Last week was the first time the House and Senate Education Committees held hearings on the STEM Bills. We suspect they plan to vote tomorrow in the Senate Committee and Thursday in the House Committee. We believe this is being fast tracked. Why the rush? Something as important as credentialing our students should have a […]
Good news! Parents you can OPT OUT with confidence! An email from the MDE states you have the right to refuse under current law. A credible source sent us an email written by Chad Bailey at the MDE Division of Accountability Services. He wrote in response to a parent requesting information about opting out. Bailey […]
Thank you to all who have been making calls to the Senate and House Education committee regarding the STEM diploma bills. Social media is abuzz and lawmakers phones are lighting up as parents realize that the goal of education has changed and a “STEM diploma” is not just about science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing. The […]
Melanie Kurdy’s attended the Senate hearing on the STEM Diploma and offers this update. An unfortunate turn of events in Michigan. Our “conservative legislators” including John Proos, Phil Pavlov, Amanda Price and Holly Hughes are sponsoring bills we have been warning people about for quite a while. SB 169, SB 170, HB 4284 and HB […]
The Michigan Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing this Tuesday on the STEM credentialed diploma (SB 169 and SB 170). If passed, the bills introduced by Senator Proos and Representative Price would make Michigan the first state in the country to create a STEM certification for high school diplomas. From Mlive, “Proos’ […]
The evidence is clearly mounting against M-STEP (SBAC repackaged). Parents are ready to opt-out. It is very encouraging to see parents taking positive action on behalf of their children. However, we recognize that opting out can be confusing and intimidating. Let’s face it, nobody likes being called into the principal’s office and few go there […]
In a previous post I asked, “Is the MDE cheating on M-STEP?” after learning that the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) recklessly spent $4.9 million on SBAC membership fees in order to obtain the questions for the “new” M-STEP. Not only is the MDE purchase against the current budget signed last year which mandated a […]
We’ve been receiving reports from parents who–after notifying their school that their child is opting-out of the M-STEP assessment–have been told by school officials that opting out is “not a viable option.” This is FALSE. Parents CAN and MUST opt out their student out of M-STEP. The rumor that opting out is not viable appears […]
Before Michigan students sit down before their computers to take the “new” M-STEP assessment, officials at the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) must sit down before state lawmakers and answer a few challenging questions of their own. The Michigan budget signed last year was fairly clear that there would be no funding for a transition […]
Please make this call TODAY from 9-5 so you can talk to a person US House of Reps 202-224-3121 ask for John Boehner or your Representative. Tell them…. Please VOTE NO on HR 5 “Student Success Act to Reauthorize No Child Left Behind Please REPEAL No Child Left Behind More information on this at […]