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…
The Latest on the K-12 Budget: Revenue, MPSERS, and an “Historic Coalition”
While Friday gave us the final revenue estimates that will be used in negotiating the final K-12 budget, the headline of this week is the "historic coalition" of school management and labor groups putting forward a joint proposal to lower pension costs for districts and employees, returning money to classrooms and paychecks. In a joint letter sent to every member of the Michigan Legislature and the Governor, MASSP and a coalition that included…
Reviewing Recent Changes to MI’s Cardiac Emergency Response Law
During day three of the NFL draft that took place in Detroit this past weekend and with Damar Hamlin looking on, Governor Whitmer signed into law some changes to Michigan’s school cardiac emergency response law. Since 2014 Michigan has had a law on the books requiring districts to have a cardiac emergency response plan that includes training, the use and maintenance of AEDs, and a cardiac emergency response team, so this isn't…
House Reports Excellent K-12 Budget Rec
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Education voted out their version of the 2024-25 K-12 budget on Thursday and it was, by far, the best of the bunch. The headline is that the recommendation allocated an additional $291 million to reduce district MPSERS obligations, a change that will result in huge, ongoing savings for local districts. Even with that sizable allocation to reducing district costs, the House still managed a…
Senate Reports First Legislative Budget Rec of the Year
The Senate is the first of the two legislative chambers out of the gate with their 2024-25 budget proposal, voting their bill out of subcommittee on Tuesday. Where the Governor's proposal gave across the board 2.5% increases to most of the core line items schools rely on, the Senate proposal spends more on some (e.g. foundation allowance and At Risk) and less on others (e.g. CTE, isolated districts). It also doubles down…