Legislative leaders have committed to push through a long list of bills during this "lame duck" session, including two that could be devastating to public education as we know it.
I realize that sounds over-the-top, but take a look at the bills on the fast track:
House Bill 6004 makes a new state-wide school district, the Education Achievement Authority, which can take over the "bottom 5%" of schools, and perhaps others - while the local district has no say. The EAA is free to hand these schools over to for-profit charter management companies, and in fact it can charter new schools anywhere in the state (whether the schools there are failing or not). The EAA would be run by a board appointed by the Governor, and even the elected State Board of Education would have no say in its work.
House Bill 5923 would create a host of new forms of charter school, including selective admission schools, boarding schools, single-gender schools, and potential store-front schools operated by cultural organizations, businesses and other groups. Part of the mission given to the EAA in HB 6004 is to implement these provisions.
Find out more! Click below to read the full alert.
Don't let it happen quietly! Our state lawmakers are about to pass a budget that keeps K-12 spending essentially flat, despite debilitating cuts over the last few years.
There is still time to let your state Senator know that your support Michigan's public schools and oppose the changes embodied in Senate Bill 618. That bill, now on the Senate floor, would:
Remove any limits on the number of charter schools in Michigan;
Allow charter schools to operate a network of schools under one charter, setting up shadow school districts;
Permit school districts to contract-out instructional services (privatize teachers);
Remove any requirements that staff of district-authorized charters, or teachers employed under contract with an outside body, be covered by existing collective bargaining agreements;
Exempt charter school property from property taxes.
As you can see, this has less to do with improving the education of our children than it does with encouraging the growth of charter schools and the outsourcing of instruction.
The Senate Education Committee is voting on a package of bills that would lift the cap on charter schools in Michigan and make other changes that threaten the health of our local school districts and our system of public education. The full Senate might vote on the bills very soon thereafter.
The legislation - a package of seven bills - covers a great deal of ground. But it is pretty easy to sum them up: the bills assume that traditional public schools and their teachers are the problem, and that more charter schools and less community involvement is the answer.
It's critical that all of us who support public education in Michigan tell our Senators that these bills are not the answer to improving public education in our state! Please use MIPFS's legislative action center to send a message to your Senate.
Much-anticipated legislation was introduced today that would dramatically reshape the public school landscape in Michigan. We cannot afford to wait and see how the legislative process works itself out - we must start making our voices heard now. Use the Michigan Parents for Schools advocacy system to contact your Senator!
The four-bill package, driven by co-sponsor Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Claire), was just made
available to the public today - coinciding with the start of hearings on these bills in the Senate Education committee.
The bills can only be described as an assault on traditional public schools in this state.
Because you're a supporter of public education, I know you've heard from us about the "tenure bills" now before the Senate - and I'm sure you've heard from a lot of other groups, too. This is the first time we've felt we had to go in a different direction than some of our allies, and I wanted to explain personally why we're asking you to oppose these bills.
People who support public schools can be split on this issue, so it helps to understand what the issues really are. Lots of folks who support these bills are focused on the need to reform teacher tenure. They want to make it less cumbersome to remove teachers who shouldn't be in the classroom. And that's perfectly reasonable, as long as there are protections to make it fair.