In This Update:

• Summary
• House Committee Roundup
• This Week's Introduced Bills
• ICYMI: MDE Updates
• MIOSHA Extends Emergency Rules
• Federal Update from AASA

Summary

House Committee Roundup

The committee reported a substitute version of HB 4167, legislation that would require ISDs, public school academies, and nonpublic schools to conduct yearly health and safety inspections of their school premises, with the first to take place by August 15, 2022, and yearly thereafter.  

The substitute version of the bill reported from committee would now put the responsibility of conducting the inspection of all buildings in an ISD and constituent districts on the ISD superintendent or their designee. The introduced version assigned this duty to the ISD school board. MASA opposes the bill.  

Additionally, testimony was taken on a pair of bills that aim to provide some changes to substitute teaching laws.   

HB 4294, sponsored by Rep. Paquette (R-Niles), provides an exception for the college credit requirements for substitute teachers. Individuals must have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate and work at the district or ISD. If the employee’s current salary is higher than a substitute teaching salary, the board must ensure that their salary would not be reduced if hired under this provision. If the employee’s salary was less than a substitute, the district must provide that individual with a salary for a substitute in their district. An individual who declines the offer to be assigned as a substitute teacher must not be terminated for that choice. There is a sunset in the proposed bill, only allowing for this change until June 30, 2026.  

HB 4293, sponsored by Rep. Damoose (R-Harbor Springs), adds decisions about the employment of an individual as a substitute teacher to the list of prohibited subjects of bargaining. 

MASA supports these bills.  

The House Tax Policy Committee also heard testimony on HB 4002, legislation that would repeal the controversial pension tax passed in 2011 beginning in the 2022 tax year. This exemption would apply to retirement income for all taxpayers, regardless of the taxpayer’s date of birth. 

Supporters of the bill argue that the pension tax puts an undue burden on Michigan seniors and that the 2011 tax law change was unfair to retirees since they had worked hard and saved up for retirement on a fixed income only for the rules of the game to be changed.  

If enacted, this tax bill would reduce the General Fund by $290 million and the School Aid Fund would be reduced by approximately $80 million.  

This Week's Introduced Bills

SB 365 (Bayer) Provides for allocation of certain remaining Title I funds from the CARES stimulus package to schools. 

ICYMI: MDE Updates

State Board of Education Statement on Parental Rights Regarding Testing
The State Board of Education approved the following statement this week regarding parental rights regarding students taking the state summative assessments. Read the full statement.

State Board of Education Resolution on Amending State Accountability Laws 
The State Board of Education adopted a resolution this week calling on the state legislature to amend state accountability laws tied to state summative assessments for the 2020-2021 academic school year.
 

MEMO #033-21   
Read by Grade Three Educator Survey  
In 2016, the Michigan legislature passed the Read by Grade Three (RGB3) law (MCL 380.1280f). Subsequently, the state board of education and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) requested that the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University work in partnership with MDE and the state’s Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) to engage in a research study of the law. The purpose of this research is to understand the law’s effects on student achievement and attainment and how the law is being implemented in schools and districts across the state. Read the full memo.
 

MEMO #034-21 
Action Required: Survey of Administrators Employing First-Year Teachers 

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) will be releasing a brief survey to collect feedback from administrators about the preparedness of new teachers. This survey has been identified as a critical piece of information for MDE and educator preparation institutions (EPIs) to assist with continuous improvement efforts around teacher preparation. Read the full memo.

MEMO #035-21 
2021 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Public Reporting of Data  

Federal regulations implementing the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (§300.602(b)(1)(i)(A)) require public reporting on the performance of each local education agency (LEA), both traditional public school districts and public school academies (PSAs), on targets established in the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) for each Part B priority area (ages 3 through 21). Each LEA will have an opportunity to analyze and review the intermediate school district (ISD) data in comparison to the established state targets prior to the SPP/APR public release. Read the full memo.
 

Reminder: Oral Health Screenings of Kindergartners 
Public Act 261 was signed by Governor Whitmer in December 2020 for oral health screening of kindergartners. There is a provision to the law that states if no funds are allocated, the screening does not have to take place. The current Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 budget has no funding appropriated for this law, so these oral health screenings are not required for the coming school year (2021-2022). However, Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s FY 2021-22 executive budget has proposed $1.7 million for oral health screenings. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is monitoring the budget process and if funding is approved, MDHHS will work with local health departments to determine how screenings will be implemented for the 2022-23 school year.  The MDHHS Oral Health Program is in the process of convening a group of stakeholders to discuss the implementation of the new law. If you are interested in participating in the group, please contact OralHealth@michigan.gov. 
 

Reminder: USED School Staff Vaccination Guidance 
Although many Michigan teachers and school staff have already been vaccinated, the U.S. Department of Education released information and materials last week regarding vaccines for teachers, school staff, and childcare workers. The following resources were included in the March 12, 2021 letter from Deputy Assistant Secretary Dr. Aaliyah A. Samuel: The March 2, 2021 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directive prioritizing vaccines for teachers, school staff, and childcare workers. 

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website with the latest information about how teachers, school staff, and childcare workers can get vaccinated. A new CDC teacher, school staff, and childcare worker vaccination FAQ and website regarding the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. This provides teachers, school staff, and childcare workers information on how to sign up for vaccination appointments at over 9,000 pharmacy locations participating in the federal program nationwide. A new CDC toolkit designed to help school and childcare leaders provide COVID-19 vaccine information to staff in schools and childcare programs.

MIOSHA Extends Emergency Rules

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) within the Michigan Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has extended its  emergency rules, originally issued October 14, 2020  and set to expire April 14. The extension is for six months, but officials from the state, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have stressed that they can be modified or withdrawn at any time in response to changes in COVID-19 spread. We do anticipate changes in the future, but not as of now. 

Under the emergency rules, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, and how to report unsafe working conditions. 

Please note, this does not indicate a change in what school districts have been doing under the emergency rules, rather a continuation. If you have specific questions regarding workplace safety and health, please contact MIOSHA using the new hotline at 855-SAFE-C19 (855-723-3219) or visit Michigan.gov/COVIDWorkplaceSafety.  

Read the full press release here. For more information including FAQs, fact sheets, and other resources, please click here. 

Federal Update from AASA

Biden Infrastructure Proposal   
Last week, President Joe Biden released the details of his American Jobs Plan. Overall, the proposal calls for an investment of an estimated $2 trillion over the next decade for improving and constructing roads and bridges, schools and childcare facilities, affordable housing and other elements of more traditional infrastructure.   
    
Specifically, the education-related components of the proposal include:  

• $100 billion for school modernization and construction 
• $25 billion to upgrade childcare facilities and increase access 
• $100 billion to support workforce development programs 
• $100 billion to expand and improve broadband access 
• $111 billion to replace all lead pipes across the country.  

The EdWeek  coverage of the proposal is available here. A White House fact sheet on the American Jobs Plan is here.   
    
The President also released the Made in America Tax Plan last week, which proposes changes to corporate tax rates and structures as a mechanism for funding the American Jobs Plan. If Democrats and Republicans are unable to broker a deal around the funding for the infrastructure package, Congressional Democrats are likely to use the budget reconciliation process. As some may recall, this procedure allows the Senate to avoid the 60-vote majority needed to end the filibuster.   
    
Finally, the Biden administration is still expected to release an American Families Plan in the coming weeks. From our intel, this proposal will focus on “human infrastructure” investments, which may include initiatives for tuition-free community college, universal pre-kindergarten, an expansion of the child tax credit and other education-related investments.