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MDE Briefs Board on Legislative High Points and $87M Literacy Grant RFP
Summary
MDE staff summarized legislative movement on a cell-phone-in-school bill, outlined key items in the senate school-aid proposal (including proposed per-pupil increases and $350M for school safety/mental-health grants), and said the RFP for the $87 million literacy grant closed with a ranked vendor list to be posted June 2.
Michigan Department of Education staff provided a legislative and budget update that covered several policy fronts and a major literacy funding opportunity.
Olivia Ponte and Bob Wheaton briefed the board on the month’s activity: the Senate education committee reported a cell-phone bill that would require districts to adopt policies discouraging student phone use (the Senate version includes exceptions for IEPs/504 plans), while House committees are considering a different, grade-differentiated approach. MDE said it supported the Senate language because it includes explicit exceptions for students with disabilities and emergencies.
On the budget, MDE staff said the Senate would fully fund the executive recommendation and add several line items, including what staff described as a per-pupil increase, higher at‑risk funding (section 31a), bilingual education increases, infrastructure grants and $350 million proposed for school safety and mental-health grants (with $75 million recurring). Staff also noted the Senate proposed one FTE for a new statutory responsibility under PA 11 of 2024; MDE had requested three.
Staff also described a forthcoming list tied to an $87 million grant: an RFP for the Committee for Literacy Achievement closed and the department will publish a ranked list of approved curricula, materials and professional-development vendors on June 2 to enable districts to use the grant to comply with state dyslexia/literacy laws (PA 146 and PA 147). The department said districts will be required to comply with those laws by the 2027–28 school year.
Board members pressed for clarification on recurring versus one-time funding and on how limits on virtual instruction days (a Senate budget change reduced allowable counted virtual days from 15 to 7) interact with instructional-day minimums.
What’s next: MDE will continue to monitor legislative action and provide briefings; the June 2 vendor list will let districts see approved options under the $87 million literacy grant.
The update underscored how pending legislation and budget negotiations could affect classroom time, literacy implementation, and local district operations across Michigan.
