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…
October 2024 Legislative Recap
While the House has been out campaigning and on break, the Michigan Senate has kept the wheels turning, holding session one day per week throughout October. During this time, senators have been busy laying the groundwork for key legislative priorities set to take center stage during the upcoming lame duck session. From new vaping regulations to expanded student teacher stipends, stricter vaccination reporting, computer science education requirements, work permit changes, and teacher…
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…
Updated Principal Contract Guide Now Available
In light of the recent Michigan Supreme Court decision in the case of Batista v. ORS, MASSP has updated our Building Administrator Contract Guide to reflect important changes that address how compensation is credited for retirement purposes under the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS). The decision affects both individual employment contracts and collectively bargained agreements and highlights the need for all Michigan school administrators to review and potentially revise their contracts and…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the Michigan Senate returned for one of only two days of session expected to be held before the November general election and passed SB 911 along partisan lines with a vote of 20-16, an important bill for Michigan's public schools. The amended version of the bill that was adopted will lower the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) contribution rate for traditional public school districts by 5.75% and eliminate the requirement…
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…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
The big story in Lansing this week was continued back and forth on legislation introduced in both chambers (SB 911 and HB 5803) reflecting the proposal championed by a coalition of school groups (including MASSP, MASA, MASB, MEA, and AFT Michigan among others) to lower the MPSERS rate for districts from 20.96% to 13.96% and remove the requirement that many educators contribute 3% of their salary toward retiree healthcare. Despite assurances that the House…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
As the legislative session winds down toward summer, the pace of committee meetings is slowing somewhat as members (and particularly legislative leadership) spend more of their time focused on clearing the decks before their extended summer recess…a process that includes wrapping up the 2024-25 budgets, including the K-12 budget. The budget debate took a turn toward the contentious this week as the House failed to garner the votes needed to pass a…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
For the second week in a row, neither the House nor Senate Education Committees met and the Lansing rumor mill has it that the lack of meetings hinges on a disagreement between the chambers on a package of proposed dyslexia legislation (SB 567-68) that passed the Senate earlier this session, but seems to be struggling to gain support in the House due to concerns with its over prescription and strong opposition from…
This Week in Politics in 5 Sentences (or Fewer)
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee voted out three bills: SB 744 is an important tweak to the Teacher Tenure Act that cleans up drafting errors made last year during work on educator evaluation (it is important that this legislation get enacted into law before the end of June, so this vote is good news) and HB 5450-51 would require the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to develop materials for parents on the state's…