Missed Budget Deadline Risks Harming Children, State Superintendent Says

Legislature Must Work Together to Provide
Dedicated Funding for Priorities that Benefit Students

LANSING – Now that the state legislature has missed the statutory deadline to pass the school aid budget, lawmakers should work swiftly but deliberately to finalize a spending plan for the good of schoolchildren, State Superintendent Michael F. Rice said.

The budget must allocate dollars for specific priorities such as improving literacy achievement, providing nutritious food to children, and protecting the safety and mental well-being of students, Dr. Rice said.

“It’s disappointing that the legislature failed to approve a budget in a timely manner by the statutory deadline approved by the state legislature itself,” Dr. Rice said. “But the legislature did more than just miss an important deadline. It failed to give local school districts a reasonable range of what to expect in the budget due to the large gap that remains between the House’s outlier budget and the much stronger versions from the Senate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.”

By state law, July 1 was the deadline for the legislature to approve a fiscal year 2026 budget. Local school boards are required to pass their budgets before July 1, the beginning of their fiscal year.

“With so little clear information coming from the legislature about the state budget, many boards of education likely felt it necessary to pass overly cautious budgets that could result in lower staffing levels than would otherwise have been necessary, to the detriment of children,” Dr. Rice said. “I urge the legislature to work to pass the school aid budget within the next few weeks so that school districts have time to make necessary adjustments to hiring and other spending before the beginning of the new school year. Michigan students will be harmed further if legislative budget negotiations are ongoing as we enter a new school year.”

The House proposal would remove much of the categorical funding from previous fiscal years that was dedicated for specific purposes. Instead, the House would put those dollars in a block grant so that the priorities would compete against each other for that funding as local boards of education make spending decisions.

While MDE has advocated for the last three years for reductions in the number of categorical grants from the state legislature, certain statewide priorities—including funding for economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities—are best funded with dedicated budget allocations, including:

•         Addressing the teacher shortage.
•         Lowering class sizes in high-poverty grade K-3 classrooms.

• Early literacy efforts, including requiring Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) science of reading training for teachers and administrators in grades K-5, as well as for all literacy coaches.
•         School safety and mental health support.
•         Universal free school meals.
•         Supporting English learners.
•         Expanding Career and Technical Education.
•         Expanding the Great Start Readiness Program for preschool children.
•         School infrastructure improvements and consolidation.
•         General education transportation, including funding for transporting children in rural and isolated school districts.
•         Assessments to measure student achievement.

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