Deadline comes for bill restricting sex education

A controversial bill passed by the Alaska Legislature will reach its day of decision today.

House Bill 156, sponsored by Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla and significantly amended by Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, will reach its veto deadline on July 28. That’s the date by which Gov. Bill Walker must sign or veto the bill. If he does neither, the bill will become law without his signature.

As originally drafted, HB 156 was intended to give school districts a two-year break from a state mandate for standardized testing. The state’s Alaska Measures of Progress exam was a total failure, and Keller said districts need a “breather” while the state comes up with a replacement.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has already requested a federal waiver from the testing requirement, and HB 156 is intended to waive the state requirement as well.

Keller’s original intent remains in the bill, but it was largely pushed aside by an amendment crafted by Dunleavy.

Dunleavy was the author of the controversial Senate Bill 89, which would have prohibited sex education by anyone but a certified teacher employed at the local school hosting the sex ed course. The bill was written to specifically forbid lessons provided by organizations that also provide abortion services and was seen as specifically targeting Planned Parenthood.

SB 89 failed in the House, but Dunleavy amended HB 156 to include a watered-down version of SB 89.

As passed by the Legislature, HB 156 requires only that sex ed instructors be overseen by a local teacher. Instead of prohibiting Planned Parenthood and any similar organizations, the bill requires sex ed materials and instructors be approved by a local school board.

Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage and the Senate Minority Leader, has been an adamant opponent of HB 156. In a Wednesday newsletter to constituents, she wrote that even though the controversial elements of the bill have been diluted, “they would still restrict much-needed access to resources in a state that can use all the resources available.”

Staff in Gardner’s office and Keller’s office said they have not been informed about any action by the governor. A spokeswoman for Walker said by email that a decision would not be announced before Thursday.

More in News

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club in Moose Pass, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Insurance authorization bill sponsored by Bjorkman, Ruffidge becomes law

The bill requires insurance companies and health care providers to meet new deadlines for authorizing requests for care.

A map of the Johnson Tract Mine exploration project. Photo courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity
Inletkeeper, partners file lawsuit against Cook Inlet gold mine

The Johnson Tract Mine is located on CIRI-owned lands inside Lake Clark National Park.

A sockeye salmon is carried from the waters of Cook Inlet on North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai River dipnet fishery open 24 hours beginning Friday night

Per fish counts available from the department, 471,000 sockeye have been counted so far this year — with 108,000 counted on Wednesday alone.

Attorneys Eric Derleth and Dan Strigle speak to Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson during the opening arguments of State of Alaska v. Nathan Erfurth at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opening arguments offered in Erfurth trial

The trial is set to continue for around two weeks, into early August.

Evacuees in Seward, Alaska, walk along Adams Street following a tsunami warning on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tsunami warning canceled following 7.3 earthquake near Sand Point

An all clear was issued for Kachemak Bay communities at 1:48 p.m. by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management.

The Ninilchik River on May 18, 2019, in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Ninilchik River to remain closed to king salmon fishing

It was an “error in regulation” that would have opened the Ninilchik River to king salmon fishing on Wednesday.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski woman sentenced to 4 years in prison for 2023 drug death

Lawana Barker was sentenced for her role in the 2023 death of Michael Rodgers.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Seward resident arrested after Monday night police pursuit

Troopers say she led them on a high-speed chase on Kalifornsky Beach Road for around 7 miles.

Most Read