HOUSE BILL NO. 5406
January 23, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Beeler, Hall, Jaime Greene, Posthumus, Bezotte, Wozniak,
Thompson, Bollin, Carra, Rigas, Lightner, Cavitt, Paquette, Fox, Phil Green and Markkanen
and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1278 (MCL 380.1278), as amended by 2016 PA 170.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for
2 accreditation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the
3 board of a school district wants all of the schools of the school
4 district to be accredited under section 1280, the board shall
5 provide to all pupils attending public school in the district a
6 core academic curriculum in compliance with subsection (3) in each
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1 of the curricular areas specified in the state board recommended
2 model core academic curriculum content standards developed under
3 subsection (2). The state board model core academic curriculum
4 content standards shall must encompass academic and cognitive
5 instruction only, and must not, in any way, include the promotion
6 of any form of race or gender stereotyping or anything that could
7 be understood as implicit race or gender stereotyping. For purposes
8 of this section, the state board model core academic curriculum
9 content standards shall must not include attitudes, beliefs, or
10 value systems that are not essential in the legal, economic, and
11 social structure of our society and to the personal and social
12 responsibility of citizens of our society.
13 (2) Recommended model core academic curriculum content
14 standards shall must be developed and periodically updated by the
15 state board, shall must be in the form of knowledge and skill
16 content standards that are recommended as state standards for
17 adoption by public schools in local curriculum formulation and
18 adoption, and shall must be distributed to each school district in
19 the state. The recommended model core academic curriculum content
20 standards shall must set forth desired learning objectives in math,
21 science, reading, history, geography, economics, American
22 government, and writing for all children at each stage of schooling
23 and be based upon the "Michigan K-12 Program Standards of Quality"
24 to ensure that high academic standards, academic skills, and
25 academic subject matters are built into the instructional goals of
26 all school districts for all children. The state board shall ensure
27 that the recommended model core academic curriculum content
28 standards for history for grades 8 to 12 include learning
29 objectives concerning genocide, including, but not limited to, the
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1 Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. The state board also shall
2 ensure that the state assessment program and the Michigan merit
3 examination are based on the state recommended model core
4 curriculum content standards, are testing only for proficiency in
5 basic and advanced academic skills and academic subject matter, and
6 are not used to measure pupils' values or attitudes.
7 (3) The board of each school district, considering academic
8 curricular objectives defined and recommended pursuant to under
9 subsection (2), shall do both of the following:
10 (a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at the
11 elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core academic
12 curriculum shall must define academic objectives to be achieved by
13 all pupils and shall must be based upon the school district's
14 educational mission, long-range pupil goals, and pupil performance
15 objectives. The core academic curriculum may vary from the model
16 core academic curriculum content standards recommended by the state
17 board pursuant to under subsection (2). However, the core academic
18 curriculum must not, in any way, include the promotion of any form
19 of race or gender stereotyping or anything that could be understood
20 as implicit race or gender stereotyping.
21 (b) After consulting with teachers and school building
22 administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for
23 delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses
24 and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be taught.
25 (4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by
26 providing instruction through additional classes and programs.
27 (5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the delivery
28 of those including special assistance, that constitute the
29 curriculum the pupils engage in shall must assure the pupils have a
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1 realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses required by
2 the district's core academic curriculum. A subject or course
3 required by the core academic curriculum pursuant to under
4 subsection (3) shall must be provided to all pupils in the school
5 district by a school district, a consortium of school districts, or
6 a consortium of 1 or more school districts and 1 or more
7 intermediate school districts.
8 (6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or
9 develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge
10 and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for
11 special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or
12 desirable to expect achievement of initial mastery of the state
13 board recommended model core academic content standards objectives
14 or of a high school diploma.
15 (7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic
16 schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the
17 model core academic curriculum content standards developed for
18 public schools pursuant to under subsection (2) for the purpose of
19 assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing
20 its core academic curriculum.
21 (8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a
22 learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as
23 determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score
24 satisfactorily on the fourth or seventh grade 4 or 7 state
25 assessment program reading test shall must be provided special
26 assistance reasonably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or
27 her reading skills to grade level within 12 months.
28 (9) Any course that would have been considered a nonessential
29 elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School Dist, 421 Mich 517
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1 (1984), on April 13, 1990 shall must continue to be offered to
2 resident pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time basis.
3 (10) As used in this section: ,
4 (a) "Armenian Genocide", "genocide", and "Holocaust" mean
5 those terms as defined in section 1168.
6 (b) "Race or gender stereotyping" means a set of statements,
7 beliefs, or ideas that conform wholly or in part with the following
8 general or particular statements:
9 (i) That all individuals comprising a racial or ethnic group or
10 gender hold a collective quality or belief.
11 (ii) That individuals act in certain ways or hold certain
12 opinions because of their race or gender.
13 (iii) That individuals are born racist or sexist by accident of
14 their race or gender.
15 (iv) That individuals bear collective guilt for historical
16 wrongs committed by their race or gender.
17 (v) That cultural norms or practices of a racial or ethnic
18 group or gender are flawed and must be eliminated or changed to
19 conform with those of another racial or ethnic group or gender.
20 (vi) That racism is inherent in individuals from a particular
21 race or ethnic group or that sexism is inherent in individuals from
22 a particular gender.
23 (vii) That a racial or ethnic group or gender is in need of
24 deconstruction, elimination, or criticism.
25 (viii) That the actions of individuals serve as an indictment
26 against the race or gender of those individuals.
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Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 380.1278