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Advocates are calling on Michigan legislators to invest more state dollars into targeted funding for students living in poverty as the Trump administration’s efforts to slash federal education funding could have “devastating” impacts on the most vulnerable students.
An analysis released Thursday by the research and advocacy group Education Trust-Midwest found that Michigan still ranks among the lowest in the nation when it comes to equitably funding schools, despite new investments.
The need for more equitable school funding after years of underinvestment in the state is heightened now by threats to federal dollars and students continuing to fall further behind on academic assessments, according to advocates.
“I’ve never used the word catastrophic in my career, but this is the word that comes to mind right now in terms of the situation that I think high-poverty districts are facing,” said Amber Arellano, executive director of EdTrust-Midwest.
According to the group’s report, Michigan ranked 44th in the nation for fourth grade reading and 31st for eighth grade math on an assessment known as the “nation’s report card” in 2024.
Jen DeNeal, director of policy and research for EdTrust-Midwest, said Michigan did not have a solid foundation in teaching early literacy before COVID. After the pandemic, that foundation “crumbled,” she said.
The state’s average reading scores dropped nearly 10 points between 2003 and 2024, said DeNeal, and the bulk of the drop happened during pandemic years.
The Education Recovery Scorecard, which compares data on the national assessment to those administered in 2019 before the pandemic, placed Michigan in the bottom five of states for academic recovery.
The scorecard found Michigan third through eighth graders are on average about two-fifths of a grade level behind in math and three-quarters of a grade level behind in reading compared to student scores in the state before COVID.
The EdTrust-Midwest’s analysis found the trend held true in rural, suburban, and urban areas across the state.
“Some of the largest gaps are in suburbs and towns and rural areas where we see these big proficiency discrepancies pre-and post-pandemic,” said DeNeal.
Data from the state’s 2024 assessments, known as the M-STEP, show students from low-income families, Black and Latino students, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities fell at least 10 percentage points below state averages in third grade reading and seventh grade math.
Michigan leaders worry about the impact of federal cuts
The prospect of federal funding rollbacks could be “devastating” to Michigan students who are still struggling to catch up, said Arellano, noting that research shows more funding for programs that assist students with higher needs can lead to better academic outcomes.
Last week, President Donald Trump proposed cutting nearly $6 billion in federal K-12 spending and consolidating 18 grant programs into a one funding stream states could spend without restrictions.
“One very clear message that we are getting from this proposed Trump budget is that public education for all students is not a priority,” said Arellano.
The proposal for the 2025-26 school year would eliminate programs for English language learners and children of migrant farm workers.
Michigan has long lagged behind other states when it comes to funding education initiatives for English language learners, though it has made some increases in recent years.
Trump’s budget would also cut money for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which enforces anti-discrimination laws in schools, by more than a third.
Cuts that have already been made to the Office for Civil Rights have begun impacting Michigan students with disabilities, with many reporting their open cases have not moved since the Trump administration began its second term.
Title I funding, which is allocated to schools that serve students from low-income families, and dollars distributed under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act are not slated to be cut under Trump’s plan.
Arellano said other federal proposed cuts could have negative impacts on Michigan students, such as a congressional Republican plan that would make it more difficult for schools to provide universal free school meals. According to the Michigan Department of Education, that plan could mean thousands of students in the state could lose free school meals.
Advocates call for increased state funding
Just to stay stable with current funding levels for districts, the state will have to step in to cover shortfalls caused by potential federal cuts – particularly for students living in poverty, English language learners, and children with disabilities, Arellano said.
“The truth is that we’re already underfunding these groups of students,” she said.
Michigan first adopted a weighted funding system for students considered to be “at-risk” in 2023. The system, known as the “opportunity index,” assigns districts to one of six bands based on the percentage of students living in poverty. Each band determines how much additional funding a district will receive. Before that, Michigan allocated the same amount of per-pupil dollars to all students classified as at-risk.
For the 2024-25 school year, Michigan invested about $1 billion into the opportunity index.
The change came after years of advocates calling for a new system in response to the state being ranked among the worst states in the nation for its gaps in funding between districts in impoverished and wealthy communities.
The Michigan Department of Education determines whether students are at risk with a set of criteria that includes factors such as being from an economically disadvantaged family, learning English as a second language, being chronically absent from school, or experiencing homelessness.
EdTrust-Midwest’s new analysis found Michigan in the bottom 10 of states for weighted funding, despite historic investments in the opportunity index.
The group’s report calls for the state to invest an additional $2 billion in the opportunity index over the next five years to reverse the impact of years of underfunding.
The report also recommends more guardrails in place to ensure the weighted dollars are being spent on the students they are intended for.
Michigan is still early into its budget process for the next school year. In her February budget proposal, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed increasing funding for at-risk students by more than 4%.
Last month, the Democratically-controlled state Senate approved a plan that would increase at-risk funds by 25%.
The Republican-controlled state House passed a bare-bones education budget proposal in March that only included dollars for special education, mental health, and school safety programs, an increase to the per-pupil foundation allowance, and allocations to the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System.
Republicans said the proposal was passed to fund essential government functions in case negotiations with Democrats stall the process this summer.
“This is not the time for cutting funds for kids,” said Arellano. “Kids in our state are behind other states. This is the time when we need our leaders to lean in and support educators and students in our schools.”
Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
