Helping Readers Track Education Policy Over Winter Break
In one word, the current state of the Michigan Legislature and U.S. Congress is chaotic. Federally, at the time of this publication’s dissemination (midday on Friday, December 20th), the United States federal government is “hours away from a holiday season government shutdown” due to controversy around spending legislation and “new debt spending authority” (CNN). Closer to home, the Michigan Senate worked entirely through the night of Thursday, December 19th, and the morning of Friday, December 20th, generally without sleep, “sending dozens of bills to the Governor’s desk in an effort to finish out their policy agenda” (Michigan Advance). With that, this body has an additional session scheduled for Monday, December 23rd (Michigan Advance). Notably, this action by the Michigan Senate is taking place after the end of the year for the Michigan House, which has adjourned due to challenges reaching a quorum during Democratic “infighting and Republican boycotting” (MLive).
All that is to say that this edition of Capitol Perspectives is unable to fully update readers on the current state of education policy in Michigan and across the nation and predict precisely where legislation is headed over the lame-duck session’s final days. While this publication does fairly comprehensively cover the events of the last few weeks and a handful of education-related bills that crossed the finish line in the Michigan Senate and House, policy-watchers will need to keep an eye on the news over the next few days. For folks who are looking for a timely summary of action in the Michigan Legislature without having to dig through all the votes themselves, outside of Capitol Perspectives, the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators (MASA) has an extremely high-quality, free Legislative Update that comes out weekly. Relatedly, the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) has a similar legislation tracker and summary. Though, many of its updates require MASSP membership.
In terms of legislation outside these organizations’ scope or breaking news past even their publishing deadlines, there are a few options for individuals willing to explore the happenings of the Michigan Legislature during winter break. For one, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) has a legislative tracker that lets users view introduced, acted upon, and passed legislation in real time. Second, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) offers a database that provides state education policy tracking. Because of the national focus of this tool and its breadth, it often takes some time for Michigan votes to be reflected. As such, it is ideal for seeing where things stand once everything is resolved. Finally, readers can use the Michigan Legislature’s online system to generate daily bill status reports, search for information about individual pieces of legislation, or review policy by issue areas. Helpfully, when one views a specific bill, they can also download summaries of the legislation done by the Senate Fiscal Agency, House Fiscal Agency, or both entities, depending on where the bill started and how far it has progressed. The use of these tools can help Capitol observers stay informed over the next few weeks. To the extent that readers are comfortable waiting for further education policy updates, Capitol Perspectives will be back in January to put a fancier bow on the 2024 lame-duck session.
Challenges for Michigan Democrats in the Lame-Duck Session
This month started with a Michigan “Capitol [that] was busy with activity … with several committee hearings and the Legislature holding two days of marathon sessions” (MASA 12/13 Legislative Update). As such, up until Friday, December 13th, things seemed mostly on track. Then, Michigan House Democrats presided over “a rare Friday session” that saw many consequential votes but was cut short after “the entire Republican caucus walked out in protest over inaction on tip and leave legislation” and “Democratic Representative Karen Whitsett abruptly left the floor during a vote, resulting in the House adjourning due to a lack of quorum” (MASA 12/16 Special Legislative Update). When the Michigan House planned to return to normalcy and hold a session on Wednesday, December 18th, Republicans and Representative Whitsett again “declin[ed] to attend” (Michigan Advance). Explaining her refusal to join her Democratic peers, Representative Whitsett said “she would not enter the House until lawmakers dealt with ‘Black issues,’ an apparent reference to the Detroit school debt payment and urban and criminal justice policies” (The Detroit News; Chalkbeat Detroit). Along the way, Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, called the absences “literally criminal” and cited Article IV of the Michigan Constitution in a call for the body to continue considering legislation and passing new laws (WWMT).
Despite pressure from the media, public, and Attorney General Nessel, on Thursday, December 19th, “all 54 House Republicans and Whitsett” continued their “boycott” (The Detroit News). In response, Speaker of the Michigan House Joe Tate (D – Detroit) “issued a rare ‘call of the House,’ a mandate requiring the House sergeants to bar the doors to the chamber and retrieve any absent members,” but the move did not deliver any of the Michigan House Republicans, State Representative Whitsett (D – Detroit), or State Representative Peter Herzberg (D – Westland) to the floor (The Detroit News; Chalkbeat Detroit). Consequently, the saga ended with “tears, fingerpointing and cursing … as leadership adjourned for the year without votes for the second straight day, ending the Democrats’ two-year governing trifecta” (Bridge). While the Michigan House is set to reconvene on Tuesday, December 31st, it is solely to “officially end the legislative session for the year” (Bridge).
Concerning the Michigan Senate’s role in this lame-duck period, for a while, it seemed like they could at least continue to advance “bills the House approved,” but that narrative would not prove to be the case (MASA 12/16 Special Legislative Update). When the body was set to vote on legislation on Wednesday, December 18th, State Senator Sylvia Santana (D – Detroit) refused to attend the session based on a sense that “Michigan’s Black communities were not being paid enough attention to, and [her] priorities had fallen to the side in favor of pushing corporate incentives” (Bridge). The move left the Michigan Senate, much like the Michigan House, “without enough votes to pass a slew of bills” (The Detroit News). Notably, the dynamics shifted on Thursday, December 19th, when State Senator Santana returned to the body and called on Representative Whitsett to also end her holdout, “meaning Democrats had the 20 members present to approve bills” in the Michigan Senate (The Detroit News). As such, this chamber was able to “send bills to the governor that [had] already been approved by the House” (MLive).
Reflecting on this wild stretch, while many commentators initially predicted copious legislative action during the lame-duck session, some voices did note potential “uncertain[ty]” and risks to Michigan Democrats due to their “narrow one-vote majority,” which required overcoming “challenges within their caucus and … full participation to pass legislation without Republican support” (MASA 12/6 Legislative Update). In terms of short-term consequences of the Michigan House’s failure to meet, “everything that was on the[ir] agenda … is dead” (Bridge). In the realm of education policy, the impacted legislation includes “bills that would have made attending kindergarten mandatory and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid a graduation requirement” (Chalkbeat Detroit). Concerning the next steps for the unapproved bills, they “will have to be reintroduced next year in a divided government, with Republicans controlling the House” (MLive).
Before the dust settled, lawmakers were already offering their perspectives on who is to blame for the inaction. Some Democratic State Representatives, including Tyrone Carter (D – Detroit) and Abraham Aiyash (D – Hamtramck), attributed the drama primarily to Republicans “refusing to negotiate in good faith” (The Detroit News). Others in the party, including Speaker Tate, added criticism of Representative Whitsett (The Detroit News). Meanwhile, Republicans, including speaker-elect Matt Hall (R – Richland Township), said the problem was “Democratic leadership … negotiating in ‘bad faith’ with Whitsett” and them (The Detroit News). Along the same lines, Representative Whitsett said that “she no longer has faith in House Speaker Joe Tate or her party’s ability to get things done” (Bridge Detroit). Still, other observers critiqued Governor Gretchen Whitmer, saying it was a failure that she “could not get [the] House, [the] Senate and the respective leaders of each, to plan for lame duck and accomplish common objectives before Republicans control the House next year” (The Detroit News). Regardless of which individuals are responsible, Michigan Democrats will have to prepare for a new governing reality in 2025. In January, Michigan Republicans will take over the Michigan House “with a 58-52 majority after Democrats have held a 56-54 edge” (The Detroit News).
Taking Stock of Completed Education Policy Reforms
Before the pandemonium, the Michigan House and Michigan Senate were able to finalize some legislative efforts concerning education policy. With that, as explained, while the Michigan House ended its session on Thursday, December 19th, the Michigan Senate remained and was able to pass “second-chamber bills from the House” and “send [them] to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk” as long as “there [were] no amendments” (Detroit Regional Chamber). Of the efforts that crossed the legislative finish line, the following education policy reforms stand out:
- Computer science classes: Mid-month, “in [a] marathon ‘lame duck’ session,” the Michigan Senate passed HB 5649, which mandates that “public high schools … offer a computer science course without adding a graduation requirement” (MASA 12/13 Legislative Update). As reported in the June 2024 Capitol Perspectives, the Michigan House previously approved the measure by a vote of 87 to 22 (Michigan Legislature). Similarly, the legislation was discussed in the October 2024 Capitol Perspectives when the Michigan Senate Education Committee advanced this bill by “a 5-0 vote, with two members passing” (MASA 10/25 Legislative Update).
- Charter school transparency: While “the more substantial of the charter school reform bills [changing what management organizations can do with property, adding oversight, and requiring posted financial disclosures via SB 943, SB 944, SB 946, and SB 947] are effectively dead” due to the Michigan House “abruptly end[ing] its tumultuous lame duck session,” the Michigan Senate did pass four bills that “require charter schools to publicly post the names of their primary educational management organizations, or EMOs, and authorizing bodies … in the schools’ promotional material, enrollment applications, on physical signage, and online” (Chalkbeat Detroit; The Detroit Free Press; Michigan Public Radio). Previously, these bills, HB 5231, HB 5232, HB 5233, and HB 5234, were covered in the November 2024 Capitol Perspectives after they were passed by the Michigan House and considered by the Senate Education Committee.
- Information on the safe storage of firearms: On Thursday, December 19th, the Michigan Senate voted 20-18 on two bills, HB 5450 and HB 5451, to “[require] the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to create materials for schools to distribute to inform parents about the safe storage law” for guns that was passed last year (The Detroit Free Press). In the November 2024 Capitol Perspectives, the Michigan House’s previous approval of this package was noted.
- Capping public employee health insurance costs: At 6:30 AM on Friday, December 20th, the Michigan Senate passed HB 6058 to mandate that “public employers, including public school districts and local governments … pay at least 80% of employee health care costs” (Detroit Regional Chamber; The Detroit Free Press). In effect, the legislation means that “public employee unions [will] have more ability to collectively bargain their members’ health insurance costs” (Detroit Regional Chamber).
Looking ahead, these four education policy changes will be sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her final approval and their enactment. Purely based on their substance, Governor Whitmer “is expected to sign the bills into law,” especially the ones related to charter school transparency (Chalkbeat Detroit). That said, “it’s not guaranteed that every bill will become a law, with multiple sources indicating that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may withhold her signature on bills until the Legislature delivers on promised economic development reforms and road funding legislation” (Michigan Advance). Given the twists and turns of this lame-duck session, it might make sense not to count any chickens before they hatch. When things are finalized, though, updates will be included in the January 2025 Capitol Perspectives. Nonetheless, Happy New Year, and thanks for riding the education policy rollercoaster with us!
For questions or more information, please contact Tyler Thur in the Office of K-12 Outreach at thurtyle@msu.edu.