This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee took testimony on SB 350, which would allow 11th grade students to opt out of the ACT WorkKeys assessment—a narrowly framed proposal that opens the door to long-overdue discussion but falls well short of the full repeal that principals have consistently called for, leaving open the question of whether policymakers will ultimately make real progress toward eliminating this burdensome and largely useless test or settle for…
House K-12 Budget Proposal Draws Broad Backlash from Education Leaders
The House K-12 budget proposal, HB 4577, was released and passed on the same day this past week. The proposal is a radical departure from the traditional budget process and comes far later than is normal in the year, which leaves in doubt whether the Legislature will have budgets in place by the end of June. More concerning, the House budget proposal strips away vital student supports, inflates funding numbers through one-time…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Monday, Governor Whitmer signed HB 4345 into law, allowing districts impacted by this winter’s severe storms to waive up to 15 instructional days if the closures were due to a declared state of emergency, a majority of the school board votes in favor, and the missed time was directly caused by the emergency (no reporting to MDE is required as long as documentation, including the resolution, is kept on file locally).…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Wednesday at the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference, House Speaker Matt Hall announced that the yet-to-be-released House version of the School Aid Fund budget will feature a startlingly high $12,000 per-pupil foundation allowance (equivalent to a 20% increase in the foundation) that would be funded by eliminating categoricals. The announcement included no details on which categoricals the House will propose to roll up, but MASSP estimates a foundation allowance…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee took testimony—but held no vote—on two bills: HB 4369 would prohibit schools from serving food that included specific artificial dyes and additives (a proposal that drew interest from lawmakers but also pointed questions about cost and the ability of schools to source food when the prohibitions would not apply to the rest of the supply chain); and HB 4367, which would establish a voluntary Purple Star…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
Tuesday's House K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee on literacy education focused on the number of different elementary ELA curriculum resources (444 total) in use across the state, a number that Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) researchers noted "raises questions about the overall standard and the equity of students access to high quality literacy resources" throughout the state…a point on which legislators of both parties seemed to find common ground and which raised questions about…
May CREC Highlights a School Aid Boost—but Budget Pressures Mount
The State Treasurer and directors of the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies met Friday to agree on the updated revenue estimates that will guide the final stages of the 2025-26 state budget process. The topline story: revenue projections for the School Aid Fund continue to improve modestly, but a significant drop in projected general fund revenue has added new tension to the budget process. The state is now expected to carry a…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the House K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee heard presentations on the theme of CTE opportunities for students and, though the three organizations that presented were all private companies promoting their specific CTE initiative (one focused on advanced manufacturing and two pitched virtual reality-based instruction), the questions from subcommittee members indicated more of a general interest in and support for CTE programs rather than just focusing on the limited-scale efforts highlighted in testimony.…
Senate PK-12 Approps Reports 2025-26 Budget Recommendation
The Senate PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee has reported out their proposal for the 2025-26 School Aid Budget. Overall, the budget looks remarkably similar to the executive recommendation put forward by Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office almost three months ago. The major highlights include a $10,008 per pupil foundation allowance (a 4.2% increase), 25% increases to At Risk and ELL funding, 4.2% increases to other weighted funding line items (CTE, rural/isolated, Early On, ISD general…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the House K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee took testimony from MASSP's Bob Kefgen highlighting how outdated and overly rigid state policies, particularly with regard to pupil accounting, are obstructing educational innovation and limiting schools’ ability to meet student needs…MASSP urged MDE and lawmakers to follow the example of other states that have removed policy barriers and encouraged schools to adopt innovative learning models and instructional strategies that better serve today’s learners (you…