Newsroom

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“When we raise up our early career educators, we lift up the education profession.” - Erinn Parker, MEA MiNE representative From the federal level down to local districts, schools, and classrooms, more issues than ever are competing for educators’ attention and advocacy. The specific concerns facing early-career educators do not always make it to the top of the priorities list.…

Nessel suing to unfreeze federal education funding
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a lawsuit challenging a recent Trump administration decision to freeze various federal education funding programs previously approved by Congress. On July 1, the U.S. Department of Education failed to send states nearly $6.9 billion in funding nationally due to the funding freeze implemented by the White House. A variety of federal programs are…

MEA, AFT Michigan call for further education budget negotiations to “get funding right for our students”
The following statement can be attributed to MEA President & CEO Chandra Madafferi and AFT Michigan President Terrence Martin regarding ongoing education budget discussions in Lansing: Michigan students and the educators who serve them every day deserve a budget that invests in their success. Lawmakers shouldn't settle for an education budget that doesn’t invest every dollar possible toward providing every…

Urge your Member of Congress to reject Medicaid cuts, vouchers and more
This week, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed (thanks to Vice President Vance’s tie-breaking vote) a dangerous budget reconciliation bill that provides tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of health care, food assistance and education programs for working families. The bill now returns to the U.S. House, where your representative’s vote will help determine the ultimate outcome. Among the major…

Michigan lags behind the nation in school funding. Let’s fix that.
By Erik Edoff, Senior Executive Director, Michigan Education Association Next year’s education budget has dominated recent headlines from the State Capitol, but zooming out to compare how Michigan schools are funded compared to other states is important to student success over time. Despite some progress over the past few years, Michigan still ranks in the bottom half of school funding…

MEA conference honors respected leader, unveils support staff Bill of Rights
A banner outlining the elements of the new Michigan ESP Bill of Rights, which aims to recognize and value the crucial role that school support staff play in ensuring a quality education for every student. A new statewide Bill of Rights campaign aimed at improving the wages, benefits and working conditions of school support staff was rolled out on Friday…

Shoe Club Nation seeks “Educator All-Stars” to expand statewide
Shoe Club Nation, a nonprofit organization founded by Michigan educator Matt Hamilton, is launching a search for “Educator All-Stars” to help expand the program to middleschools across Michigan. Hamilton, who was recently named the National Education Association Foundation’s 2025 Award for Teaching Excellence, created the Shoe Club 17 years ago in East Jordan, Michigan, following two tragic student deaths that…

Artists’ reception wraps up MEA/MAEA Art Exhibition
A first-of-its-kind artists’ reception capped off the 61st MEA/MAEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition on Monday, attracting several dozen participants to MEA Headquarters in East Lansing to honor this year’s accepted and winning entries crafted by members from across the state. The reception concluded the three-week juried exhibition, featuring nearly 70 pieces of art in a wide variety of media, including…

Contact your lawmakers: Reject education cuts that hurt students
On Wednesday, June 11, House Republicans introduced – and then swiftly passed – an education budget for 2025-26 that harms students' opportunities to get the education and skills they need to land good-paying careers after graduation. This budget guts programs and services that students and families rely on, including: Career and technical courses that prepare students for good paying jobs…

49 outstanding public school students awarded 2025 MEA Scholarship
The Michigan Education Association today announced the recipients of the 2025 MEA Scholarships, honoring exemplary public school students from across the state who will be attending a Michigan public university next fall. Among the 319 applications submitted for scholarship awards this year, the MEA Scholarship Fund Trustees chose 24 new award recipients who will each receive $1,800. In addition, 25…