The More You Know: New Laws for 2026-27
A handful of new laws take effect for the first time during the 2026-27 school year. Principals are likely already aware of—and may already be prepared for—some or all of these changes. Still, they are worth reviewing as the school year begins. The good news is that not every change creates a major new compliance burden and the biggest changes will provide principals with leverage for reducing disruptions caused by cell phones…
Legislature Finishes K-12 Budget for 2026-27
After another of the late-night scrambles that have come to typify the budget process in Lansing, the Michigan Legislature has adopted the 2026-27 School Aid budget. The final budget takes a significant step forward in terms of both structure and investment toward a true weighted student funding model, provides a modest 2.5% foundation increase, and improves funding stability for districts facing declining enrollment. However, these positives are undercut by a massive expansion…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
Lansing gave school leaders another week of wheels-spinning-car-not-moving, as the House kept debating and advancing more education policy bills that may or may not have a future in the Senate while budget talks produced plenty of noise and finger-pointing, few clear (and often conflicting) signals on how much progress is actually being made in negotiations, and no measurable progress toward completing the state budget by the July 1 statutory deadline. The House…
What Matters?
If you haven't recently watched Disney's WALL-E, it is worth revisiting. The film presents a vision of humanity in surrender. Chased from earth by environmental collapse, humans in the movie are living in collective isolation on an automated cruise ship in space. Plugged into their devices and disconnected from the world, the passengers have ceded thought and decision-making to the intelligent robots with which they have surrounded themselves. This may sound like…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
While lawmakers advanced a range of education policy proposals this week, the likely impact of the legislation being moved is minimal, marginal, or both; meanwhile, public budget discussions remained quiet this week, leaving stakeholders hopeful that budget chairs and legislative leaders are using the relative silence to continue the behind-the-scenes work necessary to reach an eventual spending agreement…in other words, lots of things happened but little got done. On Tuesday, the Senate…
This Week in Politics in (Technically) 5 Sentences (not Fewer)
Districts impacted by late-season snowstorms, flooding, and even one community water main break will receive additional forgiven days under HB 5797, which cleared the Senate this week and is headed to Governor Whitmer for her signature…the bill will provide four additional forgiven days and hours for districts located wholly or partially within a lengthy list of mostly northern Michigan counties forced to cancel school March 12-13 and March 16-17 and an additional…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
Michigan’s May Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) painted an increasingly complicated picture for Michigan schools heading into final budget negotiations, with the School Aid Fund projected to carry roughly a $2.1 billion balance into FY 2026-27 even as the General Fund faces an estimated $1 billion shortfall, including roughly $850 million in ongoing structural imbalance. At the same time, both School Aid and General Fund revenues are projected to grow more slowly…
May CREC 2026: Stable Balances, Shrinking Buying Power, Falling Enrollment
Michigan’s May 2026 Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) produced a school finance outlook that depends heavily on how you read the numbers. Viewed from the balance sheet, things look fairly stable. The School Aid Fund (SAF) continues to grow modestly and is projected to reach nearly $19.65 billion in FY 2026-27. Revenue estimates also came in slightly above January projections for both the School Aid Fund and General Fund. But two other…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The Legislature took another step this week to reduce high-stakes standardized testing in Michigan, with the House unanimously concurring in HB 4556 and HB 4557, sponsored by Representatives Koleszar and Kunse, and sending them to the Governor for signature, eliminating the SAT Essay beginning in spring 2027 and removing the requirement that MME scores be included on student transcripts. These changes will reduce state-mandated testing time by approximately one hour and allow…
Senate, House Put Forward Budget Proposals
This week, the Michigan House and Senate put forward their 2026-27 School Aid budget proposals, marking the next important step in the state's budget process. While both chambers included a 2.5% increase in the foundation allowance and somewhat larger increases to most weighted funding, the similarities on major points largely stop there. The Senate proposal includes a shift toward a weighted foundation model for At-Risk and English Language Learner (ELL) funding, similar…