Politics & Government

Michigan House Approves Bill to Expand Education Achievement Authority

Rep. George Darany of Dearborn voted no on the proposed legislation, citing its "untested reform model."

A proposal that could lead to the expansion of Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority to low-performing schools in Metro Detroit was passed by a narrow margain in the House of Representatives on Thursday—despite opposition from a Dearborn lawmaker.

According to the Detroit News, House Bill 4369 would allow the Education Achievement Authority to expand beyond the 15 Detroit schools the statewide school reform district operates through an interlocal agreement with Eastern Michigan University.

The legislation targets schools that have been in the bottom 5 percent of academic performance for three or more years, the News reports. The bill allows the reform district to add up to 35 schools over the next three years.

Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

State Rep. George Darany, D-Dearborn, voted against the EAA expansion, citing that it is "an untested reform model" and provides few avenues for transparency.

Darany said the bill also lacks measures that would hold the EAA accountable to students and voters and offers no real solutions that would improve education in Michigan's most troubled schools.

"True education reform must be based on strategies that work and are data-driven," Darany said. "The EAA is an experimental model that has only been in existence since last fall, and there's no proof that anything in this bill would actually improve education. This legislation lets unelected board members serve lengthy terms and creates sweeping, structural changes without holding the EAA accountable to parents and voters."

Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Darany said that Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to tack on amendments to the bill specifying the reform district be held to the same legal requirements as traditional school districts.

Reforms included putting the EAA under the authority of the elected state Board of Education, as well as proposals that would subject EAA schools to the same testing and reporting standards of all other public schools.

"Unfortunately, the Republican-led legislature refused to adopt any of the measures introduced by House Democrats," Darany said. "It is no secret how critical our children's education is to their success, and a quality education for every child must be a top priority if we are going to move Michigan forward. However, we must focus on strategies that actually work and that hold our schools accountable to the parents, voters and students."


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