The House K-12 Appropriation Subcommittee just reported its FY 2013-14 budget recommendation. As expected, the basic structure of the House version of the budget largely parallels the Governor's recommendations.

The report card system that once measured a school’s success will be getting an overhaul this year as new Accountability Scorecards are being introduced. There will be two different levels being measured: District Scorecards and School Scorecards. The scorecards will use a color-coding system to indicate success ranging from green (best), lime, yellow, orange and red (worst). Each district and individual school’s color will be based on a combination of top to bottom list ranking, achievement gap and traditional AYP indicators resulting in a point value.

The Michigan Merit Curriculum is back in the spotlight as two bills—developed as a collaboration between the various sponsors of other MMC reform bills in an attempt to unify proponents of changes to the state's curriculum—were introduced on Thursday. Though the meeting did not focus on this legislation, the Senate Education Committee heard testimony Wednesday on the MMC.

This week, two more Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) reform bills were introduced in the House, bringing the total number of MMC reform bills for this year to eight. However, unlike their predecessors, this legislation was a collaboration by the various sponsors of the other MMC bills and represents a collective effort to push for one specific set of changes to the state's curriculum. The bills are HB 4465, sponsored by Rep.

This week, legislation to expand the Education Achievement Authority (EAA) passed the House Education Committee on a 9-5 vote. This vote is the first step in the legislative process. The bill, HB 4369, now moves to the full House of Representatives.