Protect Our Schools

Recent student protests in Michigan regarding ICE activities have prompted requests for guidance for educators concerning their rights to support student activism. NEA has developed some excellent resources and reminders for educators addressing their employment rights and concerns, including how to handle student protests and walkouts. Below is a summary of the issues educators should understand and consider: 1) Educators…

By Chandra Madafferi, Michigan Education Association President  Uncertainty and fear. In recent conversations with educators across Michigan, I keep hearing those words that lead to a common refrain: “I’m trying to keep it together for my students.” What’s happening with immigration enforcement in Michigan and across the country is causing trauma for many of our students and communities – and…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Educator Chloe Root On the final exam in government class each semester, MEA member and social studies teacher Chloe Root asks students to explain how the federal system of checks and balances works to prevent abuses of power. This year some of her students at Community High School in Ann Arbor chose instead to…

MEA members are encouraged to contact their lawmakers in support of Senate Bill 508, which will be up for a hearing in the Senate on Thursday, Jan. 29. SB 508 would designate certain places like schools, courthouses and other “sensitive locations” as immigration-enforcement-free zones. Children should not have to fear being taken by ICE while they sit in a classroom. Michigan residents…

JOINT STATEMENT – January 28, 2026 As education leaders, our shared responsibility is to ensure that schools remain safe, stable, and welcoming environments where every student can learn without fear. Recent immigration enforcement action, both nationally and here in Michigan, has created anxiety and uncertainty for students, families, and educators alike. When events beyond the schoolhouse generate fear or trauma,…

UPDATED 1/29: As educators, MEA members are committed to the safety and wellbeing of students, families and the communities we all call home. We believe schools and communities should be places of learning and belonging, and they should be safe for all. Whether it’s in Minnesota or here in Michigan, the fear and trauma immigration enforcement is creating for children…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Voucher schemes and the resulting cuts to public education funding have an outsized impact on rural regions where public schools are typically the center of their communities. (Adobe Stock Images) The nation’s first federal school voucher scheme was tucked inside the tax cuts and spending plan that Republicans in Congress passed and President Donald…

UPDATE - July 25: Nearly a month late, the Trump administration abruptly unfroze billions in education funding withheld from states by the U.S. Department of Education. Pushes for the funding, due to school districts by July 1, came from constituent calls to Congress and a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 21 other states. It’s a good…

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…

Check out this opinion piece from the Lansing State Journal by MEA Senior Executive Director Erik Edoff and Peter Spadafore, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity: In a time of deep political division, it’s rare for management and labor to speak with one, united voice. But this moment calls for exactly that. Michigan’s congressional delegation must protect…