Building Toward Equity: Proposed FY21 Budget and Inequities in Advanced Coursework

Feb 11, 2020 by Brian Gutman

Building Toward Equity: Proposed FY21 Budget

A high-quality public education remains the most effective tool for building a brighter future. Not only does success in school prepare a young person for life, but time and again it has been shown to increase lifetime earnings, reduce incarceration and contribute to a more prosperous, engaged society.

Last week, Governor Whitmer proposed a budget to begin the very necessary investment in students who have been left behind and teachers in need of improved support. The Governor’s proposed increases in low-income students, students with disabilities and English learners would begin to address the grave inequities in funding and opportunity that Michigan’s vulnerable students have historically faced, yet we know that much more will still be needed in years to come.

Click here for the Education Trust-Midwest’s full budget brief.

No single budget can address Michigan’s decades-long educational decline and disinvestment, but every budget can – and should – move Michigan in the right direction. Governor Whitmer’s fiscal year 2021 budget would make important progress for Michigan students and the state’s future.

Inequities in Advanced Coursework

The following excerpt is from Education Trust P-12 Data and Policy Analyst, Kayla Patrick. Click here for the full article and read the research here.

In schools across America, Black and Latino students are being pushed into less advanced courses, while their White peers reap the benefits of taking advanced classes, setting them up for better futures in college and beyond. This practice of exclusion has continued to fortify this country’s long history of racially segregated classrooms—leaving Black and Latino students on the outside looking in.

Ed Trust’s recent report, Inequities in Advanced Coursework: What’s Driving Them and What Leaders Can Do, confirms that this problem continues to plague students and families across the country. Nationally, schools would need to enroll an additional 275,000 Black students in the advanced courses we looked at, to reach fair representation in those courses.

Advanced coursework opportunities can set students of color on the path of rigorous coursework and therefore, future success. Denying students of color access to advanced courses, while welcoming their White peers, is an injustice that we have allowed to go on for far too long in this country.

Click here for the full article.

Capital Update

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION will meet today, February 11 at 9:30 a.m. in the Dobrowski Board Room of the Hannah Building. Agenda includes: presentations on the top 10 in 10 strategic education plan, literacy, CTE and teacher preparation.

SENATE EDUCATION & CAREER READINESS COMMITTEE will meet today, February 11 at noon in room 1300 of the Binsfeld Office Building. Agenda: Senate Bill 594 (Schmidt – R) regarding standards for providing integrated student support services and SB 657 (Theis – R) regarding alternative teacher certification.

HOUSE SCHOOL AID AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE will meet on Wednesday, February 12 at noon in the House Appropriations Room (room 352), Capitol Building. Agenda: overview of the FY 2020-21 Executive Budget recommendation for School Aid and the Department of Education.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE will meet on Wednesday, February 12 at 2 p.m. in the Harry T. Gast Senate Appropriations Room, Capitol Building. Agenda: overview of Governor Whitmer’s Fiscal Year 2021 and 2022 budget recommendations by the Senate Fiscal Agency director.

SENATE K-12 AND MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE will meet on Thursday, February 13 at 9 a.m. in the Harry T. Gast Senate Appropriations Room, Capitol Building. Agenda: presentations by the State Budget Office and Department of Education on the Governor’s fiscal year 2020-21 budget recommendations for K-12/School Aid and the Michigan Department of Education.

SENATE UNIVERSITIES AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE will meet on Thursday, February 13 at 3 p.m. in the Harry T. Gast Senate Appropriations Room, Capitol Building. Agenda: presentations by the Senate Fiscal Agency and State Budget Office on the Governor’s fiscal year 2020-21 budget recommendations for universities and community colleges.