Last week, the State House passed HB 4411, the K-12 school budget for 2021-22. At $16.74 billion, it represents the largest ever investment in K-12 public schools in Michigan history. More importantly, it finally closes the gap in the per-pupil foundation allowance that has existed since Proposal A passed in 1994, bringing all districts to […]
Seven years ago, Darrin Camilleri was a fresh college graduate and newly hired as a teacher with no textbooks, no curriculum, and a big job on top of his teaching duties: department chair. Now he’s a state representative hoping to be part of making “transformational change” in the education profession. Camilleri (D-Trenton) and other Democratic […]
The new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission – created by the Voters Not Politicians 2018 ballot measure – is holding hearings to help develop new legislative district maps for the next decade. For the first time, residents can provide input about how voting boundaries are drawn, including regarding “communities of interest” that are important for […]
UPDATE – June 15: The Senate took quick action this morning, unanimously passing a substitute version of HB 4421 that primarily does what we’ve been requesting for months – send federal COVID relief funding owed to districts immediately. This is a BIG win for Michigan schools – if the House concurs with the Senate’s version of HB 4421, […]
MEA member Brian Dalton learned how to survive a difficult endurance event while training to compete in four Ironman races in his 40s, and he discovered it wasn’t much different from strategies he used as an educator to successfully make it through a school year. Just as in a brutal race involving a 2.4-mile swim, […]
Fraser special education paraeducator Melanie Motto figured she didn’t have much of a shot at winning a $2,500 classroom grant from a competitive award program, but her students’ needs outweighed her doubts. Motto completed and sent off an application, describing the resource room where she works with teacher Samantha Bartkowicz to support 20 K-6 students […]
The concept of social justice – and addressing injustice – has always been essential in public education. In the past year, it’s taken on new weight for students, however, as the global pandemic both exposed and exacerbated the injustices faced for decades by many low-income and students of color. Educators have an obligation to fight […]
EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposals for how to use additional state revenue to fund public education: “Gov. Whitmer’s recommendations are in line with the new MI Blueprint for Comprehensive Student Recovery, which heeded the voices of frontline educators about what’s […]
State economic experts agreed last Friday that tax revenue is stronger now than previously anticipated – to the tune of $2 billion more for this year and $1.5 billion next year. That’s in addition to federal pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan, which totals more than $4 billion for public education alone. This […]
On Monday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel led a coalition of 23 attorneys general from across the country urging the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice to reinstate and expand 2014 guidance designed to help public schools meet their obligations under federal law to administer student discipline equitably. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of […]
