• Federal Actions on Education This Week & Free Webinar
• MASB’s Legislative Priorities for the 2025-2026 Legislative Session 
• Governor’s State of the State Scheduled for Feb 26th, Join Us for a Recap

Federal Actions on Education This Week & Free Informational Webinar

The information and announcements coming out of the White House this week came quickly and without much detail or guidance. We are working with other education organizations both statewide and nationally to gather as many details as possible and determine potential implications for your school community. 

It started Monday night with the White House Office of Management and Budget issuing a memo temporarily pausing the disbursement of federal grants for a review of policies. It was intended to make sure that federal dollars were not being used for initiatives mentioned in previous Executive Orders, such as DEI, gender issues and environmental policies. The memo was issued without guidance and created confusion and panic across the country. A federal judge issued a stay on the memo until Monday, and on Wednesday it appeared the President had rescinded the memo.

On Wednesday, President Trump signed two new Executive Orders affecting public education, the first, Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families, on using federal funds for school vouchers. The order calls on the Secretary of Education (who has not yet been confirmed) to issue guidance on how states can use federal funds to support vouchers. It also calls on several federal departments to review their programs and grants to determine how they can be used to “expand education freedom for America’s families and teachers.” The order gives departments 90 days to report back to the President.

The second order, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, is a broad order calling on the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Attorney General, to “provide an Ending Indoctrination Strategy to the President.” This strategy is to include recommendations and a plan for issues such as ending the promotion of “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology” in instruction or activities, reinstating the 1776 Commission to “promote patriotic education”, and protecting parents’ rights.

We are committed to sharing timely and accurate information as it becomes available. MASA and MASB will be hosting a free webinar for members on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. Please join us to hear the latest information and the potential implications of these changes for Michigan districts, as well as details from AASA's policy team who are on the ground in Washington, D.C. You can register here.

MASB’s Legislative Priorities for the 2025-2026 Legislative Session 

MASB’s Government Relations Team held ten regional meetings from early September to mid-November 2024 to gather input on what your Association’s focus should be for this legislative session.  

In November, following the meetings, the ideas were compiled into a survey and sent out to all board members to choose their priorities for MASB.  The priorities were formally adopted by the MASB Board of Directors on Jan. 17, 2025. You can find the full list on our website.

Our thanks to all the members who participated and those serving on the MASB Government Relations Committee who helped finalize the list. If you have any questions about these or anything else on the legislative front, please feel free to contact your Government Relations Team.

Governor’s State of the State Scheduled for Feb 26th, Join Us for a Recap

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will deliver her annual State of the State Address Feb 26, 2025, at 7:00 pm. Join MASB on Jan. 25 at 4:00 pm for a Views From the Capitol webinar to recap the speech and what else to expect in education legislation this year. 

This interactive webcast allows viewers to ask questions and get answers instantly. We look forward to you joining us for this informative session! Register today to receive the link.