- Senate Education Approves Kindergarten and Tenure Bills
- House Education Begins Hearings on School Safety
- House Passes Cardiac Response Plan Requirements
- Register Today for Spring 2024 Behind the Scenes at the Capitol
- Legislature Heads into Spring Break
Senate Education Approves Kindergarten and Tenure Bills
The Senate Education Committee met briefly on Tuesday and approved two bills. The first, Senate Bill 285 would revise school code to mandate that all children must attend kindergarten. It would change the age at which a child must enroll in school to 5 years old. Any district that offers first grade would be required to offer kindergarten. The bill is now before the full Senate for consideration.
The second, Senate Bill 744, makes a change to the teacher tenure law related to evaluations that was inadvertently affected when the evaluation law was passed in the fall. Because of oversights in the new law, the probationary time for some effective teachers could extend to as much as seven years. It also would allow a teacher rated less than effective in the most recent year to receive tenure. This bill would allow a teacher who received an effective rating before July 1, 2024, to count that rating towards their required three positive yearend performance evaluations. Additionally, the bill specifies that these ratings would not have to be consecutive, but the most recent one would have to be rated as effective.
SB744 was passed by the Senate later that day and is now before the House Education Committee. It is the goal of the bill sponsor to get it into law before the evaluation law changes go into effect in July.
House Education Begins Hearings on School Safety
On Tuesday, the House Education Committee began hearings on a package of bills related to school safety. The five bills, House Bills 4089, 4092, 4095-4096 and 5549 would create a school safety and mental health commission within the Department of Education, require notification to the ISD within 24 hours of receiving a tip from OK2SAY, create statewide standardized terminology by the Michigan State Police to be used within a school safety plan, and require that every district have a behavior threat assessment team that includes an administrator, mental health professional and law enforcement.
The Committee heard from the bill sponsors and school mental health professionals regarding the benefits of these bills and proper training for a threat assessment team. There are changes needed within the bills, and some of them are expected to be ready for reviw in early April. Hearings will continue after spring break.
House Passes Cardiac Response Plan Requirements
On Tuesday, the House passed House Bills 5527 and 5528, which modify and expand the cardiac emergency response plans for schools. The cardiac emergency plan and response team would act in the case of a cardiac emergency during the school day or at school-sponsored athletic events. The cardiac emergency response plan would establish steps and practices that would reduce the chances of serious harm or possible death.
During debate on the floor, an amendment was added to create civil immunity for members of the team for actions taken while responding to an emergency to the best of their ability. The bills now go to the Senate for consideration.
Register Today for Spring 2024 Behind the Scenes at the Capitol
Behind the Scenes at the Capitol will be held on Wednesday, April 24, in the Mackinac Room of the House Office Building in Lansing. Registration is now open!
This event will feature a panel of legislators discussing potential education issues for this year, a presentation on the new Department of Learning, Advancement and Potential, and a discussion on the superintendent evaluation law. We’ll also have an update on the budget from the Senate Fiscal Agency and a brief legislative update.
Finally, your representative and senator will be invited to join us for lunch. It’s a great opportunity for members to network with others from around the state and advocate on behalf of their school districts with their state elected officials.
Register today to secure your spot.
Legislature Heads into Spring Break
The House and Senate both adjourned Tuesday for legislative spring break. Both chambers will return to their normal session schedule the week of April 1. At this time, there are no committee meetings scheduled either, so News From the Capitol will also be taking a break. If you have questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact us.
Happy Spring!