Alaska
Alaska Democrat in Toss-Up Race Voted Against Parental Rights Bill While Taking Thousands from Anti-Parent Teachers Unions
A member of Congress from Alaska voted against a bill allowing parents to access the curriculum at their children’s school while accepting thousands from groups that support schools hiding gender identity from parents.
Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola voted against the Parents Bill of Rights Act in March 2023, which would have required schools to allow parents to inspect curriculum and library books; to obtain parental consent before letting a child socially transition at school; and to inform parents of violent activity at school.
Aimed at protecting the right of parents to guide their children’s education, the Parents Bill of Rights passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 24 on a 213-208 party-line vote. Peltola was one of the 208 Democrats who voted against parental transparency in education.
Peltola has received more than $40,000 from far-left groups’ political arms that support schools socially transitioning kids and giving kids access to sexually explicit library books, like the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and Human Rights Campaign.
Since 2022, Peltola has accepted $20,000 from the PAC of the far-left National Education Association, which also opposed the Parents Bill of Rights. The NEA, America’s largest teachers’ union, recommended that teachers assign “Gender Queer” as summer reading even though the comic book style novel graphically depicts gay sex.
Peltola has received $15,000 from the American Federation of Teachers’s AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education since 2022. AFT President Randi Weingarten said the Parents Bill of Rights “would require schools to divert their limited resources from teaching, censor education, ban books, and harm children who are just trying to be themselves and live their lives in peace.”
The Alaska Democrat also has taken $6,000 from the Human Rights Campaign Fund. The Human Rights Campaign supports irreversible transgender medical interventions for children and peddles the lie that children are less likely to commit suicide if they transition.
The Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools Program trains elementary school teachers on “creating LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive schools.”
Last summer, Peltola took to X to urge followers to donate to Identity, which helps children get sterilizing hormone treatments and irreversible transgender surgeries.
“Many people feel alienated from their bodies during puberty under the best of circumstances, and for children who are trans* and aware of their sex incongruence, being forced to undergo puberty and have their bodies change into the wrong sex is devastating,” Identity’s website says, promoting puberty blockers for children.
Peltola became the representative of Alaska’s singular congressional district after beating former Gov. Sarah Palin and small business owner Nick Begich in a ranked-choice voting election in 2022.
She will face Begich again in November.
The Alaska congressional race could determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress in 2025. Peltola’s race is a key toss-up election, according to the Center for Politics.
Begich told The Daily Signal that his opponent, Peltola, is on board with the Biden-Harris administration’s plans to push gender ideology into the classroom, “forcing teachers to push concepts that are neither rooted in science nor basic logic.”
“Parents trust the school system to educate and protect children while at school, not indoctrinate them in the latest leftwing political fads,” Begich said. “Congresswoman Peltola has been part and parcel with this agenda, voting against the Parents Bill of Rights and even encouraging Alaskans to donate to organizations that support so-called ‘gender transitions’ for children.”
“Parents should have a right to access their children’s curriculum, receive full transparency from the school system, and continue to be the ones responsible for raising their children,” Begich added.
Cindy Glassmaker, an Alaska mother of three girls,was disappointed in her congresswoman’s vote against the Parents Bill of Rights.
“To me, being a parent means having a say in decisions that affect our children until they reach 18,” Glassmaker told The Daily Signal. “I believe our congresswoman should be advocating for greater parental involvement, fostering a partnership between parents and schools to prioritize the well-being of our students.
“I am outraged that she accepted significant donations from anti-parent groups that support schools keeping gender identity issues hidden from parents,” Glassmaker continued.
Peltola told Anchorage Daily News she voted against the Parents Bill of Rights to protect students’ “right to privacy.” The bill prohibits schools from hiding student gender identity from the parents.
“The reason I did not vote for this particular bill, is because I feel like students should have some right to privacy,” Peltola said in 2023. “And I think they should have a right to feel safe at school.”
Peltola did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment about her position on parental rights.
Alaska mother and Anchorage Moms for Liberty Chair Gabby Ide told The Daily Signal she feels Peltola doesn’t stand up for her rights as a parent.
“Mary Peltola isn’t looking out for Alaska’s families,” Ide said. “She voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. She co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would allow males in female locker rooms and bathrooms. When she does vote, she appears totally out of touch with parents’ desire for accountability in education results and our fundamental right to direct the upbringing of our children.”
Alaska
This Day in Alaska History-March 27th, 1964

It was on this day in 1964 that a massive 9.2 earthquake in Southcentral Alaska.
The massive quake at 5:36 pm on March 27th caused much devastation throughout the region and generated a huge tsunami that inundated many communities in the region.
The quake was the largest in the history of the United States and initially killed 15 people while the resulting tsunami killed an additional 100 people in the new state and another 13 in California as well as five in Oregon.
The megathrust earthquake endured for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds and ruptured over 600 miles of fault and moved up to 60 feet in places.
The deadly quake occurred 15 and a half miles deep 40 miles west of Valdez and generated a ocean floor shift that created a wave 220 feet high.
As many as 20 other smaller tsunamis were generated by submarine landslides.
Alaska
Opinion: Alaska’s public schools were once incredible. They can be that way again.
I grew up greeting friends and neighbors on my walk to my neighborhood Anchorage public school, just as my kids do now. It’s an essential, and value-added, part of living in our community.
In the late 1990s, when I attended Service High School, I had amazing teachers. My AP chemistry teacher left the oil and gas industry to teach. He could have earned significantly more money in another field, but teaching was competitive enough, given pensions and compensation, that he stayed in the job he loved and gave a generation of students a solid foundation in chemistry.
Now, my kids, who are in first, third and fifth grade, face a different reality. Teachers across our state are leaving in droves. Neighborhood schools across Alaska are closing. Art and music are being combined, which is nonsensical — they are not the same and they are both valuable independently. When he was in second grade, my oldest had a cohort of more than 60 students in his grade — split between two teachers. When he enters sixth grade next year, there will be no middle school sports and he will lose out on electives. Support systems and specialists to help when kids are falling behind have been cut. I’m lucky that my children have had amazing teachers, but many excellent teachers are nearing retirement age or don’t have a pension and are pursuing other careers. What happens then?
Despite skyrocketing inflation, last year was the first time in years that our schools received a significant increase in the Base Student Allocation — and that money doesn’t begin to make up for what they have lost over the years. Even that increase had to overcome two vetoes from what a recent teacher of the year calls “possibly the most anti-public education governor in the history of Alaska.” Shockingly, my own representative, Mia Costello, despite voting for the increase, failed to join the override to support education. She has failed to explain that decision when asked.
State spending on corrections is up 54% since 2019; meanwhile, spending on education is up only 12% in the same timeframe. Schools are now working with 77% of the funding they had 15 years ago when accounting for inflation.
When we starve our public schools of funding, Alaska families leave. No one wants their child to suffer from a subpar education and the lower test scores and opportunities that come with it. A significant number of people are working in Alaska but choosing not to raise their families here.
To the elected officials who preach school “choice” but starve public schools: our family’s choice is our neighborhood school. It’s our community. It’s where our friends are. Neighborhood public schools, which are required to accept all children, should be the best option out there. Public schools should be a good, strong, viable option for communities and neighborhoods across our great state. Once, they were.
I am thankful for those in the Legislature working to solve these problems. This includes HB 374, which raises the BSA by $630, and HB 261, which would make education funding less volatile.
It breaks my heart that across the state, dedicated teachers keep showing up for our kids while being underpaid and undervalued. Underfunding our schools is also a violation of Alaska’s constitution, which requires “adequate funding so as to accord to schools the ability to provide instruction in the standards.”
Not so long ago, Alaska’s public schools were adequately funded, and they produced well-educated students and retained excellent teachers. It’s up to all of us to reach out to our elected officials and urge them to make that the case once again.
Colleen Bolling is a lifelong Alaskan and mother of three who cares deeply about Alaska’s schools.
• • •
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Alaska
Alaska volunteer dedicates 600 hours a year to food bank after husband’s death
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Karen Burnett spends most days in the sorting room at the Food Bank of Alaska, ensuring every donated item finds its place.
The Anchorage woman dedicates her time to sorting, packing and organizing food donations.
Finding purpose after loss
Burnett’s journey at the Food Bank of Alaska began after a personal loss. Following the death of her husband, Burnett said she found herself with time on her hands and a desire to help.
“I had a friend who had talked to me about it, and it just sounded like a good thing to be out doing,” she said.
Burnett now volunteers between 500 and 600 hours each year.
“I started, but it got to be so fun. I spent more and more time here,” Burnett added.
Understanding community need
Burnett has witnessed the growing need in the community, particularly as more families struggle to make ends meet.
“If you took a look at the pantry and saw those empty shelves, it’s hard sometimes when you know people are coming in and looking for something, for their clients, and there’s absolutely nothing in there,” Burnett said.
Her dedication has made a lasting impact on countless families.
“I just feel real involvement in a way that is appreciated,” Burnett said. “You know, people need this food. They need people to put it out for them.”
See the full story by Ariane Aramburo and John Perry.
Copyright 2025 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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