This week, the State House passed Senate Bill 12, which eliminates the retention requirement from Michigan’s third-grade reading law. Passed in 2016, this law requires third-graders to be held back if they score below grade level on a high-stakes standardized reading test. SB 12 has already passed the State Senate — it now heads to Gov. […]
MEA members across the state are speaking out about the need for the legislature to pass commonsense gun safety reforms immediately in the wake of the Oxford and MSU school shootings. There is an afternoon event coming up in March for you to add your voice to that call to action: On Thursday, March 23 […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Tuesday rolling back Michigan’s unfair retirement tax, as retired educators and others looked on. MEA President Paula Herbart, who stood immediately to the governor’s left as she signed the bill at a Capitol ceremony, said “it’s a big day for working families in our state.” “MEA applauds Gov. Whitmer for […]
EAST LANSING — Today, a federal seal was lifted and a settlement announced regarding a frivolous, politically-motivated lawsuit brought against MEA by a right-wing “think tank” with a decades-long record of attacking public school educators and their unions. In April 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, MEA applied for and received a Paycheck Protection […]
State laws severely restricting educators’ collective bargaining rights could be on the chopping block if state Rep. Matt Koleszar, an MEA member and former teacher, gets his way. The House Labor Committee held its first hearing Thursday on one of Koleszar’s new bills, House Bill 4044, which would repeal a 12-year-old law that freezes employees’ […]
Hana St. Juliana. Tate Myre. Madisyn Baldwin. Justin Shilling. Arielle Anderson. Brian Fraser. Alexandria Verner. I could spend the 600 words of this column just printing the names of young people killed by gun violence in our schools, starting with these seven murdered at Oxford High School and Michigan State University. Because, frankly, I’m running […]
In light of the tragedy on MSU’s campus, the following bills have been introduced in the State Senate and House and will likely see quick action: SB 76/ HB 4138 – Would require license or background check for purchase of firearms. SB 77/ HB 4142 – Updates references to a pistol in the State’s penal […]
In my school building, I often stop to admire a picturesque mural of a black ship in a blue ocean and to recall the wise words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” In difficult times, it’s important to remember that we grow into leadership roles. As educators, our ability […]
With the Michigan Capitol as backdrop, standing less than 10 miles from the site of a deadly mass shooting at Michigan State University one week ago, advocates pressed state lawmakers to enact legislation to end the epidemic of gun violence that strikes fear in schools and communities. MEA President Paula Herbart noted that sadly, it’s […]
The tragic murder of three MSU students during Monday night’s shootings on campus not only impacts the MSU/East Lansing community, but also the school districts where these three young people recently graduated. Alexandria Verner graduated in 2020 from Clawson High School, where her mother is a teacher and longtime MEA member and her father serves […]
