Michigan
News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Michigan
Education
Feds Award Flint Schools $480K Grant for Lead Crisis Support
The money is meant to be used to hire attendance specialists, counselors, and psychologists to help deal with problems that may occur because students were exposed to lead-contaminated tap water.
States
Michigan Bill to Retain Struggling Readers Reignites 3rd Grade Literacy Debate
Michigan is the latest state to consider a law that would retain some students who aren't reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.
School & District Management
Amid School-Closure Worries, Michigan Lists Low Performers
State officials insist the roster of low-performing schools is not a closure list, but an accountability measure required by law, though those reassurances may face skepticism.
Budget & Finance
Judge Rules Against Detroit Schools in Teacher Sickout Case
The Detroit schools' lawyers said the protests were really teacher strikes, which are technically illegal under state law, and sought an injunction to immediately halt them.
Law & Courts
Michigan to Pay Detroit's Legal Fees in Teacher Sickout Lawsuit
Covering the cost of legal bills is just the latest helping hand the state has provided to the cash-strapped school system.
School Choice & Charters
Mich. Governor Requests Court to Weigh in on Legality of Private School Funding
The state's budget sets aside $2.5 million to help private schools meet state mandates.
States
Michigan Governor Asks Court to Rule on Legality of Private School Funding
The state's budget sets aside $2.5 million to help private schools meet state mandates.
School & District Management
Split of Detroit District Is Latest Bid to Shore Up Troubled System
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder touts the move as a fresh start for the city's beleaguered schools, but doubts remain amid ongoing enrollment loss, dilapidated buildings, and low achievement.
States
Michigan Governor Vows to Appeal Teacher Pay Ruling
In 2010, the state began docking 3 percent of teachers' pay to cover retiree health-care costs, a move two courts have now ruled unconstitutional.
School & District Management
Opinion
Advanced-Stage Charter Syndrome: What "Maturity" Means to the Charter Movement
All the good intentions in the world cannot override the conversion of a long-established public good into a profit-making commodity. I no longer believe that there is a magic legislative formula that will allow "good" charters to exist harmoniously with public schools. I now understand that the end game of unfettered charterism: privatization and exclusivity.
Social Studies
Michigan, Rhode Island to Require Education About Genocide in Schools
The two states are the first in 20 years to add such a requirement.
Budget & Finance
Michigan Governor Signs $617M Detroit Schools Bailout Package
The package of bills will help Detroit schools pay off $467 million in operating debt and provide $150 million in start-up funding for a new debt-free district.
Student Well-Being & Movement
How One District Reached Parents to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism
A Michigan school district is urging parents to make sure their children have fewer than five absences a year.
States
Michigan Governor Backs Detroit Schools Bailout Plan
The set of bills would pay off the district's debt and return control of the Detroit schools to a locally elected school board in January. Despite the changes, Detroit's mayor and teacher union leaders oppose the plan.