The Michigan Department of Education’s most important legislative priorities for 2025 include more in-person instruction time for students, increased funding, expansion of career and technical education and boosting the number of certified teachers in areas of shortage.
Michael Rice
A guest author for Bridge Magazine.
Michael F. Rice, Ph.D., is superintendent for the state of Michigan.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | What Michigan must do in 2024 to improve K-12 education
The State Superintendent pushes for aggressive school funding, including continued mental health funding, more in–person class instruction, better support for career training and strong mentoring of school personnel.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Support Michigan kids with high-quality pre-K for all 4-year-olds
Research on Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) shows that kids who have a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences as compared to children who do not attend a high-quality preschool program. They also have a greater likelihood of success in many areas throughout life, research shows.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | State Superintendent pushes funding for urgent education needs
State Superintendent Michael Rice urges the Michigan Legislature to quickly fund a full-time state preschool program, more tutors, free lunches and improve school buildings.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | What Michigan must do, and stop doing, to rebuild education
Michigan State Superintendent Michael Rice has a long list of policy and funding priorities for the Legislature as Democrats take charge in Lansing.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Supporting all MI students means supporting gay and trans students too
In a situation in which the student is concerned about abuse, neglect, or homelessness if parents are told, educators may be cautious about sharing issues of sexual orientation and gender identity with parents, writes Michigan’s state superintendent.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | What is Michigan’s Legislature doing to prevent another Oxford?
Schools should be safe places in which children learn, socialize, and grow. It is time for the Michigan legislature to heed the call of Michiganders on the issue of common sense gun reform.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Forgetting Black history and banning books are horrible ideas
To teach history is not for the purpose of making anyone uncomfortable, but history may inevitably make many uncomfortable. So, too, though, the ignoring or plowing under of history leaves its own marks.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Teacher shortages hobble Michigan schools. Here’s how to fix it
We need a major investment to incentivize Michiganders to join, and remain in, Michigan’s classrooms.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Schools must teach all of U.S. history. That includes racism
Michigan’s school superintendent writes that critical race theory isn’t taught in public schools, but “to chose to ignore race and racism in our teaching is to … erase history.”