Legislation

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Senate Education Committee advanced a series of bills that would bar local school districts from requiring masks and other measures to keep students and educators safe. SBs 600-603 now go to the full Senate for their consideration – the bills prohibit a variety of health and safety mandates from the state, local health departments and individual…

With just 15 days to go before the state’s fiscal year deadline, budgets for universities and community colleges for this school year are waiting to be finalized in the Legislature.  Votes are expected in coming days and MEA members are urged to contact their lawmakers to support the Senate and Governor’s funding plan. Earlier this year, the Republican Senate-passed SBs…

On Tuesday in Kentwood, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the 2021-22 K-12 education budget, which invests a record $17.1 billion in schools and equalizes the state’s foundation grant funding for districts at $8,700 per pupil. MEA President Paula Herbart joined Whitmer at the press conference announcing the signing.  See her remarks in this WLNS news coverage of the event (at 24-minute…

On Wednesday, the State Senate passed the 2021-22 K-12 school budget, adding additional funding to what was already the largest proposed investment in K-12 public schools in the state's history. The Senate made changes to HB 4411 that added $300 million to the amount agreed to last week by the Governor and the House, putting the new figure for historic investment in Michigan…

EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart in response to today’s passage of the 2021-22 K-12 school budget by the Legislature: “Equalizing the state foundation grants for our children’s education is a major step in the right direction for school funding. We appreciate the leadership from Gov. Whitmer to bring forward this important…

The State House passed bipartisan legislation reducing the time spent on standardized testing last week by eliminating the mandate that all students complete the ACT WorkKeys test. The legislation, which now goes to the State Senate for their consideration, allows districts and students who want to take the test to “opt in” instead.  This would save time and money on…

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 $8,700 per pupil (an increase…

Darrin Camilleri 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 House lawmakers on…

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, more than $4 billion in…

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 needed to help students continue…