MIPFS Newsbriefs

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 — Steven Norton

Tell Lansing: take the politics out of our curriculum!

Dear Friends,

Gap year or no, there will always be important issues we need to bring to your attention, and this is one. So we're delaying our usual state budget coverage (mildly good news - it's an election year, after all) to alert you to something very strange going on in Lansing that shapes what our children will be taught in school.

A planned refresh of the Michigan social studies content standards has apparently been hijacked by some folks with an extreme political agenda, and many of the changes they desired are in the current final draft. There's still time to take action to stop this nonsense, and we'll give you the info below.

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Mon, 19 Feb 2018 — Steven Norton

Legislative update: Snyder budget gives schools a bump; school letter grading rides again

Winter is ending, which means it's budget time in Lansing. It's also an election year, which means we're likely to see a mix of generosity, grandstanding, and horsetrading as lawmakers try to burnish their records before facing primary and general election voters. Here are some of the top recent developments:

  • Snyder school aid budget gives bump to schools, cuts sketchy earmarks; fate in legislature is uncertain
    • January revenue estimation conference sees increase for School Aid Fund but less so for main state budget; charter schools forecast for first-ever fall in enrollment
    • The School Aid Fund will now pick up the entire community college budget and cover one third of all state spending on colleges and universities
  • A-F grades for schools lurches back into spotlight; measure skips summative grade but creates new commission of political appointees
  • In wake of Florida school shootings, House committee chair says that "guns in schools" bills not likely to see action anytime soon
  • House committee passes bills allowing tax break on private school tuition for the well-heeled; measures also force districts to cost out all their services - for no apparent reason
  • Snyder signs bill giving charters a cut of regional enhancement millages, after a notably close vote in the House

Better grab a cup of coffee!

Departments: 
MIPFS Newsbriefs
News and Analysis
Legislative news
State budget & taxes
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Wed, 20 Dec 2017 — Steven Norton

Year-end review, and some news

Dear Friends,

Before we all become fully enmeshed in the holiday season, I wanted to bring you up to date on issues that concern parents like us as well as share some news.

In this issue:

  •  "Guns in schools" bills, and "teen concealed carry" bill, held over until January
  •  "Vouchers for the wealthy" bills also waiting until January
  •  Taking a "gap year," and holding lawmakers accountable
Departments: 
Action alerts
MIPFS Newsbriefs
Legislative news
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Sat, 21 Oct 2017 — MIPFS Staff

Bill brief: They're Baaaaaaack...

As parents and children settle down for the new school year, our lawmakers in Lansing return from their summer break, refreshed and full of ideas. Watch out. This fall session, in between election years, is where a lot of the legislative work gets done - not all of it good. There are a number of new education-related proposals, some of which are moving very quickly. Here's an overview:

  • Back door tax credit vouchers
  • A-F rating of schools - the legislation that wouldn't die
  • A piece of the action - charters could get a share of enhancement millages
  • State takeover writ large - proposal to eliminate State Board of Education
  • Guns in schools revisited
Departments: 
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Thu, 25 May 2017 — Steven Norton

By the numbers: how the school aid budget proposals affect students

[With corrected data] Each year, we try to bring some clarity to the school aid budget debate by showing how it affects students around the state. How many students are going to receive how much of an increase (or cut)? How many students will have their school's funding keep up with inflation? How do the proposals shake out for low-income students in particular? The graphs attached to this article are one way of trying to answer that question.

Departments: 
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News and Analysis
State budget & taxes
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Tue, 23 May 2017 — Steven Norton

Budget update: the perils of plenty

The state's top economists met last week to forecast state tax revenues for the next fiscal year, and they found both good and bad news. On the good side, projected revenues to the state School Aid Fund were higher than previous estimates, making some $153 million more available for the current fiscal year than estimated in January. Estimated revenues for next year (fiscal 2018) were also revised upward, adding almost $190 million to projected revenues, mainly on the strength of higher sales tax collections.

Departments: 
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Thu, 17 Nov 2016 — Steven Norton

Interesting times

Dear Friends,

We are clearly living in interesting times. Last week's election results were completely unanticipated by polls and most pundits. As a result, this is a time of great uncertainty as we all strive to understand where events are likely to take us.

Inside:

  • Washington turmoil
  • Upcoming issues in Lansing
  • Please support MIPFS!

While many issues have been grabbing headlines in the last few days, our responsibility is to monitor education policy and that is why I am writing you today.

Departments: 
MIPFS Newsbriefs
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Mon, 28 Sep 2015 — Steven Norton

Some thoughts on the 3rd grade reading bill

A bill intended to promote comprehensive reading intervention services has generated a lot of controversy lately, because of its origins in last session's infamous "third grade flunking" bill. But the proposal is very different this time around, and I wanted to offer some insight into what we at MIPFS have been doing on this issue. As of this writing, we are reserving judgement on the bill but have been working with lawmakers to improve it.

House education committee chair Rep.

Departments: 
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Mon, 22 Dec 2014 — Steven Norton

Lame Duck 2014: the Final Quack

Wow. That was quite a ride. The state legislature's "lame duck" session ended early Friday morning, with final passage of the complex road funding compromise legislation coming at 5:30am after many hours of frantic negotiation and maneuvering. The road funding package includes some measures which will give meaningful help to public schools, including a net $500 million in new money available for K-12.

Even more important is the list of school-related legislation which did not pass; these measures will have to be reintroduced in the next session to move forward. Teacher and administrator evaluation, A-F school rating, 3rd grade flunking, EAA expansion, and the deficit "early warning" package all failed to become law.

Departments: 
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News and Analysis
Legislative news
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