Michigan Legislature

The new majority enacted record funding for public K-12 schools and reversed GOP initiatives on reading, testing, and collective bargaining rights. Critics say they undermined accountability.

Members of the board said they felt the resolution needed more research and input from officials.

“The students would get more attention,” said a Benton Harbor fifth grader.

Democrats in the Legislature respond to calls for more transparency on how charter schools spend public money.

Districts would have more power, and test scores would not be a factor.

Some advocates call for a larger overhaul of the system for determining who is eligible for special education.

State funding helped expand the rolls of social workers, counselors, nurses, and psychologists serving students.

Lawmakers advanced a proposal that would let retirees take public school jobs immediately without giving up their pensions.

Governor’s executive order specifies that MiLEAP is not intended to infringe on the State Board of Education’s constitutional authority, so Nessel says it’s better to wait and see whether conflicts arise.

The board wants clarification on whether MiLEAP would challenge its authority to oversee all public education.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer described the bills signed Wednesday as an effort to help recruit and retain teachers.

MiLEAP will tackle early childhood education, after-school programs, and partnerships to promote career success

The budget provides money to support teacher recruitment, Detroit initiatives, community advocacy, rural schools, and transportation.

“This year’s school aid budget represents a giant step toward righting past wrongs,” said Alice Thompson from the NAACP Detroit branch.

The proposal would provide increased funding for at-risk students and fund free school meals for all public-school students.

The school aid budgets from both chambers would invest more heavily in helping students get back on track academically and mentally.

Critics say it duplicates ratings that are already required under federal law.

Some Democratic backers of the repeal say the provision in the 2016 literacy law has been a threat hanging over the heads of struggling students.

It’s Whitmer’s fifth state budget but the first she presented to a Legislature controlled by her own party.