(homeschool advocates on the Board of Ed, Barb Tyndall and Bob Griffin, are taking fire from the NEA)
As a homeschool graduate, I have been watching the legal battle over our state homeschool laws with great concern. The first salvo fired against homeschooling in Alaska was last month’s lawless decision by Judge Adolph Zeman in the case Alexander v. Alaska. The NEA launched the lawsuit in its frantic attempts to stop the bleeding of tens of thousands of Alaskan students leaving public schools for the freedom of homeschooling. Politically, the move was designed to open the door to the legislature granting the NEA even more control over our state education system.
The second (predicable) salvo was fired by NEA-backed legislators in Juneau who proposed changing Alaska’s correspondence homeschool laws to limit homeschool freedom. By making homeschooling more difficult and imposing testing mandates on correspondence students, the hope is that families considering starting homeschooling next year will abandon the idea, and some families who have already left brick and mortar schools will find their way back.
The third salvo is now underway as the NEA is trying to oust two pro-homeschool members on the state board of education. When legislators gather on Tuesday morning to confirm each of Governor Dunleavy’s appointments, NEA-backed legislators will be gunning for board of education members Bob Griffin and Barb Tyndall.
If legislators vote to remove them from the board, homeschoolers will lose more than just two pro-homeschool advocates on the board. A loss on Tuesday will open the door for even worse attacks against homeschooling this year and in the next legislature.
On the other hand, if Alaskans rally around these two appointees and legislators vote to keep them on the board, the NEA and its allies in the legislature will need to pause and reconsider their current attacks against homeschooling in the legislature and in the court system.
Bob Griffin is an Air Force veteran and airline pilot. He has been the most outspoken advocate for correspondence students on the board of education (see his full resume). His ceaseless advocacy for Alaska’s homeschool students has earned him the wrath of the NEA and they are pulling out the stops to block his reappointment to the board.
Barb Tyndall has also been a tireless advocate for educating students and an outspoken opponent of social engineering in Alaska schools (see her full resume). Barb was a teacher at Christian schools in Juneau and North Pole for more than twenty years, and is a grandmother with fifteen grandkids.
You can peruse the list of each of Governor Dunleavy’s appointees currently up for legislative confirmation. You can also find resumes for each appointee by visiting my Legislative Facebook Page.
