State Superintendent Michael Rice will retire later this year

• State Superintendent Michael Rice is retiring later this year
• Rice has pushed back on some of the Trump administration’s efforts to change education practices or policies
• The partisan State Board of Education is in charge of selecting next state superintendent 

State Superintendent Michael Rice will retire in October, the Michigan Department of Education announced Friday. 

Rice, 62, had led the department since 2019. He is the former superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools.

“It’s been an honor to serve Michigan’s 1.4 million public school children over the last six school years,” Rice said in a statement.

“It’s been a privilege to work with the State Board of Education and the state’s talented teachers, students, parents, administrators, support staff, Governor Whitmer, state legislators, education organizations, broader community, and the dedicated staff of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), small in number but mighty in battle, to improve education for our children.”

Rice said he would do some consulting, writing and mentoring but said he expects to mostly be “reengaging more deeply with family.” He also said he wants to “return to working eye level with children,” something he said he missed.

Rice’s departure comes at a crucial time for Michigan education. The Trump administration is threatening to withhold funds for schools that have diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that the administration says violate federal nondiscrimination protections.

Related:

• Michigan education officials may have overstated impact of Trump fund freeze
• Michigan education officials cry foul after US abruptly cuts off COVID funds
• Trump orders end to Department of Education. What it means for Michigan

Earlier this week, US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told state education officials the federal government would no longer honor extensions granted under the Biden administration that gave school districts more time to spend COVID-19 relief funds. 

The state education department originally said ending the extensions would leave more than $40 million in jeopardy for school districts but later said it had already reimbursed districts more than half of those funds. 

Rice has defended the federal Department of Education’s existence.

In the news release announcing Rice’s retirement, the Michigan Department of Education highlighted several accomplishments including the state achieving its highest high school graduation rate in 16 years.

What happens next? 

Statewide voters elect partisan members to the eight-member State Board of Education. It’s up to the currently Democratic-majority board to hire and fire the state superintendent.

Rice came to Lansing with a reputation of being outspoken, a characteristic that didn’t always serve him well in a position that is as much about politics and relationships as it is about the science of education. 

He appeared to have few strong allies among Republicans or Democrats in the Legislature, and eventually Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took actions that appeared to show frustration with the superintendent, and took power away from the department Rice ran.

In 2023, Whitmer announced she was creating a new state department and moving several MDE responsibilities to the new department.

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential oversees the state’s free Pre-K for All program, which was previously administered by MDE.

It was a move Rice strenuously opposed.

Education advocates who spoke to Bridge over Rice’s tenure said they never doubted the state superintendent’s passion for children and his commitment to doing what he thought was right to improve Michigan schools. But the characteristics that made him a successful local superintendent at times did not translate to the soft skills needed to build consensus across a large and politically diverse state, they said.

Notable in their absence in the release announcing Rice’s departure were any quotes from Whitmer, who has herself made education from pre-school to college a focus of her administration.