The Michigan Supreme Court has declined to hear a legal challenge to state budget language that sets conditions for schools to qualify for safety funding.
That leaves in place a requirement in the current budget that schools – in order to get the grants -- must agree to forego attorney-client privilege in investigations following school shootings or other mass casualty events.
Most Michigan school districts opted out of seeking a share of the $321 million in security and mental health grants in the budget adopted last year because it might place them or school system employees in legal jeopardy. Instead, dozens of districts sued, arguing they should not be forced to relinquish a standard and widely applied legal right in order to qualify for safety grants.
The language was adopted in the years following the Oxford High School mass shooting after many district employees declined to participate in an outside investigation.
“Every superintendent I know would do anything to keep their students safe, but last year 70% of the districts turned the money down, not out of indifference but because the fine print creates risks no responsible leader can accept,” said Peter Spadafore with the Michigan Association of School Administrators.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who approved the budget language, said the court order to decline the case “protects critical investments in school safety and student mental health while providing much-needed clarity for schools and communities across Michigan.”
“Last year, we made the largest investment in our state’s history to help schools keep kids safe, from hiring more mental health professionals and school resource officers to improving security and crisis planning. It also increased transparency to give parents greater certainty,” she said.
This may not be the final word because there is still a federal lawsuit pending. That case was put on hold while the state case was active.
There may be a compromise in the works to settle the question, said Michigan Representative Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), who chairs the House school aid budget subcommittee.
Kelly said he thought the districts got bad advice on the issue of attorney-client privilege, but he thinks there is space to tweak some of the definitions to get more districts to opt into the program while “still ensuring if some horrible thing were to happen, nobody gets to skate.”
“Clearly, we want more districts to take the money,” he told Michigan Public Radio. “That’s the design and the intent.”
