Dear Homeschool Families and Friends,
There have been many "bumps in the road" for parent partnership programs statewide in Michigan. It appears the legislators support and encourage the partnerships, but the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) seems to be doing all it can to shut partnerships down. It is the MDEs job to follow the laws/directions of the state legislature and work to support and grow the partnerships. They have not done so. Instead they have used their audit process to take funding for the programs away from the partnership districts. When MDE auditors think they have found a problem, they should use that "finding" to explain why there is a problem and how it can be corrected, giving the partnerships direction on how to improve their programs. Instead, they have been taking away funding immediately upon finding what they decide is a problem, without warning and without giving the partnership district a chance to correct the issue.
Often the partnership programs obtain permission and approval for their programs from their local auditor. This causes them to move forward with their programs. Subsequently, a state auditor changes what was approved by their local auditor and takes away their funding, sometimes millions of dollars. The decision of the state auditor can be appealed and overturned, but it takes years, which leaves the programs in disarray. This results in an adversarial relationship between the MDE and the districts with partnership programs, rather than the cooperative and supportive relationship that should exist.
The MDE State Board meeting this month is on Tuesday, September 10th. Their time for public comments starts at 1pm. Here is a link to their rules, with a form at the bottom to turn in to request 3-5 minutes to talk to the state board.
The legislature is also in session on September 10th. The buildings for the legislature and the state board of education are about two blocks apart.
Homeschoolers who support the parent partnerships are encouraged to go to Lansing on September 10th and ask their representatives and senators for help in dealing with MDE in the late morning, and then to go to the MDE school board meeting before 1pm to ask the Michigan State Board of Education to direct the auditing department to stop taking funds, and start supporting these programs. Please watch for further announcements as more details become available.
Homeschool HUB
Parent partnerships allow homeschooling families to take advantage of many opportunities for their students to participate in classes and activities. The same classes and activities are available to all students in the area, including public and private school students, enhancing the educational opportunities for all Michigan students. Homeschool families who support these partnerships are invited to Lansing to speak to legislators and to the state school board on September 10th. Please mark your calendars now if you might want to participate.
Often the partnership programs obtain permission and approval for their programs from their local auditor. This causes them to move forward with their programs. Subsequently, a state auditor changes what was approved by their local auditor and takes away their funding, sometimes millions of dollars. The decision of the state auditor can be appealed and overturned, but it takes years, which leaves the programs in disarray. This results in an adversarial relationship between the MDE and the districts with partnership programs, rather than the cooperative and supportive relationship that should exist.
The MDE State Board meeting this month is on Tuesday, September 10th. Their time for public comments starts at 1pm. Here is a link to their rules, with a form at the bottom to turn in to request 3-5 minutes to talk to the state board.
The legislature is also in session on September 10th. The buildings for the legislature and the state board of education are about two blocks apart.
Homeschoolers who support the parent partnerships are encouraged to go to Lansing on September 10th and ask their representatives and senators for help in dealing with MDE in the late morning, and then to go to the MDE school board meeting before 1pm to ask the Michigan State Board of Education to direct the auditing department to stop taking funds, and start supporting these programs. Please watch for further announcements as more details become available.
Homeschool HUB
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Posted by: Homeschool HUB <homeschoolhub@yahoo.com>
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