"In light of the vague, broad nature of the court's reasoning, it is very difficult to determine what type of program would actually be permitted under this decision," Taylor said.

"In a way, drafting something legislative would just be a shot in the dark," Taylor added.

The wife of Treg Taylor, Jodi Taylor, wrote in 2022 about her intent to use correspondence allotments to pay for her children's education at a Catholic school. The attorney general previously recused himself from matters related to correspondence students, but on Wednesday said he planned to be involved in the state's litigation moving forward.

Taylor said Wednesday that "the situation with (his) kids' schooling has changed significantly" and that he had sought the advice of outside counsel, who determined he no longer had a conflict. Department of Law spokeswoman Patty Sullivan did not immediately provide additional details on the outside counsel's opinion, including who provided it and when.

The state is planning to file a request for a stay on Monday, Taylor said. If granted, it would pause the implementation of the decision. The plaintiffs in the case — several Alaska parents and teachers — have already requested a temporary stay until the end of June, which they said would prevent disruptions in the current school year. But they indicated they would oppose a longer stay — which is what the state plans to request.

Taylor said the state would seek to halt the court order until the state Supreme Court could consider the case and issue its decision. Even on an expedited basis, that would likely take several months.

If the state Supreme Court upholds the superior court's decision, Taylor and Dunleavy said they would seek to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"If the state Supreme Court just strikes the ability to purchase material or coursework from religious vendors, there's a very good chance that it'll be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court to be challenged there by intervenors, by others that are watching this right now," said Dunleavy.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Maine ban on sending public funds to religious schools. But that ban is very different from Alaska's constitutional provision, which prohibits the use of public funds at all private schools, not just religious ones.

Wielechowski said there is "no chance" the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Alaska's case.

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