Democracy is just SO inconvenient sometimes… Last week, the Michigan House Financial Liability Reform Committee me to discuss a bill calling for a federal Constitutional Convention to take up the issue of a federal balanced budget. 20 states have already done so; 34 are required. Whether or not a Constitutional Convention is a good idea is a matter of debate. […]

NOW is the time to be heard PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT THE END OF THIS POST. The Michigan Department of Education is proposing sweeping changes to the rules that govern how special education students are accommodated in our state’s public schools. The public comment period is short and ends at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2014. The state website […]

Today’s interview is with a teacher who wishes to remain anonymous because they still work within the EAA. Like some of their colleagues in the EAA, veterans who are certified teachers with experience educating kids, this teacher sees the model as flawed. More importantly, they describe the system as run by administrators who do not know what they are doing. […]

Next Saturday, my good friends at Equality Michigan have their annual fundraising dinner at the Motor City Casino in Detroit. This year’s special guest is Richard Carlbom who is the Campaign Manager for Minnesotans United for All Families and Director of State Campaigns at Freedom to Marry. According to Equality Michigan, Carlbom will also be making “a special announcement you […]

EAA EXPANSION BILL STALLED IN STATE LEGISLATURE With all of the heartbreaking news and stories coming out of Detroit, particularly in regards to the education of Detroit students, I thought it would be nice to start with some good news today. According to an article in the Detroit Free Press today, the bill to codify the Education Achievement Authority in […]

The more you dig, the more there is to break your heart DEMS GET VOCAL ABOUT OPPOSITION TO THE EAA Yesterday, House Democrats held a press conference slamming the Republican push to expand the EAA in face of recent allegations and no proof of improvement. During their comments, they described it as a power grab that puts kids in danger […]

There are few people who deserve a valentine from Michigan governor Rick Snyder more than Dick and Betsy DeVos. From funding his campaign to paying for ramming Right to Work through by threatening/bribing Republicans in the legislature, the DeVos family has been there for Rick Snyder every step of the way. In fact, it could reasonably be said that Rick […]

Get your panel on! As I have mentioned before the amazing Netroots Nation conference is coming to Detroit this summer (July 17-20). I was honored to be asked to announce it the 2013 Netroots Nation conference in San Jose last year and I absolutely could not be more excited. If you are interested in putting together a panel for Netroots […]

What, do you think we’re STUPID? While Governor Snyder and his pals in the legislature ponder giving us all a tax credit that won’t even pay for a trip to the grocery store, Michigan voters have another idea: Fix the damn roads and fund our damn schools. While lawmakers in Lansing are debating the best way to provide tax relief […]

Sometimes conspiracy theorists are right Two things happened this week that are raising questions in the education community. The first is the “coincidental” power outages that occurred in Detroit schools the day before the all-important Count Day yesterday. The outages resulted in with Detroit Public Schools being closed on the day when they count kids to determine how many attend […]

They can hear you now Updated below. After reports that Republicans would try to rush through a vote to expand Governor Snyder’s failed education experiment in Detroit – the Education Achievement Authority – they chose not today. GOP spokesperson Ari Adler was typically snide and derisive when asked about it. “The campaign against this bill is clearly well organized but […]