Legislative Update

Michigan lawmakers took another step to scale back 11th grade assessment requirements this week, as the Senate approved HB 4556 and HB 4557 by a 24–9 vote—the bills would eliminate the SAT essay portion of the Michigan Merit Examination and remove the requirement that student MME scores appear on their transcripts, with a House concurrence vote now the final step before the bills head to the governor for signature. Paired with the…

This week the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid dug into the issue of sometimes sizeable fines that schools are facing for placing educators outside their areas of certification or endorsement, even if those situations are due to clerical errors or other staffing mistakes, hearing testimony from superintendents who described districts being penalized tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for paperwork issues involving otherwise qualified educators. Representatives from the Michigan…

This week the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid heard testimony from MASSP’s Bob Kefgen, delivered in collaboration with MASA, urging lawmakers to move Michigan toward a weighted per-pupil funding system that ties dollars more directly to student need while reducing the red tape and reporting requirements created by our current patchwork of categorical programs. For building administrators, the practical significance is that such a system would make school funding more stable…

Governor Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State address this week, focusing her education remarks almost exclusively on early literacy—highlighting implementation of the science of reading, dyslexia screening, tutoring, LETRS training, and expanded PreK—while introducing no major new K-12 proposals and instead directing lawmakers to her executive budget as the true roadmap for her final year. While literacy dominated the rhetoric, the more consequential policy debate for secondary principals…

Governor Whitmer signed HB 4141 and SB 495 Tuesday implementing Michigan's first, statewide restrictions on student use of “wireless communications devices” during instructional time—MASSP members can review our earlier implementation article and join us on February 26 at 9 a.m. for a webinar to support principals and leadership teams as they prepare for next year (click here to register). The Senate Education Committee also unanimously advanced HB 4556-57, bipartisan legislation that would…

Governor Whitmer has released her Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget Recommendation, proposing a 2.5% increase in the foundation allowance and taking a significant structural step toward a true weighted student funding model. The proposal would increase the foundation from $10,050 to $10,300 per pupil and increase weighted funding line items by 6%, while formally rolling At-Risk and English Language Learner (ELL) funding into the foundation formula itself. While the structural reforms represent…

The Legislature has passed HB 4141 and SB 495, establishing Michigan’s first statewide framework restricting student cell phone use during instructional time—a law MASSP supported for setting clear statewide expectations, providing school leaders with a backstop, and creating leverage for deeper conversations about school culture, attention, and learning (see our longer article for full details). The House Education Committee took testimony on a controversial package of school choice bills that would create…

HB 4141 and SB 495 have passed the Michigan Legislature and are awaiting Governor Whitmer's signature. Because she is expected to sign them, Michigan schools will begin the 2026–27 school year under a new law that requires local school boards to adopt policies restricting the use of wireless communications devices during instructional time and tweak their emergency operations plans to account for wireless devices. MASSP supported this legislation because it provides principals…

While the House passed HB 5154 requiring schools to accept cash for "interscholastic athletic activity event" tickets, the Senate passed the long-debated school cell phone ban bills—HB 4141 and tie-barred SB 495—with near-unanimous support, clearing the way for final House passage (expected next week) and a quick signature from the Governor…MASSP will have a full detailed article for members once these bills hit the Governor's desk and will host a planning webinar…

On Wednesday, the Legislature officially returned to Lansing to begin the 2026 session, and the House wasted no time in passing HB 4141 on a 99–10 vote, moving forward a bill to establish a statewide requirement for districts to ban student use of wireless communication devices (cell phones, tablets, watches, etc.) during instructional time, with defined exemptions for things like medically necessary devices and instructional technology. The bill now heads to the…