Michigan K-12 schools

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.

Grace’s story, first published by ProPublica Illinois, prompted outrage and debate across the country. Though a judge refused to set the girl free, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered her immediate release from a juvenile detention facility in Detroit.

Some schools say classrooms aren’t safe, and others are hanging up the welcome sign (albeit with plenty of face masks). It’s confusing even for epidemiologists.

Michigan districts are up against it to decide fall plans, and officials are worried that some will poach neighboring students. Superintendent Mike Rice wants to avoid that by freezing enrollment counts that are used to determine funding.