EAA Legislation & Grant Funding (Update)

School debate: Michigan House panel approves Education Achievement Authority bill

By Tim Martin | tmartin4@mlive.com 
on March 13, 2013 at 6:04 PM, updated March 13, 2013 at 7:35 PM

LANSING, MI - A proposal that could lead to expansion of Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority to low-performing schools outside of Detroit has cleared its first legislative hurdle, winning approval Wednesday in a Republican-led state House committee.

The measure to put the reform district into state law and clear the way for possible expansion to other parts of the state faces opposition from Democrats and from many groups within the education establishment. But the House Education Committee approved the bill by a 9-5 vote, sending the measure to the House floor. The vote was along party lines -- with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed -- although three lawmakers did not vote.

The bill would have to be approved by the House, the Republican-led Senate and be signed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to become law.

The bill introduced this year has been changed from the version that stalled in the Legislature late last year.

Snyder’s administration wants the measure, saying it could help students who have been trapped in schools that have been failing for years with no clear path toward improvement.

Supporters said the state can no longer stand by while certain school districts continue to struggle academically year after year.

“The people that are supposed to be doing something have done nothing,” said state Rep. Tom McMillin, a Republican from Rochester Hills. He said that leaves students in “failing, abysmal schools.”

"We have to do something," to help students in failing schools, McMillin said.

Critics of the EAA say it is unproven, or that certain elements included in its expansion could hurt retirement system finances and disadvantage other schools. Other critics say the state should concentrate on methods that could help schools improve without having to lose local control.

Rep. Collene Lamonte, D-Montague, said supporters were pushing a "untested" program.

"I don’t believe that’s the only choice we have," she said.

Among the groups with representatives saying they opposed or were not supportive of the bill included the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan and the Michigan Association of School Administrators.

The EAA aims to provide more “student-centered” learning than in some more traditional K-12 models, which supporters say could help students make significant academic gains.

The system – in its first academic year of operation – now includes 15 Detroit schools and was established through an interlocal agreement with Eastern Michigan University. The system is expected to eventually expand to other areas of the state, potentially encompassing many of the lowest-performing 5 percent of public schools in Michigan.

Based on a list from 2011-12, that potentially could include some schools from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint and other cities – fueling fears of a possible school takeover in some of those areas. It's not yet known which schools would wind up in an EAA because some data used in that determination would come from 2013.

Supporters of House Bill 4369 note it has changes from last year’s EAA proposal. For example, there would be a cap of 50 schools in the EAA. Some building inventory requirements included in last year’s plan have been removed.

Schools could enter the EAA after being on the ‘5 percent’ lowest-achieving list for three consecutive years.

DETROIT School reform district receives $10M grant

   The Education Achievement Authority, the statewide reform district for the worst-performing schools in Michigan, has received a big grant: $10 million from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

   The grant will pay for technology infrastructure, tablets and notebooks for students, instructional support and professional development for teachers.

   The Free Press reported earlier this year that the EAA, which was started with private funds, was struggling to provide the necessary technology for its online curriculum because donations had not come in as expected. In January, the district asked the state for an advance on its state aid.

   The EAA has only been in operation since the beginning of the current school year.