An education watchdog says the Michigan Department of Education is breaking the law. It claims officials are hiding performance data by not implementing a mandatory school grading system.
The non-profit Great Lakes Education Project says the department has long passed a September 1 deadline to publish an A-F letter grade for every Michigan public school.
Executive director Beth DeShone says that violates a 2018 law.
Her group has published its own school by school report card that DeShone says is based off the state’s own 2017 data.
“Our children receive report cards every quarter,” DeShone says. “We celebrate their successes and we provide support to them when they need help. Why we should not expect that for our school buildings in our state is beyond me.”
The Michigan Department of Education says it clearly told the state legislature that its mandate would violate federal law.
The department says lawmakers extended their deadline to March 2020 to work out the kinks…and adds that the date is actually spelled out in its upcoming budget.