Talent & Education

Coronavirus standards set by the CDC, WHO and Harvard point to most Michigan counties being safe for class. But a lack of specific state benchmarks means individual districts are left to wing it on their own.

A compromise schools plan approved by the Michigan Senate, and backed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, requires weekly check-ins between teachers and students, monthly board meetings to reaffirm instruction plans and offers some funding safeguards. Unions backed the deal, but some educators are upset it was rushed just before the start of school.

School closures in other states have Michigan education leaders preparing for what they say are inevitable closures and quarantines this fall.

Michigan schools are creating reopening plans for the fall during the coronavirus pandemic with little guidance from the state about what is required, and how they’ll be funded.

Despite planned safety protocols in schools, half of residents surveyed aren’t sold on the notion of returning children to classroom settings in the midst of a global pandemic. Thirty-six percent said schools would be safe, a drop since earlier polling.