Bill proposes $24K in student debt relief for ex-Alaskans who return to teach or work for the state

State lawmakers are considering a new student loan repayment program to attract former Alaskans to return and serve as teachers and state workers.

The program outlined in House Bill 28 would pay off up to $24,000 in student debt for Alaskans who go out of state for college as an incentive to return home to work for the state or as a public school teacher.

Bill sponsor Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, said it’s an effort to address the state’s struggle to hire key employees and stem the tide of outmigration

“I want to incentivize and encourage skilled former Alaskans to come back home and work as teachers or state employees,” she said at the bill’s first hearing Monday. “These Alaskans typically have family here and a connection to this place and are more apt to stay long-term than new hires from another state.”

Over the past 12 years roughly 56,000 more Alaskans have left the state than arrived, according to state labor department figures — and Story said only about a third of Alaskans who go south for college wind up coming back.

Her proposed loan repayment program would also be open to University of Alaska graduates who have lived out of state for at least a year.

The repayments would be funded by $1 million from the state’s higher education fund each year. The three-year pilot program could support up to 125 yearly $8,000 grants.

Lobbying groups for school boards and school administrators offered support for the bill. The University of Alaska also filed a letter of support for the bill, but university officials also caution that the Legislature should come up with “an eventual legislative plan” to replenish the state’s higher education fund, which is down 10% over the last decade or so.

A somewhat similar loan repayment program for medical professionals has been praised for its success attracting doctors and other providers to the state.

Testifying alongside Story, Terry Fagerstrom told the House Education Committee that the state student loan assistance she received under a program active in the 1970s and ‘80s provided an incentive to return home after going to college in the Lower 48.

“At the end of five years, I had a really good job, and I had great benefits. I had established my community, I had friends, I had purchased a home, and I was vested, and I stayed here,” she said. “The way I look at it, for an $11,000 investment, the state of Alaska got a 31-year very productive, highly-educated employee, and I think that’s a pretty good return on investment.”

The bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It’ll have to clear the House Education Committee and the Finance Committee before advancing to a final House vote.