Talent & Education

The Michigan Reconnect program currently pays for students age 25 and over to attend their in-district community college tuition free. Gov. Whitmer wants to expand the program to younger Michiganders.

In her fifth State of the State address, set for Wednesday, Whitmer will make the case for more tutors in schools before spring break to help students recover from pandemic learning loss.

Artificial intelligence writing generators like ChatGPT can compose school assignments at the click of a button. Is it the end of writing as we know it? An invitation to cheating? Or a handy tool like a calculator?

Teachers wanted a voice in setting the state’s education agenda. With the Legislature now under Democratic control, four key panels that control education policy and funding will be led by former teachers.

The proposal doesn’t have a clear political path after Democrats won full control of the state legislature in November.

The Education Trust-Midwest report calls for a weighted funding system for schools that provides far more money to educate low-income and other vulnerable students.

District students masked for all of last school year. Now, they are to wear masks for the next two weeks. Some parents are skeptical the mandate will end then.

A bipartisan House panel created after the deadly shootings at Oxford High School did not address gun safety in its recommendations because it could not reach consensus. Now, with a Democratic led House and Senate, advocates see an opening.

Many high school students are choosing to forgo college, even as the state is rolling out scholarship and free-tuition programs to make higher education more affordable. Filling out a free financial aid form is the best way to determine the true cost of college.

Chronic absenteeism, charter school transparency, third-grade retention and early childhood education are expected to be top issues this year as Democrats take the full levers of power in Lansing.

Proponents of third grade reading law say it helps keep schools accountable. Opponents holding students back is no solution.

A judge sides with Rochester Community Schools District in a case that involved materials for an ethnic and gender studies course but could have broader implications.

Children in foster care graduate in four years at half the rate of other students, in part because many take unaccredited classes. Now, lawmakers are under pressure to reform the system.

While running for re-election, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer created a parents’ council. Now, the group has issued vague recommendations for Michigan schools that haven’t dampened criticism about the council from Republicans.

With Democrats controlling the legislature in January, they could get their wish for greater transparency from for-profit charter school operators. The Democratic majority on the State Board of Education supports such a move.

Democrats could breathe new life into the effort when they take control of the Legislature in January, but the path forward may be complicated by other legislative priorities. The bills include universal screening for K-3 students, specialized instruction and teacher training.

Michigan has no funding stream specifically for school transportation. A new report proposes to create one with a formula based on districts’ student density.

Regional superintendents across the state propose a new, more flexible path for certifying teachers. The plan includes getting future teachers in classrooms earlier in their education and paying them as they teach.

Michigan’s Read by Grade 3 law requires struggling third-grade readers be held back, but exemptions meant only 545 students were held back this year. Struggling readers who were Black or low-income were far more likely to repeat third grade white, more affluent readers who struggled.

Michigan superintendents are trying to balance physical technology to secure schools, with building stronger mental health supports for students. They say school safety continues to be something they want to improve.