Granholm signs Race to the Top bills

Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a series of bills passed by the state legislature before the Christmas holiday that seek to make Michigan eligible for up to $400 million in federal funds under the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program. In a press release, the governor’s office said the five bills will bring reform to Michigan schools in a number of ways:

The education reforms:

- allow the state to intervene in the lowest-performing schools;

- permit new high-quality charter schools to open if they meet certain standards, and permit the closure of low-performing charter schools;

- require administrators to be certified;

- require an annual evaluation of teachers and administrators using data on student growth;

- create alternative routes to teacher certification to help bring the best and brightest into our classrooms;

- raise the dropout age from 16 to 18, effective for the high school class of 2016.

“These reforms make it clear that improving student achievement will be the driving force in Michigan’s education system,” Granholm said. “We will make student academic growth a key part of how we evaluate teachers, principals and schools, and in the process, enable Michigan to successfully compete for federal Race to the Top funds.”