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 Michigan
Senate Approves Anti-Hazing Bills
Gongwer News Service, March 17, 2004
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Hazing of school
and college students in Michigan would be banned under
legislation passed unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday. But
in approving SB 783 and SB 784, the Senate rejected an attempt
to also make bullying a state offense.
Now one of just seven states that do not officially ban the
practice used as initiation rites, the two bills make a hazing a
crime whether as a misdemeanor for physical injury to a felony
if the hazing results in death.
But Sen. Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit) attempted unsuccessfully to
graft onto the main bill, SB 783, a ban on bullying. Saying that
thousands of school students are afraid to go to school, that a
significant portion of the state's dropout problem is due to
fear of bullies, and that most schools in the state do not have
anti-bullying policies.
"By law we require them to be there at school, but we don't do
anything about bullying," Mr. Thomas said. He has also sponsored
SB 92, now in the Senate Education Committee, to ban bullying
and require schools to take action to prevent and stop bullying.
On a party-line vote the chamber overruled Lt. Governor John
Cherry's decision that the amendment was germane. But Sen. Bill
Hardiman (R-Kentwood) said afterwards, he would support efforts
to work on anti-bullying legislation.
And Sen. Burton Leland (D-Detroit) said that he had experience
trying to help a neighbor's child who was so tormented by
bullies that he committed suicide.
Under the anti-hazing bills, the act of hazing is defined as
intentional, knowing or reckless acts to endanger a person's
physical or mental health as part of a pledging or initiation
rite. Hazing acts could include physical brutality such as
whipping or branding, or physical activity such as depriving a
person of sleep or confining them to a small place, forcing a
person to eat or drink something that could harm them or
requiring someone to perform an act that was effectively a
crime.
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Mental Health Commission to Hold Forums
Gongwer News Service, March 17, 2004
The Michigan Mental Health Commission will hold four public
forums in April to gather comments on ways to improve the mental
health system in Michigan.
The forum dates are:
April 7, 2004 - Great Hall, Conference Centers, Western Michigan
University, 200 Ionia Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, 2:30 p.m.
April 14, 2004 - Room 44, 2nd floor, Oakland Hall, Cobo
Conference/Exhibition Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, 2:30
p.m.
April 20, 2004 - ballroom of the Prahl Conference Center, Mott
Community College, 1402 E. Court St., Flint, 2:30 p.m.
April 29, 2004 - Great Lakes Room, Northern Michigan University,
1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette, 3 p.m.
The Mental Health Commission was appointed to recommend changes
in the delivery of service and effectiveness of the state's
mental health network.
Additional
information from Michigan's Children:
The Mental Health Commission Website/Public Commentary
Instructions
for Mail, FAX, and on-line submission are available at
http://www.michigan.gov/mentalhealth/0,1607,7-201-28860---,00.html
The Michigan Mental Health Commission welcomes and encourages
input from the public to inform its work. There are several ways
for the public to provide comments to the Commission. Public
comment time will be allocated at all commission
meetings, at the beginning and before
adjournment. If there are more comments than time available, a
select number of those wishing to speak
will be invited to speak, as determined by the commission chair
and vice-chair. All written comments will
be documented in the commission proceedings. Public comment can
be made by writing to Public Sector
Consultants and will be documented in the commission
proceedings.
Ways to submit
your comments:
Michigan Mental Health Commission
C/O Public Sector Consultants
600 W. St. Joseph Street, Suite10
Lansing, MI 48933
FAX your comments to: (517) 484-6549
Public comment may be submitted
on the web at
http://www.michigan.gov/mentalhealth/0,1607,7-201-28860---,00.html.
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What's New
Michigan Senate Boosts K-12 Aid by $23M; Keeps Student Count
System
Gongwer News Service, March 17, 2004
School aid spending from the general fund would be increased by
$23.3 million over the recommendation of the Granholm
administration under a budget approved by a Senate subcommittee
on Wednesday, putting added pressure on legislators to slice
spending in other areas or devise more revenue sources.
Among the significant changes made by the Appropriations K-12
Subcommittee to SB 1069 were rejecting the administration's
proposal to change how student enrollments are used to calculate
aid, cutting intermediate school district funding by 13.4
percent ($12.5 million), cutting funding for at-risk programs by
8.4 percent ($13.9 million), cutting $2 million each from school
readiness and vocational education programs, eliminating a $15
million grant to the Detroit district and rejecting a proposal
that reduced aid to the state's richest districts by up to $74
per pupil or $6.6 million statewide.
The $12.5 billion budget (1 percent more than 2003-04) maintains
the minimum per pupil foundation grant at $6,700. General fund
spending would be set at $155.1 million, a 40.4 percent
reduction from current year levels.
Subcommittee Chair Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-Three Oaks) called the
bill "a responsible budget. It's a pretty fair way to go under
the current conditions." He said the priorities aim to protect
as many existing programs as possible in tight budgetary times
rather than expand or initiate new programs that the state
cannot afford in 2004-05.
One reason for the $23.3 million increase over Governor Jennifer
Granholm's general fund recommendation was a shift back to that
revenue source from the School Aid fund of $13.4 million to
reimburse schools for lost revenue from tax-free renaissance
zones.
State Budget spokesperson Greg Bird said along with concerns
about the higher spending level, the at-risk cut is the most
troubling aspect of the subcommittee's budget.
"What's most disappointing is the severe cuts to at risk
programs and the governor's early childhood initiatives," Mr.
Bird said. "Those are important to the governor and those are
cut quite significantly."
Mr. Jelinek said the extra spending was cleared by Senate
Republican leaders, who told him "This is a good budget and we
need to try to fund this." Where the money will come from has
not yet been identified, he said.
The at-risk cut from the governor's proposal, which itself had
provided no increase over the current year, leaves spending at
$300.3 million. School readiness spending would drop to $70.8
million, vocational education spending would drop to $28 million
and the budget keeps spending for parental involvement programs
at $3.3 million as the governor's proposed increase of $6.7
million was rejected.
The executive budget had proposed basing 50 percent of state
foundation aid on student enrollment counts in the fall and the
other 50 percent on spring student counts, saving $43 million.
But the subcommittee elected to retain current provisions using
an 80 percent/20 percent calculation, which translated into
increases over the governor's recommendation in other areas of
the budget such as $29.2 million more to meet per student
guarantees under the Proposal A school finance provisions, $16.6
million in discretionary payments, $46.5 million (to a level of
$929.2 million, all from the School Aid Fund) for special
education programs and $18.7 million in payments for special
education under the Durant settlement (to $677.3 million).
Mr. Jelinek, noting the reduction the change in aid calculation
would have on overall aid to districts, said, "It's insincere to
put the money in one place and take it back in another."
Ray Telman, executive director of Middle Cities Education
Association, welcomed the retention of the current 80/20 formula
for calculating school aid but was troubled by the
subcommittee's actions in other areas. "Reducing the at-risk
money is a real problem for districts with large at-risk
programs," he said. "They are already facing challenges with new
accountability requirements and this does not help."
That was also an item singled out for criticism by Sen. Mickey
Switalski (D-Roseville) who called the cut "very painful. These
are our most vulnerable citizens." A 2-3 subcommittee vote
rejected his amendment that would have shifted $5 million to
at-risk programs from the Freedom to Learn laptop computer
program.
That would have eliminated all state monies for the laptop
program for 6th graders, new last year at the instigation of
House Speaker Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy). The budget retains the
$17.3 million federal grant for program.
Although the cut in ISD funding of $12.5 million (about 13.6
percent) comes at the same time legislators are probing spending
abuses at the Oakland district, Mr. Jelinek said the decision
had nothing to do with being punitive but everything to do with
finding ways to hold down overall spending.
The budget also rejected the governor's proposal to delete
provisions softening state aid reductions to districts with
declining enrollments and a proposal to eliminate provisions
withholding 5 percent of state aid to districts that fail to
meet accreditation standards.
Only Sen. Martha Scott (D-Detroit), who failed to get
subcommittee support to restore a $15 million grant to the
Detroit district, voted against the bill in subcommittee. The
grant, supported in the Granholm budget, was initiated when the
state imposed an appointed reform school board on the district,
which is scheduled to vote in November on returning an elected
board.
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Weakened ISD Bill Passes Michigan House
Gongwer News Service, March 17, 2004
Intermediate school district board members would be subject to
removal from office under a bill passed Wednesday by the House.
But in passing the main bill in a wide-ranging legislative
package spurred by the scandal at the Oakland ISD, the House
gutted substantial portions of it against the wishes of the
legislation's main sponsor.
A coalition of some Republicans and most Democrats succeeded in
stripping from the legislation a critical component that would
allow voters in each of the 57 ISDs to hold public votes on
whether to elect their ISD boards by popular vote. Currently,
all but two ISD boards have their members elected by constituent
school district board members.
That same coalition also prevailed in weakening term limits
language for ISD board members. The bill originally limited them
to three, four-year terms. Now the bill would call for each ISD
district to hold a public vote on whether to establish term
limits for their ISD.
Rep. Ruth Johnson (R-Holly), the main sponsor of the
legislation, said she still sees what passed the House as a
triumph given the lack of accountability in current law.
Although surprised at the failure to pass a popular election
option for ISD boards, she praised the House's passage of
provisions allowing the ISD's voters, constituent school
districts or the governor to remove wayward board members from
office.
"We'll continue to work on it," she said. "To me, it is a huge
success."
Besides the major changes to HB 4338, which passed 102-2, the
House also failed to pass a companion bill (HB 5628) on the
popular election component of the package. Insufficient votes
existed for the bill when House leaders ordered the voting board
cleared the issue postponed. The chamber also did not take up a
bill (HB 4935) allowing an ISD's voters to replace their ISD
board with an accountability board.
The chipping away at the bill frustrated some Republican
lawmakers who enthusiastically embraced the original
legislation. Rep. Ken Bradstreet (R-Gaylord) blasted the public
school lobby for resisting some of the bill's provisions.
"Never in my life have I seen so well-financed a group intent on
preserving the status quo," he said. "What is there about
accountability that threatens these people so much?"
The amendment to remove the popular election language from the
bill was adopted on a 63-44 vote.
Don Wotruba of the Michigan Association of School Boards praised
the new version of the legislation as "substantially improved,"
particularly with the removal of the election language. Mr.
Wotruba also said the association supports allowing constituent
school districts to recall ISD members.
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