The Alaska Senate Education Committee has made significant changes to a school funding bill, opting to remove a controversial overhaul of publicly funded homeschooling programs. Instead, the new version emphasizes legislative oversight of Alaska's correspondence education programs and introduces a $58 million one-time energy relief payment to help schools cope with high fuel prices. Additionally, the bill includes increased funding for student transportation and maintains incentive grants for districts improving student reading proficiency under the Alaska Reads Act. Senator Löki Tobin, chair of the committee, stated that the removal of contentious funding changes simplifies the bill amidst public backlash. The original proposal aimed to funnel funding for homeschoolers through local school districts, which raised concerns among superintendents and families about the potential impact on large correspondence programs. The revised bill requires Alaska school districts to submit annual reports detailing their correspondence programs, including funding allocations and student demographics. Despite these changes, the bill cuts a proposed $125 increase in annual per-student funding, which aimed to adjust for inflation, in favor of one-time payments. The Senate's proposal conflicts with the House's budget plan, which calls for $147 million in one-time funding for K-12 operations, highlighting ongoing debates about education funding in Alaska.