Investing in our future: A Plan for Education

 

The Betsy Devos Agenda has fundamentally destroyed public education in the state of Michigan. Our teachers have taken massive pay cuts, our kids don’t have the resources they need and college is simply not affordable for most. For-profit schools have made the education gap even larger and are not held accountable by the state. It’s time we reinvest in our kids’ futures. I propose a series of policy initiatives designed to do just that, promoting equity in education and creating opportunities for Michigan kids and educators. 

Proposals:

  1. WiFi for All Michigan Students

    • Michigan schools have transitioned to remote learning, with students utilizing programs like Skype and Zoom to fill the gap created by classroom education. While teachers are doing their best to provide services online, an unacceptable number of Michigan kids have been left out of this process. A recent survey by the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Districts found that roughly 300,000 Michigan students lack sufficient internet access to participate in remote learning. About the same number of students lack access to a remote device such as a computer or tablet. The Michigan Department of Education currently offers reduced-rate partnerships with several service providers for low-income students, allowing families to obtain WiFi. But, we can and must do more for our kids.

    • I plan to propose legislation funding free WiFi service for all Michigan students that currently qualify for the MDE’s reduced-rate plans. That means that any Michigan family with at least one student that qualifies for the National School Lunch Program or the federal SNAP program would receive state-funded internet access. This legislation would ensure equity in the Michigan school system, allowing all students, regardless of income, to benefit from access to remote learning programs. It would also continue indefinitely, regardless of the status of the state’s COVID-19 outbreak. 

  2. Teacher Compensation

    • In order to succeed, students need teachers who are dedicated to their success. That starts with making sure that educators receive the compensation they deserve and preventing teacher flight to higher paying states. Currently, Michigan faces an unprecedented teacher shortage and a nearly 70 percent decline in students in Michigan universities choosing to opt for a career in education. With stagnant salaries and constantly diminishing benefits, it makes sense why talented individuals might look elsewhere for employment. We need to incentivize the best and brightest both in Michigan and throughout the country to come to our state, and take up the call of a career in education.

    • I propose legislation that adopts the guidance of the Michigan Education Association on addressing teacher shortages. Those recommendations include signing bonuses and paid internships for new teachers, increased funding for classroom support staff, and equity-based funding of school districts. Additionally, greater per-pupil funding across the board will allow districts to increase teacher salaries, properly compensating teacher performance instead of demanding more for less.

  3. Increase Per Pupil Funding

    • Funding public education is one of the most important roles of state government, and it’s a role that has been neglected for too long in Michigan. Our state spends just over the national average per pupil to support its public schools, despite years of struggling test scores and teacher flight. Although Governor Whitmer has sought to increase that funding, we need to do better. Specifically, Michigan was given a D grade for funding equity by the Education Law Center in a report published in the Washington Post—indicating that the state fails to adequately fund struggling districts.

    • Increasing funding to Michigan’s education system will allow us to hire more teachers, upgrade dated facilities, and provide children with much needed resources. I propose increasing per pupil funding to bring our state into the top ten highest funded public school systems in the United States over the next ten years. I will also push for equitable funding, demanding that the state act to ensure wealth in not a necessary prerequisite to academic success.

  4. Whole Child Approach to Learning

    • I firmly believe that student success requires more than just high test scores. That’s why I support and will continue to support initiatives focusing on the Whole Child. Programs designed to ensure that students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged are necessary to create well rounded students. Our state can and should do more to promote such programs. That means funding for extracurricular activities, ensuring students are eating healthy and nutritious food both at school and at home, and offering parent education and literacy programs. It also means giving our public schools the resources and funding they need to offer advanced programs such as AP and IB courses. By taking care of students both in and out of the classroom, and challenging them academically, we can prepare our youth for higher education and the workforce.

  5. Phase Out For-Profit Charters

    • The Devos family has long pushed to defund Michigan’s public schools in favor of for-profit charter academies. These schools have demonstrably lower test scores, low rates of college attendance, and often fail to abide by the standards placed upon public schools. To make matters worse, for-profit charters take much needed money away from public education by removing pupils from the public school system. For each pupil that opts for a for-profit charter education, our public schools receive over $10,000 less in state funding. Overall, that means that communities in which public schools already struggle to compete with well-funded districts are disproportionately impacted by private charters. Instead of continuing to support this broken system, we need to hold for-profit charters accountable, and provide our public schools with the resources they need to succeed.

    • I propose legislation that would require a community vote prior to the opening of any new for-profit charters within a school district. Community members should be able to voice their support for their local public schools without facing the threat of for-profit charters taking away precious per-pupil funding. In addition, I will work to make sure those for-profit charters that do exist are held to the same strict standards currently applied to the public school system.

  6. Gun Reform

    • Gun violence has plagued our country and our schools in recent years, devastating communities and taking lives. All too often we see the victims of school shootings demand change from our government, only to have their pleas ignored. At the same time, the NRA and gun advocates have begun to suggest that guns should be placed within schools, forcing teachers to respond directly to confront gun violence. We need sound policy that keeps guns out of schools, and away from those who would use them to cause harm to Michiganders.

    • I would support legislation designed to do just that, such as HB 5275, a bill which would require background checks prior to the purchase of all firearms in Michigan. I would also oppose proposals such as HB 4277 and HB 4278, which seek to arm teachers with pepper spray and tasers respectively for in school use. Finally, I would work to move our state towards a full assault rifle ban, ensuring that military grade weapons stay with the armed forces and out of the hands of everyday citizens. Our schools and our communities should not be militarized, and intend to ensure that they never are.

  7. Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline & Divestment From Police in Schools

    • The recent onslaught of police brutality has made it clear that communities are better off when law enforcement plays a minimal role in everyday life. That means dramatically reducing police presence in schools, and ending the school-to-prison pipeline created as a result of that presence. As it stands today, students caught in misconduct by school resource officers are far more likely to be charged with a crime than those students caught by counselors or other school staff. Instead of ensuring student safety, school-based police officers actually increase the likelihood that young students will end up in prison. As a result, these students lose out on the chance to receive a meaningful education, and find themselves stripped of future opportunities.

    • I propose legislation prohibiting in-school arrests by law enforcement officers stationed within districts. In addition, I will work with districts to divest from law enforcement agencies, eliminating contracts such as those between the Detroit Police Department and local schools. These contracts not only cost our public schools valuable resources that could be spent elsewhere, they also place our students in danger of finding themselves imprisoned for offences that might earn another student a suspension.

  8. Investment in Post-secondary Education

    • Post-secondary education remains the best possible investment in the future of our community. That’s why I support programs designed to make it more affordable, more equitable, and more tailored to the needs of the business community. Increasing funding for programs such as CTE (“career technical education”), community colleges, and public universities will help boost Michigan’s economy and train its workforce. Additionally, removing the financial barriers to entry into higher education through publicly funded post-secondary education will allow that boost to be enjoyed by all Michiganders, regardless of income level. 

    • I support legislation that would make public Michigan universities and community colleges free to all families making less than $150,000 a year. Qualified applicants should no longer have to worry about crippling student loans debt when they seek academic enrichment and the opportunity for skilled employment. I also believe that supporting skilled trades programs is vital to Michigan’s economic prosperity. 

    • Our state is currently experiencing unprecedented demand for skilled tradespeople, with many businesses unable to find qualified applicants to fill lucrative jobs. We can change that by increasing funding to CTE programs, trades schools, and community colleges. By offering free trade education for those without college degrees, we can offer skilled career paths to every Michigan student.  

  9. Mandatory Universal Pre-K

    • Michigan is on the way to universal pre-K, but, there’s a lot left to do. Currently, school districts have the option of providing two years of kindergarten to district students. Those districts that opt into the program receive reimbursement from the state on a per-pupil basis—the same system used for traditional K-12 education. Under the current optional-enrollment system, just over half of Michigan’s 4-year-olds have enrolled in taxpayer-funded preschool or developmental kindergarten programs. In states where school districts are required to have pre-K programs, that enrollment is closer to 80 percent.

    • I plan to propose legislation mandating universal pre-K services for all Michigan students. Each district in Michigan would be required to develop a program allowing 4-year-olds across the state to receive early education. Much like the current system, the state would fund these programs on a per-pupil basis. By mandating pre-K, we will both increase long-term student performance and provide parents with much needed child care services.