Contact Your Legislator to Fully Fund the Opportunity Index

Advocates,

The House and Senate will soon be voting on the school aid budget, and students from low-income backgrounds need your support.  

Too often, students who live in communities with significant poverty and students with the greatest needs, including Black, Latino and Arab-American students, do not receive the funding and supports they need to thrive in school and in life. For students from low-income backgrounds, Michigan ranked 20th out of 28 states with similar funding systems in 2023.  

The Opportunity Index: Last year, the legislature created the Opportunity Index which begins to invest much more in students who attend public school districts with greater levels of concentrated poverty. But the Opportunity Index is not fully funded.  

We need your help! Contact your state Senator and Representative and urge them to commit to fully funding the Opportunity Index over the next 5 years beginning with investing an additional $500 million in this year’s budget.