Michigan education chief reports gains in graduation, CTE and AP participation; seeks targeted funding

Dr. Michael Rice, state superintendent of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), told the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid that the state has recorded historic highs on several education metrics but needs targeted legislative funding to sustain and expand progress.

Rice spoke at a subcommittee meeting presentation attended by Sue Carnell, chief deputy superintendent, and House Fiscal Agency analyst Noel Benson. Rice highlighted improvements in graduation rates, career and technical education (CTE) participation and completion, Advanced Placement (AP) access and results, and adults holding postsecondary credentials, while identifying early literacy, teacher shortages and special education funding gaps as continuing priorities.

Why this matters: Rice said gains on some long‑term goals could be lost without new recurring investments targeted to classroom devices and equipment, early literacy materials and supports for students’ mental health and school safety. He and department staff asked the subcommittee to consider executive budget recommendations and to convert some one‑time funding into recurring appropriations.

Rice summarized results tied to the department’s Top 10 strategic education plan. He said Michigan’s 2024 four‑year graduation rate rose to a historic high (reported in testimony as roughly 82–83 percent, with five‑ and six‑year rates around 85 percent). Postsecondary credential attainment among adults was reported at 51.8 percent, short of the governor’s 60 by 2030 target but the highest point in state history, Rice said.

On secondary programming, Rice reported gains across CTE and advanced coursework. He said CTE participation rose about 9 percent in the last three years and that CTE completers reached 52,625 — up 19 percent over three years — with completers posting a 96 percent graduation rate. AP participation and success also climbed: Rice reported a 21 percent increase in students taking one or more AP exams, a 26 percent increase in the number of AP tests taken, and a 31 percent rise in students scoring 3–5 on AP exams over the last two years.

Rice identified funding shortfalls and made specific budget requests. He said the executive budget proposes $20 million for CTE equipment upgrades (Section 61c) and that MDE is requesting $125 million over five years to address CTE ‘‘deserts’’ and opportunity gaps statewide. He urged support for the governor’s recommendation to boost funding that pays AP and International Baccalaureate testing fees for economically disadvantaged students; Rice said that category was fully used in the last year.

On early childhood and early literacy, Rice said Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) enrollment has grown; he cited a figure of 47,000 children in GSRP. He described recent literacy laws—citing Public Acts 146 and 147 of 2024—that require districts to select approved dyslexia screeners and high‑quality instructional materials, provide interventions and bolster preservice and in‑service literacy training. Rice said MDE has invested $34 million in LETRS professional development over the past three and a half years, with 3,600 educators completing the training and another 6,400 working toward completion; he urged making that training mandatory for all K–5 teachers.

Rice also asked the committee to convert one‑time appropriations into recurring funding. He noted a one‑time $87 million FY‑25 appropriation for high‑quality early literacy materials and recommended doubling it in FY‑26; and he urged making the $125 million supplemental put into FY‑25 for school meals recurring. Rice told the subcommittee that breakfasts increased 26 percent and lunches 20 percent last year as a result of the Michigan School Meals program.

Rice described work on children’s mental health and school safety, saying the state has added about 1,700 ‘‘helping professionals’’ (nurses, counselors, social workers, school psychologists) in the last five years and that recurring and nonrecurring funding streams have supported those positions in different ways (31e and 31a funding referenced). He also raised concerns about reductions in student instructional time caused by exceptions to the 180‑day / 1,098‑hour statutory standard (for example, days counted for professional development and remote instruction), and he recommended reversing recent reductions in in‑person instructional time.

Rice reviewed special education funding and said the state remains underfunded: using the most recent complete revenue and expenditure data he cited roughly $3.4 billion in special education revenue against roughly $4.0 billion in expenditures, a gap Rice identified as about $600 million.

During questions, representatives raised several topics Rice had covered: how dual enrollment and CTE funding affects local foundation allowances, whether the $20 million CTE equipment line covers subscription renewals (Rice said he believed it did not and that he would check exact language), the design of CTE partnerships with community colleges and capital needs at those colleges, and classroom sizes in K–3 where Rice advocated returning to smaller class sizes in high‑poverty K–3 classrooms.

Noel Benson of the House Fiscal Agency provided a separate budget overview of the MDE administrative budget, reporting a total MDE appropriation figure of $164,975,100 (reported in testimony). Benson said roughly half (about $82.6 million) is federal funding, about $63.9 million is state general fund and about $10.1 million is state restricted revenue (largely teacher certification fees). Benson noted that MDE’s apparent decline from FY‑24 to FY‑25 reflects the transfer of early childhood programs and child care scholarship accounts out of MDE.

What’s next: Rice and Carnell asked for legislative consideration of the executive budget recommendations highlighted in the presentation, including recurring support for school meals, expanded CTE funding (equipment and the multi‑year investment to address deserts), a possible expansion or mandate for LETRS training, and continued attention to special education funding levels. The subcommittee held a brief Q&A; no formal votes on legislation were recorded during the presentation portion beyond approval of minutes that opened the meeting.

"We could benefit from these executive budget recommendations," Rice told the committee. "We should be serving more young people with career and technical education, without a doubt."