Republican state senators say they want to challenge Michigan’s K-12 students and school districts to improve the state’s lagging math and reading scores.
GOP senators unveiled their education plan to reporters on Thursday.
The four pillars of the MI Brighter Future plan are:
1. Set the bar high. Strengthen key provisions of the third grade reading law, require student progress to be part of every teacher’s evaluation process once again, and restore the A-F grading scale for parents to easily understand how schools are performing.
2. The best teachers where they’re needed most. Provide bonuses to highly effective teachers who take positions in schools where they can have the biggest impact.
3. Give every kid a chance. No student should ever be left behind because of their means or ZIP code. Scholarship opportunities will help families afford additional educational assistance and help cover the costs of summer or after-school reading programs.
4. Back to the basics. Reading is the foundation of a successful education. But too many schools have gone away from teaching the basics and reading scores have plummeted. Our plan will ensure teachers are trained in proven phonics-based reading methods that have worked for decades.
“This plan is not the silver bullet,” conceded Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. “But it is a substantial step forward in the right direction that will raise standards across our education system rather than removing them.”
A recent study suggests it will take Michigan schoolchildren up to a decade to recover from education loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a news conference on Thursday, Nesbitt blamed Democratic policies during and after the pandemic for the state of K-12 education in Michigan.
A spokesman for Michigan’s largest teachers’ union blasted the Republican education plan, labeling much of it “recycling unsuccessful ideas.”
Doug Pratt is with the Michigan Education Association. He said many of the changes passed last year by Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate will not take effect until the middle of this month. He said it's "worth noting that student progress continues to be a requirement of teacher evaluation under the laws passed last fall."
"We need to continue making progress on the educator shortage by compensating and respecting the professionals who work with students everyday, as well as supporting the unique needs of students and families — such as universal free school meals and Gov. Whitmer’s proposal for a true PreK-14 system, including universally available preschool and free community college tuition for high school graduates," Pratt said in a written statement.
The Republican senators expect to start submitting their legislation during the next week, though it is unclear whether any will be considered by the Senate’s Democratic majority.
