Back in the Saddle Again.  We are one week from the beginning of the 2018 legislative session and so it's time to dust off this oldie-but-goodie, buckle up, and get ready for the fun.

You go Late Great Gene Autry!

Bill Introductions.  The House of Representatives' rules allow for the introduction of bills prior to the session and over 160 bills were introduced on Thursday, February 8.  Among this plethora of proposals are 21 (Blackjack!) E-12 education-related bills.  Here are the introductions with the link to the bill language embedded in the bill number for each introduction.

HF 2724--Jurgens--Prohibits school lunch providers from shaming students and requires school lunch plan requirements to be posted on district websites.

HF 2734--Quam--Allows school districts to access the personnel files of prospective teachers from the district in which they are employed.

HF 2737--Erickson--Creates cross-reference directory of provisions relating to school district flexibility.

HF 2738--Erickson--Instructs Commissioner of MDE to create a standard child abuse prevention poster.

HF 2744--Garofalo--Reduces minimum required pupil transportation distance from 2 miles for secondary school students and 1 mile for elementary school students to 1 mile and half-a-mile (5 blocks) respectively.

HF 2750--Bahr--Modifies exemptions from compulsory attendance laws relating to service in the military.

HF 2752--Garofalo--Creates enrollment preference for charter school applicants living near Castle Rock Township.

HF 2768--Jessup--Includes sex trafficking prevention in the child sexual abuse prevention curriculum.

HF 2772--Drazkowski--Modifies provisions relating to transportation of nonresident pupils within resident district.

HF 2777--Fenton--Expands grounds for revocation, suspension, or denial of a teaching license.

HF 2794--Davnie--Makes PELSB and BOSA members mandatory reporters of physical and sexual abuse.

HF 2795--Loon--Establishes various standards for teacher behavior including background checks and a teachers code of ethics.

HF 2825--Gruenhagen--Allows certain nonpublic students in grades 10 through 12 to participate in career and technical education programs offered through post-secondary enrollment options.

HF 2836--Ecklund--Modifies taconite assistance aid area.

HF 2841--Layman--Provides grant for the Children's Discovery Museum of Grand Rapids

HF 2843--Daniels--Modifies charter school admission lotteries.

HF 2845--Loon--Clarifies appropriation for the Rock and Read program.

HF 2846--Christensen--Establishes special education working group.

HF 2859--Erickson--Requires state assessments to be administered in May of each school year.

HF 2860--Erickson--Requires MDE to review charter school and district curricula.

HF 2877--O'Neill--Modifies Monticello school district special education aid adjustment.

Podcast of Note.  I will be tossing out a few additional items in my blog that highlight both state and national education policy.  An interesting item I came across as a result of listening to a story on National Public Radio is the podcast Have You Heard put together by Dr. Jack Schneider of the College of the Holy Cross and freelance journalist Jennifer Berkshire.  The podcast has a left-of-center bent, but it's extremely informative and covers a wide range of education issues.