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A court order gives Michigan school districts until the end of the day Thursday to decide whether to accept conditions attached to millions in state school safety and mental health funding.
The state budget Michigan lawmakers approved in October requires school districts to agree that if there is a mass casualty event in their schools, they will disclose information that would otherwise be legally protected in deadly emergencies such as school shootings. Districts must also agree to comprehensive state investigations.
A mass casualty event is defined in the state budget in part as an incident “resulting in significant injuries to not fewer than 3 individuals” or an incident resulting in fatalities.
Such agreements are required this year in order to share in the $321 million in funding that school districts can use for functions including the hiring of mental health professionals, training for school staff on threat assessment and crisis communication, and the purchase of safety infrastructure such as cameras, door blocks, hardened vestibules, and window screening.
While some school boards, including in Detroit, Dearborn, and Rochester, agreed to the conditions despite reservations, dozens of other districts and school officials filed a lawsuit against the state last month saying that while they believe in transparency, the wording in the budget is vague and potentially illegal.
“We’re not about resisting accountability or transparency, but at the same time, the vague waiving of privilege puts not only our school district but individuals’ and professionals’ rights at risk,” said Mark Greathead, superintendent of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District in Wayne County. Both the district and Greathead are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is now before the Michigan Court of Claims. Judge Sima Patel issued an order last week that extended the deadline for districts to agree to the condition and receive the funding from Nov. 30 to 11:59 p.m. Dec. 4.
Patel’s order allows districts that have already agreed to the condition the ability to rescind that agreement by 11:59 p.m. Dec. 30. For any school or district that rescinds their agreement, the Michigan Department of Education can recoup all funds paid, from the school safety and mental health fund “by deducting the amount from future state school aid payments,” Patel said in the order.
The waiver comes after parents of Oxford High School students killed in 2021 pushed for a state investigation of the district’s alleged failure to prevent the shootings. Though an independent investigation found multiple failures by school officials, many employees did not participate in the review.
Michigan’s government immunity laws shield educational institutions from liability in lawsuits unless a high threshold of gross negligence can be proven. The laws can also protect institutions’ employees. Without immunity, school employees could be held legally and financially liable for failing to prevent deaths.
Dearborn Public Schools would receive $3.2 million in safety/mental health funding. David Mustonen, spokesman for the district, said most of it will go toward mental health, social emotional learning, and school culture and climate.
The Dearborn school board has already approved accepting the condition to receive the money.
“Like most districts, we too are waiting to hear how this will all play out in the courts,” Mustonen said in an email response to Chalkbeat. “Again, like many others, the concern is about the precedent this type of legislation may have on future funding and the concern with districts losing the attorney/client privilege during the investigation of a mass casualty incident.”
The Woodhaven-Brownstown district’s board last week approved a resolution agreeing to the condition but will carefully weigh whether to rescind the agreement before the Dec. 30 deadline, Greathead said.
His district would receive an estimated $800,000 to $900,000, Greathead said. The money could be used to cover positions such as social workers, counselors, and resource officers, as well as programs for mental health that are currently funded via the district’s general fund budget.
“We will certainly put the money to good use if we are able to receive it,” Greathead said. “Heaven forbid we have the need for an investigation in the school district. But we also have to make sure we have clarity and are not putting ourselves at a disadvantage by waiving rights.”
Oral arguments in the court case are scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 11.
Reporter Hannah Dellinger contributed to this report.
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
