State Board Has Sweeping Power Over Michigan Education. Is It in Limbo?

WDET’s Jake Neher and Michigan Public Radio’s Cheyna Roth talk about whether the board is headed for gridlock.

The State Board of Education doesn’t often make headlines in Michigan. But the state constitution gives it sweeping power to steer education policy.

The state board is going through a major change in 2017 after the GOP recently won enough seats to split the board evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

WDET’s Jake Neher and Michigan Public Radio’s Cheyna Roth talk about a meeting this week that brought new divisions in the State Board of Education to light.

The board deadlocked along party lines on a model student code of conduct. Roth says the major issue was protecting students from discrimination based on their gender identity. So what does this political split mean?

“It could potentially mean that the board gets really stagnant and they hit a deadlock more often,” says Roth.

Click on the audio player above to hear the conversation.

Authors

  • Cheyna Roth
    Cheyna has interned with Michigan Radio and freelanced for WKAR public radio in Lansing. She's also done some online freelancing and worked on documentary films.
  • Jake Neher
    Jake Neher is senior producer for Detroit Today and host of MichMash for 101.9 WDET. He previously reported on the Michigan Legislature for the Michigan Public Radio Network.