(The Center Square) – Michigan high school students could get more flexibility in graduation requirements and a new program could be used to focus on reading in lower grades.
It’s all part of a four-bill package that recently passed the House of Representatives aimed at education reforms. Now, it’s up to the state Senate to move the changes forward.
State Rep. Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown, calls the changes bold and practical, with a focus on students and transparency.
“We can’t afford to accept mediocrity. Not with our kids’ futures on the line,” Thompson said when addressing her legislation on the House floor. “These are bold reforms that prioritize student success over stringent systems, transparency over bureaucracy, and results over rhetoric. We must hold our institutions accountable, empower our educators, and put parents back at the center of the conversation. These bills will help deliver results our state desperately needs when it comes to reforming our broken education system.”
Thompson said House Bill 4156 addresses business concerns by allowing more career-driven courses in graduation requirements to develop more skills during high school.
It would retain most of the current requirements but expand those options to include some career technical offers. It would also require one credit of future skills, increase the foreign language requirement to two credits and require a half credit of workplace development.
Two bills create pilot programs to change student assessment testing to track growth and when teachers get access to those scores.
Thompson said the current system often gets results to schools after the school year ends, and districts have no chance to adjust a student’s learning tract.
“Ultimately, teachers and parents shouldn’t be waiting months to find out how a child is doing. That just doesn’t make sense,” Thompson said. “Our state ranks 41st in the nation in academics. That number should shake us to our core. It should stir urgency in every classroom, at every kitchen table, and through both legislative chambers in our state. Our students are struggling to learn, prepare for their futures and compete. This plan will deliver results in real-time to drive change.”
The final bill would change the state’s reading standards to base them on the Science of Reading program.
