The GOP-led Michigan House of Representatives voted largely along party lines Wednesday to set a new deadline less than three weeks away for schools to comply with new reading curriculum standards.
The new rules, passed in 2024, are set to take effect in 2027 to help address the state’s dismal student literacy scores. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made forging a path to improving those a priority of her remaining time in office, but acknowledges the job can’t be finished during this final year of her administration.
Representative Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) said she does not want to wait until 2027 to require schools to induct phonics and other proven methods into curricula.
“The more we delay, the more we put this off, another grade graduates without being fully equipped with the science of reading,” she said.
Greene is one of the sponsors of a three-bill package to require new programs and materials to be ready when students return to class in the fall.
Representative Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), who sits on the House Education and Workforce Committee, said that is not reasonable, fair, or helpful to students or teachers. He said adding new standards and instructional methods into classrooms is not done in a snap.
“That is not fair to schools and it is ultimately not fair to kids,” he said. “We want to make sure schools have every tool they need and the legislation that’s in front of us today robs schools of the ability to do that.”
He noted the bills would set July 1 as the accelerated deadline for schools to adopt the new standards, but the Legislature has still not adopted a new budget that includes a plan for K-through-12 spending for schools with fiscal years that begin July 1. “This legislation to me seems very political and it’s a lot more focused on a message than it is actual substance,” he told Michigan Public Radio.
The Whitmer administration does not have a position on the legislation but plans to give it a thorough review, said a spokesperson for the governor. The bills now go the state Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
