Six times more third-graders may flunk next year under Michigan reading law
by Ron French (Bridge) More than 5,000 third-graders–five percent across the state–may be held back from advancing to fourth grade following the 2019-20 school year because of Michigan’s “read or flunk” law, which takes effect this fall. That’s a more than six-fold increase over the number of third-graders who were held back in 2017-18 (777 […]
Michigan governor and Republicans at impasse on auto insurance reform bills
By Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING — Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promised Thursday to veto legislation passed by the Michigan House and Senate last week that would bring big changes to an auto insurance system that has made Michigan’s rates the most expensive in the nation. The Republican-backed bills, she argued, “serve a corrupt system where insurance companies are allowed to […]
Michigan’s next superintendent led gains in Kalamazoo, fought GOP policies
By Ron French (Bridge) Kalamazoo Superintendent Michael Rice, who has worked in education in several states and battled the Republican-led Michigan Legislature on several school policies, will be the next superintendent of Michigan’s public schools. By a 5-3 vote on Tuesday, May 7, the State Board of Education agreed to offer the job to Rice, who […]
Betsy DeVos: Michigan doesn’t have enough school choice
By Koby Levin (Bridge) Michigan is often cited as a case study of broad school choice and its troubles. Betsy DeVos thinks students in her home state don’t have enough options. “The reality is, Michigan doesn’t have wide open choice,” the U.S. education secretary told journalists last week at the annual gathering of the Education Writers […]
Nestlé to allow feds to monitor water withdrawals in central Michigan
By Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Nestlé Waters North America on Wednesday announced it will allow a federal agency to monitor its withdrawals of up to 400 gallons per minute in central Michigan for its bottled water. In an effort to answer questions about whether withdrawals are straining water supplies, the U.S. Geological Survey has begun collecting […]
Senate GOP proposes shrinking jail funds to Michigan ‘sanctuary cities’
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING — Michigan communities that don’t fully cooperate with federal immigration officials could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars under a proposed Department of Corrections budget recommended by the Republian-led Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday. The budget proposal would stop certain state payments to local jails that house convicted felons, if those […]
Michigan Republicans appeal gerrymandering ruling. What you need to know.
by Joel Kurth, Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) As promised, Michigan Republicans filed a notice of an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a bombshell ruling that the state’s political districts were illegally gerrymandered and must be redrawn in time for 2020 elections. The short filing Tuesday includes no legal arguments, which will be filed separately. Republicans are also […]
Jocelyn Benson says she’s committed to increasing Michigan voter turnout
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) As a law professor, Jocelyn Benson literally wrote the book on best practices of Secretaries of State nationwide. Elected in November to that post in Michigan, Benson faces her first test Tuesday, when more than 500 jurisdictions affecting 17 percent of the state’s registered voters host elections to decide millages and other ballot […]
Unlicensed Michigan medical marijuana shops to stay open under court ruling
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) About 50 unlicensed medical marijuana dispensaries temporarily operating in Michigan will not have to close their doors any time soon, ending a months-long regulatory saga over the state’s transitional weed market. Dispensaries which applied for a license by February 2018 and haven’t yet received a decision on their licenses deserve an […]
Should Algebra 2 be required? Michigan legislator says no; research says yes
by Ron French (Bridge) Michigan high school students would no longer be required to take Algebra 2 to earn a diploma under a bill introduced again this term in the Michigan House of Representatives. “Through college and law school and a 40-year career, I can’t recall an instance of using Algebra 2,” said bill sponsor Gary […]
