republican • Senate
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 5/20/2026
CONCUR AM OF (S) Y34 N6
Yes: 34 • No: 6
Senate vote • 5/19/2026
AM NO 4 ADOPTED Y11 N9
Yes: 11 • No: 9
Senate vote • 5/19/2026
AM NO 3 FAILED Y10 N10
Yes: 10 • No: 10
Senate vote • 5/19/2026
PASSED Y17 N3
Yes: 17 • No: 3
House vote • 5/19/2025
EFFECTIVE DATE(S) ADOPTED Y27 N13
Yes: 27 • No: 13
House vote • 5/19/2025
PASSED Y23 N17
Yes: 23 • No: 17
House vote • 5/18/2025
AM NO 2 FAILED Y19 N21
Yes: 19 • No: 21
House vote • 5/18/2025
AM NO 3 FAILED Y18 N22
Yes: 18 • No: 22
Actions Timeline
(S) LEG FINANCE APPROPRIATION MESSAGE 9/8/26
9/30/2026Senate(H) FN4: (EED/FUND CAP)
9/30/2026House(H) FN3: (EED)
9/30/2026House(H) FN(S) ATTACHED TO APPROP. BILL HB 263
9/30/2026House(H) LEG FINANCE APPROPRIATION MESSAGE 9/8/26
9/30/2026House(H) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) OF LAW SEE CHAPTER
6/20/2026House(H) LAW W/O GOVERNOR SIGNATURE 6/18 CHAPTER 22 SLA 26
6/20/2026House(H) MANIFEST ERROR(S)
6/4/2026House(H) 10:44 A.M. 6/1/26 TRANSMITTED TO GOVERNOR
6/4/2026House(H) COSPONSOR(S): BYNUM
5/20/2026House(H) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) SAME AS PASSAGE
5/20/2026House(H) CONCUR AM OF (S) Y34 N6
5/20/2026House(H) CONCUR MESSAGE TAKEN UP
5/20/2026House(H) TITLE CHANGE: SCR 21
5/20/2026House(H) CONCUR MESSAGE RECEIVED
5/20/2026House(S) VERSION: SCS CSHB 28(FIN) AM S
5/19/2026Senate(S) TRANSMITTED TO (H) AS AMENDED
5/19/2026Senate(S) EFFECTIVE DATE(S) SAME AS PASSAGE
5/19/2026Senate(S) PASSED Y17 N3
5/19/2026Senate(S) GRAY-JACKSON, GIESSEL, CLAMAN, STEDMAN, STEVENS
5/19/2026Senate(S) CROSS SPONSOR(S): WIELECHOWSKI, DUNBAR, KAWASAKI, BJORKMAN, CRONK,
5/19/2026Senate(S) AUTOMATICALLY IN THIRD READING
5/19/2026Senate(S) AM NO 4 ADOPTED Y11 N9
5/19/2026Senate(S) AM NO 3 FAILED Y10 N10
5/19/2026Senate(S) AM NO 2 NOT OFFERED
5/19/2026Senate
Bill Text
Enrolled HB 28
5/20/2026
SCS CSHB 28(FIN) am S
5/19/2026
SCS CSHB 28(FIN)
5/18/2026
SCS CSHB 28(EDC)
4/21/2026
CSHB 28(FIN) am
5/18/2025
CSHB 28(FIN)
5/16/2025
HB 28
1/22/2025