Teachers want to have more power in the decision-making process when it comes to education policy. | Stock Photo
Teachers want to have more power in the decision-making process when it comes to education policy. | Stock Photo
The State House Education Committee recently heard testimony from Rep. Brad Paquette (R-Niles) and Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo (D-Detroit) on a bipartisan package of bills that would give Michigan educators a voice in the state policy decision-making process that directly affects local schools and students, according to Michigan House Republicans.
Paquette, a former public school educator himself, said that decisions are too often made by associations that don’t properly represent the needs of individual teachers.
“So many impactful decisions are made by individuals who are never in the classroom. The Michigan Department of Education’s (MDE) overgrown bureaucracy is not responsive to the needs of our state’s many different teachers,” Paquette said. “Their stated mission to ‘support learning and learners’ must be more effective over the 800 school districts and public school academies across Michigan. With 620 full-time-equivalent employees at the MDE, very few interact with classroom teachers and simply cannot understand the impact their decisions have on how teaching and learning happens.”
A recent Launch Michigan study found that 72% of teachers believe lack of support from policymakers and politicians has a large impact on their career satisfaction. It also found that 74% of teachers would not recommend a career in education to young people, and that 33% of teachers do not expect to be in the profession five years from now.
The bill would require the MDE to ensure the following features are included in the program: allow schoolteacher liaisons to communicate directly with MDE staff; provide school and teacher liaisons with information on current and pending statutes, rules and guidelines that affect public education, as well as the opportunity for liaisons to provide feedback; and provide an election process for individuals to serve as a liaison from their school and ensure individuals employed in any capacity are eligible for election.
The bill would also require schools boards to allow staff members the opportunity to elect a school liaison and ensure that school liaisons can communicate with other staff members about current and pending statutes, rules and guidelines that affect public education.
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