Legislative News

  • Government Relations Weekly Update December 21, 2012

    Posted December 20, 2012
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  • Legislative Alert Parent Trigger Senate Bill 620

    Posted November 26, 2012

    Description: The bill would allow any school in the lowest achieving 5% of schools to be converted to a charter school. Specifically, the bill gives certain parents and teachers the the ability to petition the local school board to determine the district’s intervention model (Closure, Restart, Transformation, Turnaround). If a valid petition recommends the a restart model, the parents may apply to convert the school to a charter. The school board has 7 days notify every parent that the school was placed under the State School Reform/Redesign Officer (SRRO) and inform them of the petition process to determine the intervention model. Parents have 90 day after the school was placed under the SRRO to submit a parental petition to MDE recommending a model.

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  • Legislative Alert Selective Enrollment Schools House Bill 5923

    Posted November 26, 2012

    Description: The bill amends the Revised School Code by amending and adding several sections to allow for several new forms of charter and online schools. This is a bill that was drafted by Richard McClellan on behalf of Governor Snyder.

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  • Legislative Alert State Education Achievement Authority House Bill 6004 and Senate Bill 1358

    Posted November 26, 2012

    Descritption: These identical bills were introduced in the House and the Senate to create the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) in law. This Authority will oversee a statewide school district that will be overseen by a board and chancellor appointed by the Governor. Initially, the schools within the EAA are those already there (15 schools from Detroit – now pending law suits due to PA 4 being overturned by Michigan voters (proposal 1)), and any school ordered there by the State School Reform officer from the bottom 5% of the ranked list of schools by academic achievement. NOTE: currently the State School Reform officer is appointed by the State Superintendent and is part of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).

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  • LEGISLATIVE ALERT: Parent Trigger Bill May Move in House Education Next Week

    Posted October 12, 2012

    We are hearing that the House Education Committee may take up and vote out Senate Bill 620, the Parent Trigger bill, next week. Please take a moment to reach out to your State Representative about this legislation and urge them to vote NO, especially if your district is served by a member on the Education Committee.

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Lisa Hansknecht, Director, 
David Randels, Assistant Director

View Dr. Vickie Markavitch's podcast on Choice. In eleven minutes it cautions that if we are not careful about how we develop and fund the choices existing outside our comprehensive K-12 school districts, we just might lose all the choices we currently have inside that system.

Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch, Superintendent of Oakland Schools urges parents and educators to show their support for public education as Michigan is faced with several legislative bills that could dismantle our public schools.

Dr. Vickie L. Markavitch, Superintendent of Oakland Schools, addresses her concerns about the MDE Focus Schools designation. Are we losing our focus with Focus Schools?




Michigan Education Finance Project seeks input from education groups, parents and the public.

The Michigan Education Finance Project is seeking input from education groups, parents and the public to help move the process forward creating solutions to change the way public schools are financed. We are looking specifically at a key component of Governor Snyder’s special message on education:

  • Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace public school learning model.
  • Performance-based funding rather than seat time requirements.
Please see the key questions that are being reviewed by the Michigan Education Finance Project in its effort to redraft the existing Michigan School Aid Act of 1979.