• Due process procedures (now available at the beginning of the document)
• School law updates since 2001
• Promising practices reflecting school-wide approaches to achieve appropriate student conduct, positive behavior supports and interventions, and other effective pro-social choices currently utilized by Michigan educators.
• Collaboration leadership efforts that illustrate the significance that a shared partnership between educators, students and parents plays in the academic success of students.

Universal Education
The State Board of Education has approved the Vision and Principles of Universal Education as a policy framework for the Department of Education and local and intermediate school districts. The Visions and Principles are the work of the Universal Education Referent Group (Michigan ASCD was a member). It supports that each student deserves and needs an accepting educational community that values diversity and provides for a comprehensive system of supports from birth to adulthood. It is understood that the MDE staff will return to the Board of Education with an introduction, glossary and explanation of how the Vision and Principles can be used by the State Board of Education and the Department Board of Education as a framework for policy development.

Student Behavior Standards for the Emergency Use of Seclusion and Restraint report
A copy of a draft of this report can be found online. The State Board of Education heard public comment that urged the cautious use of seclusion and restraint.

New High School Curriculum Requirements
Governor Jennifer Granholm has been calling for all high school students in the state to be provided the same curriculum as part of an effort to improve education quality and the number of students with college degrees in Michigan. At its November 15th meeting, the State Board of Education (after completing a study that included reviewing the requirements of other selected states) will release its proposed high school curriculum. A phase-in plan will also be discussed. Currently, the only course requirement for graduation as defined by state law is civics. One change the Department of Education may make is that students take a math class each year of high school. The Department indicated that they would not mandate the sequence of classes, but could recommend the content that should be in them. The Department is also looking at ways to weave applied or career and technical learning programs into the core curriculum classes of math, science, social studies and language arts.

Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Request: Legislative Review of Kindergarten Requirements
The MDE asked the Legislature to review whether school districts should be required to provide full-day kindergarten and what should be the appropriate age for mandatory school attendance. Currently, 60% of the State’s school districts offer half-day kindergarten programs when they are paid the full foundation allowance for each of those children. The question of whether a school district should be required to spend the full foundation allotment on each child (they do not do this now) is an issued that is raised. Another issue is whether 5-year-olds should be required to attend school. While current law allows them to attend with state funding, children are not required to attend school until they reach the age of 6.

Lindy Bush, director of the MDE Office of Early Childhood Education and Family Services stated that half-day programs do not allow the required time to meet the recommended kindergarten curriculum. She indicated inconsistency in funding for kindergarten programs that include some school districts having 2 year kindergarten programs that are also paid for by state aid.

Restrictions for New Drivers
HB 5133 would prohibit drivers 17 and younger from talking on a cell phone while driving. This bill seems to have wide support.

After Labor Day Start for Schools
After almost 20 years of crusading, tourism interests succeeded in having the legislature pass legislation that makes all schools (including charter schools) open after Labor Day. Starting next year, schools must open after Labor Day unless they have union contracts that specify an earlier start. For them, post Labor Day school year will begin after their contracts expire. Private schools, year-round public schools and universities are not affected. Two years ago, the state changed the law of requiring schools to offer at least 180 days of instruction to having schools provide 1,098 hours of instruction. Lawmakers saw this as school districts having more flexibility to conform to the law, even if they start after Labor Day. Another motivating factor for lawmakers was the continuing slump in tourism and its contribution to Michigan’s stagnant economy.

Mandated School Nutrition Policy
Proposed Senate Bill 91 would require a school district board or the board of directors of a public school academy to adopt and implement a local nutrition policy that would apply to food and beverage products sold or distributed at school (classroom, cafeteria, lunchroom, school bus, elsewhere on school premises or at a school –sponsored activity or event whether or not it was held on school) that are not part of a federally regulated child nutrition program.

Banned foods would include those that are classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as having minimal nutritional value, that have more than 30% fat calorie content , that have a 10% saturated fat calorie content , that contain at least 40% sugar or other sweetener by volume and juices that contain less than 50% fruit or vegetable juice.

Michigan Telecommunications Act
HB 5237 and SB 754 are bills to revise the Act which sunsets every 5 years. While much of the legislation does not affect the education community, there are a few subsections that do. Subsection 307 ensures that educational institutions can build and operate their own fiber optic networks and that the costs of building these networks can be partially mitigated by selling excess capacity. The current bill would allow for government participation under restricted rules and may prohibit educational institutions from selling excess capacity.

2005-06 State Education Budget
See for www.michiganascd.org/Source/source102505/budget06.pdf details.

Federal Education Funding
Congress continues to work on its appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2006. It now appears that funds will be further cut to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief funding. Additionally, there are proposals for a 2% funding cut across the board for all federal programs. The concern is that, if this does occur, that these funding levels will not provide enough money to help school districts meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind, or compensate for growing student enrollments. The potential funding shortfall may prevent schools from hiring more teachers or expanding learning resources for students. Even more damaging, existing programs may need to be cut or eliminated if these proposals are approved

Education Proposal for Families and Schools Impacted by Hurricanes
The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee unveiled a proposal that would create Family Education Reimbursement Accounts to allow families and schools to provide direct reimbursement to schools on behalf of students displaced by the storms. Under the plan, parents would register through the internet with an independent contractor for the family for use by each child (for up to $6,700 per child) from pre-K to 12th grade. Parents would then provide their account number to the school enrolling the child and the school would use that information to be reimbursed on behalf of the child. The schools could be public, private or charter schools.

New No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Policy for Hurricane Affected Schools.
Under current law, schools and districts affected by natural disasters are not required to move forward in the NCLB Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) school improvement timeline. Thus, schools in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and Florida that have sustained significant damage or closure time related to the hurricanes may delay the AYP for this school year. Additionally, the USDE will consider waivers for districts and schools that have enrolled large numbers of displaced students. Another option would be to have states, schools and districts affected by hurricanes to apply for waivers to allow for the establishment of a separate subgroup of displaced students (this student would only appear in this subgroup and not any other subgroup)

NCLB Tutoring Rules Tightened
Decisions in Florida by the U.S. Department of Education, if implemented nationwide, would bar groups affiliated with school systems rated “in need of improvement” from participating in the tutoring program mandated under NCLB. Entities likely to be barred from the program include teacher unions, child-care centers, after-school programs, voc-ed or computer centers, and parent groups. This reaffirms the USDE’s position that no district in need of improvement is allowed to serve as its own supplemental education services (SES) provider. It also further clarifies that the prohibition also applies to groups and programs affiliated with such school programs. The option for school systems is to provide private, third-party tutors for these pupils. The move is a potential boon for private, third-party providers nationwide.

Survival Guide for New Teachers
The U.S. Department of Education's new online tome for beginning educators is available free of charge on ED's web site. "Become a Teacher: Survival Guide for New Teachers" features a number of resources for rookie educators. Readers will confront a whole host of issues currently affecting the modern classroom--from cultivating effective professional relationships to reaching difficult students. While the resource won't teach young educators how to run their classrooms, it should help as they try to make the difficult transition from student to teacher.
www.ed.gov/teachers/become/about/survivalguide/

Congress continues to work on its appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2006. Although both the House and Senate approved education funding bills earlier this year, it now appears that funds will be further cut. These cuts will occur in part to pay for Hurricane Katrina relief funding. Additionally, there are proposals for a two percent funding cut across all federal programs.
In July, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill with only meager education increases. Most programs were level-funded or received minor increases. The total increase for the Department of Education is $143 million, which is only slightly greater than the level approved by the House—and only a fraction of a percent greater than the previous year’s levels.

ASCD is concerned about that. We continue to monitor action on education funding and will provide updates as new information arises.

Senate Labor, Health, Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee FY 2006 Spending Bill
Funding Levels for Selected Education Programs (In Millions)

If you would like information about funding for specific programs not included in this summary chart, please email Dan Fuller, ASCD Public Policy Director, at dfuller@ascd.org

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