Gov’s Budget Increases Core Funding, Creates New Accountability Program
Governor Whitmer has released her Executive Budget Proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The proposal includes a 4.1% increase in the foundation allowance, which would bump the amount to $10,000 per pupil. The budget continues significant investments in student mental health, early literacy, and career readiness while also expanding free preschool access for all four-year-olds. A major new initiative in this year’s budget is the so-called SMART (Students, Metrics, and Results with…
House and Senate Committee Assignments Announced
With the start of the new legislative session, committee assignments have now been released, setting the stage for education policy and budget discussions over the next two years. The House Education Committee has been renamed the “House Education and Workforce Committee,” reflecting a broader focus, and will be chaired by Rep. Nancy DeBoer (R-Holland). On the budget side, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE)…
January CREC Shows Revenues, Balances Growing
The State Treasurer and directors of the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies met Friday to come to consensus on the revenue estimates that will be used to begin the state budget process for 2025-26 fiscal year. The short story: state revenues for last year and this year have been robust and higher than expected, exceeding projections from the May 2024 estimates by hundreds of millions. That means that the state is projected…
MASSP’s 2025-26 Policy Priorities
This past December, 319 principals—representing about 20% of MASSP's membership—participated in our biennial priority survey to identify the top policy priorities MASSP members want us to focus on for the upcoming legislative session. While the results show that all seven issues presented in the survey were viewed as important, three stood out as the clear front-runners. These top-ranked priorities will provide the focus for MASSP’s proactive advocacy efforts over the next two…
2023-24 Legislature Ends Session with House Stagnation, Marathon Senate Session
The 2023-24 came to a close mid-afternoon on Friday, December 20, when the Michigan Senate finally adjourned after a record-setting session that lasted nearly 30 hours. In contrast, the House failed to get enough members in attendance to meet a single additional day during the final week of the legislative calendar after adjourning in disarray last week. The lack of session was despite action by Speaker Joe Tate to impose a Call…
2024 Lame Duck Preview
With the election in the books, the Michigan Legislature returned to Lansing this week and dove headfirst into what could become a busy lame duck session. Both chambers seem determined, at least for now, to finish out the 2023-24 legislative session with a bang (all three remaining weeks of it…tick tock). The House and Senate Education Committees both met, though they were far from the only committees that had school-related legislation on…
Election Implications for Education in Michigan
Tuesday's general election is in the books and with it a significant pivot in the national and state political landscape. Although final results have yet to be fully tabulated nationwide, the largely Republican leaning electoral outcomes give us enough of a picture to project what the near and mid-term future may hold for education in Michigan. Let's look at both national and state political outcomes and consider what potential changes could unfold…
MPSERS Reforms Signed Into Law Marks Big Win for Students, Schools
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed HB 5803 into law, making the changes to district MPSERS contribution rates and employee contribution reductions official, marking a significant win for Michigan’s public schools and educators. The new law will: Permanently reduce the contribution rate that traditional public school districts must pay into the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) by 5.75%, from 20.96% to 15.21%. Eliminate the 3% contribution to retiree health insurance for…
New School Safety Resources Available for Michigan K-12 Schools
The Michigan State Police (MSP) Office of School Safety (OSS) has released a set of new resources to help K-12 schools across Michigan develop and update their Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and school safety protocols. These resources, now available on the OSS School Safety Resources webpage, provide comprehensive guidance on preparing for, responding to, and recovering from various emergency situations. The release of these new resources is also a good reminder to…
Legislature Passes 24-25 Budget, Leaves MPSERS Rate Cap Unfinished
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the House and Senate managed to scrape together the votes needed to pass an omnibus education budget bill. The budget is a significant departure from the model that districts have become used to. For one, there is no foundation increase for traditional public schools. Instead the budget puts funding toward buying down the MPSERS rate, increasing things like At Risk and special education funding, and…