Defined contribution has passed. I know the details of the bill as it left the House, but I don't know if it passed in the same form in the Senate. The House bill did have some compromises for educational employees. More later.

Governor Engler apparently is considering an executive order to transfer much of the authority now held by the elected State Board of Education to the appointed State Superintendent of Public Instruction. As a result of the November election, the composition of the State Board of Education will change in January from a Republican majority (6-2) to a 4-4 partisan split!

Originally the Michigan Supreme Court let stand a Michigan Court of Appeals ruling that the state must honor the Headlee Tax Limitation Amendment and pay for programs it requires, such as special education. Engler asked the high court to reconsider and it agreed to rehear the case and consider the broader implications of the lawsuit. Costs have reached at least $610 million for the districts that sued if the Supreme Court makes no changes, and as high as $3.5 billion if all districts make the same claim.

The State Board of Education has endorsed a policy, not a requirement, on teaching character education in public school. Principles such as respect, responsibility, caring, trustworthiness, justice, virtue, and citizenship would be introduced in other lessons rather than as separate subjects. The complete text is available on the Free Press web page: www.freep.com.

Nancy Bielik
Legislative Chairman