Central Michigan University is the new recipient of a $15 million grant aimed at increasing the certified teacher workforce in rural school districts.
The Department of Education announced Thursday that it had seen a 100 percent increase in schools offering free meals since the enactment of the Michigan School Meals Program.
The state's high school graduation rates hit their second-highest levels ever, behind only 2020 when graduation requirements were temporarily relaxed due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Friday.
Budget Director Jen Flood told the head of the Department of Education the time has passed for the agency to be in the planning stages of administering literacy grant dollars, and it is now time to act.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice discussed at length the exponential increases in funding for K-12 programs during the past few years, saying students who are often underfunded had their needs better addressed.
Supplemental spending bills wiping out the debt in several school districts, establishing funds for the new education department that took effect this month and moving money toward Highland Park water infrastructure improvements were signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Monday.
Michelle Richard will be the acting director of the new Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, known as MiLEAP, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday.
The state saw progress in its eight goals to improve education for students as young as preschool to mid-20s, with the State Board of Education discussing the annual update and the small increases in funding and education improvements.
Only 65.4 percent of third graders were at least partially proficient in English Language Arts based on Michigan Student Test of Education Progress scores, but only 5.6 percent received scores that would have made them eligible for the repealed retention portion of the Read By Grade Three law.
A lawsuit filed Monday against Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael Rice and Detroit Public Schools alleges that the state and district did not do enough to ensure that a disabled student received proper testing and adequate accommodations before being expelled in 2022.