Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Capitol Report Archives Go to current Capitol Report for links to complete archive. June, 2004 May, 2004 April, 2004 March, 2004 February, 2004 January, 2004 2003-04 Voting Records 2003 2002 2001 2000 |
Higher Education Commission Begins its Work Children Can Attend School Where Parents Work School Election Bills Signed into Law I.S.D. Bills Become Law ISDs Negotiating On Accountability Package M.E.A.P. Test Moving to Fall Budget Negotiations Continue may be found on the Legislative Hotline page of this website.  Return to Top Higher Education Commission Begins its Work Governor Jennifer Granholm's opening remarks to the Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth outlining twin goals of doubling the number of college graduates in Michigan and drawing in the corporate entities that will employ those graduates once they leave school. At the first meeting of the commission, chaired by Lt. Governor John Cherry, the nearly 40 members of the group (which includes MFT&SRP President, David Hecker) began to structure areas they need to consider as they prepared their recommendations due in December. Just 22 percent of Michigan residents have college degrees, compared to a national average of 26 percent. Granholm said her goal in 10 years is to double that to 45 percent. Michigan higher education institutions started teaching 634,000 students in 2000. Only half who enter college actually finish with a degree. If current projections hold, this number will rise only 2 percent by 2015. In fact, only 49 percent of first-year community college students return to their second year of school, while the national average is 52 percent. Michigan universities do produce a large number of higher level degrees compared to other states, but too many of the students earning those degrees then leave the state, the commission was told. The statistic that was reported a year ago as the effort to build "cool cities" was repeated: during the 1990s, 43 percent of those aged 22 to 29 left Michigan, and the fastest growing segment of the population are those older than 40. Mr. Cherry said the commission will be divided into four work groups. University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman will lead the group studying how to maximize the economic benefits of a better-educated work force; St. Clair Intermediate School District Superintendent, and former Senator Dan DeGrow will lead the group working on keeping students in college. General Motors Foundation Vice Chair Debbie Dingell will lead the group studying how to ensure that students are ready for college. And Wayne State University Board member Paul Masseron will lead the group studying how to encourage more students to attend college. The Cherry Commission will meet as a group three more times: Sept. 27 for an update, Nov. 8 for some preliminary recommendations, and Dec. 10 for final recommendations. The commission is expected to hold public hearings in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Traverse City and Marquette and the work groups must meet at least four to six times between July and November. Return to Top Children Can Attend School Where Parents Work Senate Bill 599 (Basham, D-Taylor) was signed to become Public Act 227, allowing a school district to count a pupil in membership without approval from the pupil's district of residence, if the pupil has a parent employed by the district counting the pupil. Currently, a district must have the approval of a pupil's district of residence to count the pupil in membership, unless the pupil attends a public school academy, attends classes less than half-time in the district, participates in a school of choice program, has been expelled, is enrolled in Michigan Virtual High School, or meets other conditions. Public Act 227 also prohibits a school district from charging tuition if the pupil has a parent employed by the district. Return to Top School Election Bills Signed into Law A package of bills containing House Bill 5990 (Public Act 286), House Bill 5991 (Public Act 287) House Bill 5992 (Public Act 288), House Bills 5993 (Public Act 289), and House Bills 5994 (Public Act 257) have been signed into law by the Governor. These bills make the following changes to the Michigan Election Law pertaining to school district elections.
A candidate has to file a nominating petition or pay a fee by 4:00 p.m. on the 15th day after the clerk made the announcement. (Presently, a candidate must file a petition or pay the fee by 4:00 p.m. on the 15th day after the special election to fill the vacancy is called.) Return to Top I.S.D. Bills Become Law A series of bills setting new controls on election and removal of ISD board members as well as set new procedures for taking bids on building construction for Michigan's intermediate school districts has been signed by Governor Granholm. House Bill 4338 (Public Act 234):
Return to Top Negotiations Continue on ISD Accountability II Package Lawmakers and representatives of the state's ISDs have been negotiating over the so-called ISD Accountability II package as reported in the June 2004 Capitol Report. These bills are still before the House Education Committee. The Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel views these bills as punitive and unnecessary in light of the ISD package that was just signed by the Governor. Return to Top M.E.A.P. Test Moving to Fall The State Board of Education has approved a plan to move the MEAP tests for elementary and middle school to the fall beginning with the 2005-06 school year. The plan would add annual tests for mathematics and reading for grades 3-8 and each year's test would cover all of the content expectations of the prior academic year. Under the schedule, the tests would be administered October 3-21, 2005, and would move to a comparable week thereafter. The earlier testing period will help the state develop Education YES! School Report cards earlier in the year. Because of the current winter testing period, school Report Cards will not be publicly released until August. With early October testing beginning in 2005, Education YES! Report Cards can be released by mid-March. The goal of the plan was to move up the released date of test scores so schools would have more time to use that data on the students they had tested, but state Chief Academic Officer Jeremy Hughes said the proposal also allows the state to develop tests that cover an entire year's curriculum, rather than just a portion of it. To resolve school's concerns about preregistering students for the tests, the department would use the final class listings from each school and simply move those students up a grade. Those lists would then be provided to schools in August to review before the tests are printed. New students would be registered through the current process. The 2005-06 school year is the year in which the federal No Child Left Behind law requires states to begin testing students in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) in grades 3-8. The vote by the State Board only affects Math and ELA tests in those grades. The timing and grades in which the science and social studies MEAP tests will be administered will continue to be reviewed by the advisory committee. Currently, the state's math test is given only in the 4th and 8th grades; ELA is given only in the 4th and 7th grades; and science and social studies only given in the 5th and 8th grades. Return to Top Budget Negotiations Continue Governor Granholm and House and Senate legislative leaders continue to negotiate budget issues. The legislature has scheduled session for the August 4, 5, and 6, following the primary election for the purpose of hammering out budget agreements. bk:opeiu42aflcio
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