Hang on to your hats, folks: the drumbeat of messaging on school failure has started up again. Unfortunately, this round of political focus on public education - on display at the Mackinac Policy Conference - mostly offers the same distorted critiques and questionable solutions that Michiganders have seen in the past. Do Michigan’s children desperately need stronger public education? Absolutely. Will these hackneyed critiques and prescriptions get us there? Probably not. Would this serve as a convenient distraction from the political chaos in Washington? Almost certainly.

Education policy in Michigan has undergone a major shift over the past two years. Much of the credit for that must be given to the state’s voters, who in November 2020 approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent, non-partisan, redistricting commission. Newly drawn legislative districts changed the look of Michigan government as Democratic lawmakers narrowly took control of both houses for the first time since 1981. That alone has brought important changes to Michigan’s public schools.