The results of the 2004 state legislative elections will bring 36 new state legislators to Lansing. Many of the non-returning legislators were limited in their service by the term-limit legislation.

NATIONAL

The following are highlights of President Bush's second-term education proposals:

STATE

The following bills are proposed state legislation.

SB 1153 (Kuipers) is a bill that would amend the Revised School Code to replace the 11th grade MEAP test with a new Michigan Merit Examination. The change would have to be by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The proposed Michigan Merit Exam would consist of:

HB 1155 (Jelinek) is a bill that requires school districts statewide:

The bill also directs the Department of Management and Budget (DMB) to contract with one or more providers to develop, supply, and score the Michigan Merit Exam. If the bill becomes a reality, Michigan Merit Test results would have to be reported to students, parents, and schools by the beginning of the pupil’s first semester of the 12th grade. The pupil’s scaled score on each subject area component of the Merit Exam and the number of days the pupil attended high school would be included on the student’s high school transcript (also includes transcripts from Public School Academies). The bill limits the administration of the Merit Exam tests to eight hours and allows students in home schools and non-public schools to take the Merit Exam if they wish.

HB 1156 (Van Woerkom) is a bill that would amend the Michigan Merit Scholarship Act and require an 11th-grade student, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, to receive qualifying results in each subject area component of the Michigan Merit Examination (proposed by Senate Bill 1153) in order to be eligible for a Michigan Merit Award Scholarship.

HB 1154 (Switaliski) is a bill that would amend the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act and require a student, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, to achieve a qualifying score on a “readiness assessment”, rather than on the MEAP test, in order to participate in the postsecondary enrollment program.

HB 1157 (Thomas) is a bill that amends the Career and Technical Preparation Act by requiring a student, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, to achieve a qualifying score on a “readiness assessment”, rather than on the MEAP test, in order to participate in the career and technical preparation program.

The House Education Committee voted out SB 677 (Jelinek), a bill that requires the director of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth to promulgate rules establishing standards and requirements for the relocation and reuse of used modular classrooms. The rules would have to require an inspection of a relocated used modular classroom at its original location, at its new location, or at any location where repairs were made to the used modular classroom.

The House Health Policy Committee voted out HB 4975 (Accavitti), The bill would require schools to request a transferring student's school record, require the sending school to transmit a copy of the record, apply the provisions to public and nonpublic schools, and define school record.