The House of Representatives today passed HB 5765 (Scott), the bill to extend special privileges and protection for the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) by lowering the enrollment threshold to maintain "first class school district" status from 100,000 to 60,000 students. DPS' enrollment this year is only 94,050. The vote was 59-42, with YES votes coming from all 55 Democrats and 4 Republicans (Gaffney, Jones, Nofs & Rocca), while the remaining 42 Republicans voted NO.  56 votes are needed for passage in the House, and 9 members (3 DEM and 6 GOP) were either absent or did not vote.

Passing this bill, as a standalone measure, does nothing to improve public education in Detroit and continues an unreasonable prohibition on charter school expansion in the city.    We believe the State Senate should seize this opportunity to pass meaningful education reforms that will provide greater choice and opportunities for students and families in Michigan.

Below is an excerpt from today's excellent editorial from The Detroit News:

It is unconscionable to protect the franchise of a public school district that fails 70 percent of the children it's charged with educating.

But that's what the state House Education Committee is attempting to do in passing legislation that would continue to give the Detroit Public Schools special status and block additional charter schools from opening in the city....

It's protection the district doesn't deserve. Not only is its dropout rate the highest in the nation for a big city district, it has so bungled its finances that it had to submit a cost-cutting plan to the state to avoid a fiscal takeover.

Rather than protection, the district should be under the threat of dissolution. Parents deserve access to better quality schools for their children, and the only way to provide that is to open the door to more qualified charter school operators....

If the state chooses to reward failure, it will get a lot more of it from the Detroit schools.
 
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