HOUSE BILL NO. 5996
September 26, 2024, Introduced by Reps. Jaime Greene, Rigas, BeGole, Beson, Bierlein, Cavitt,
Markkanen and Hoadley 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. For purposes of this section, the state board
6 model core academic curriculum content standards shall must not
7 include attitudes, beliefs, or value systems that are not essential
8 in the legal, economic, and social structure of our society and to
9 the personal and social responsibility of citizens of our society.
10 (2) Recommended model core academic curriculum content
11 standards shall must be developed and periodically updated by the
12 state board, shall must be in the form of knowledge and skill
13 content standards that are recommended as state standards for
14 adoption by public schools in local curriculum formulation and
15 adoption, and shall must be distributed to each school district in
16 the state. The recommended model core academic curriculum content
17 standards shall must set forth desired learning objectives in math,
18 science, reading, history, geography, economics, American
19 government, and writing for all children at each stage of schooling
20 and be based upon the "Michigan K-12 Program Standards of Quality"
21 to ensure that high academic standards, academic skills, and
22 academic subject matters are built into the instructional goals of
23 all school districts for all children. The state board shall ensure
24 do all of the following with regard to the recommended model core
25 academic curriculum content standards described in this section:
26 (a) Ensure that the recommended model core academic curriculum
27 content standards for history for grades 8 to 12 include learning
28 objectives concerning genocide, including, but not limited to, the
29 Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. The state board also shall
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1 ensure
2 (b) Ensure that the state assessment program and the Michigan
3 merit 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 (c) Ensure that the recommended model core academic curriculum
8 content standards for reading and writing for grades K to 6 are
9 based on the science of reading, and include the use of
10 instructional methods and curriculum resources that use a code
11 emphasis approach to address the decoding and word recognition
12 components of reading and evidence-based instructional methods and
13 that include features of evidence-based interventions that are
14 grounded in the science of reading and the principles of structured
15 literacy.
16 (d) Ensure that the recommended model core academic curriculum
17 content standards for math for grades K to 5 include updated
18 standards as recommended by a committee of individuals composed of
19 at least 2 faculty members from the mathematics departments of 2
20 separate public universities in this state, and at least 2
21 elementary school mathematics teachers in this state whose average
22 classroom student academic proficiency level in math is at least
23 70% based on the most recent available state assessment results,
24 and whose classroom student population is composed of at least 25%
25 students who meet the income eligibility standards for federal free
26 and reduced-price lunch programs. The department shall establish
27 the committee described in this subdivision by not later than
28 January 1, 2025. The committee shall provide the updated
29 recommended model core academic curriculum content standards to the
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1 state board by not later than June 30, 2025.
2 (3) The board of each school district, considering academic
3 curricular objectives defined and recommended pursuant to under
4 subsection (2), shall do both of the following:
5 (a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at the
6 elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core academic
7 curriculum shall must define academic objectives to be achieved by
8 all pupils and shall must be based upon the school district's
9 educational mission, long-range pupil goals, and pupil performance
10 objectives. The Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a
11 core academic curriculum may vary from the model core academic
12 curriculum content standards recommended by the state board
13 pursuant to under subsection (2). Beginning with the 2025-2026
14 school year, a core academic curriculum for reading and writing for
15 grades K to 6 must adhere to the science of reading standards
16 recommended by the state board under subsection (2)(c). Beginning
17 with the 2026-2027 school year, a core academic curriculum for
18 mathematics for grades K to 5 must adhere to the updated standards
19 recommended by the committee created in subsection (2)(d).
20 (b) After consulting with teachers and school building
21 administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for
22 delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses
23 and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be taught.
24 (4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by
25 providing instruction through additional classes and programs.
26 (5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the delivery
27 of those including special assistance, that constitute the
28 curriculum the pupils engage in shall assure must ensure the pupils
29 have a realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses
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1 required by the district's core academic curriculum. A subject or
2 course required by the core academic curriculum pursuant to
3 subsection (3) shall must be provided to all pupils in the school
4 district by a school district, a consortium of school districts, or
5 a consortium of 1 or more school districts and 1 or more
6 intermediate school districts.
7 (6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or
8 develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge
9 and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for
10 special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or
11 desirable to expect achievement of initial mastery of the state
12 board recommended model core academic content standards objectives
13 or of a high school diploma.
14 (7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic
15 schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the
16 model core academic curriculum content standards developed for
17 public schools pursuant to subsection (2) for the purpose of
18 assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing
19 its core academic curriculum.
20 (8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a
21 learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as
22 determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score
23 satisfactorily on the fourth or seventh grade state assessment
24 program reading test shall must be provided special assistance
25 reasonably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or her the
26 pupil's reading skills to grade level within 12 months.
27 (9) Any course that would have been considered a nonessential
28 elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School Dist, 421 Mich 517
29 (1984), on April 13, 1990 shall must continue to be offered to
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1 resident pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time basis.
2 (10) As used in this section: ,
3 (a) "Armenian Genocide", "genocide", and "Holocaust" mean
4 those terms as defined in section 1168.
5 (b) "Science of reading" means a cumulative and evolving body
6 of evidence whose research studies follow a scientific process of
7 inquiry and utilize scientific methods to help answer questions
8 related to reading development and issues related to reading and
9 writing derived from research from multiple fields of cognitive
10 psychology, communication sciences, developmental psychology,
11 education, special education, implementation science, linguistics,
12 and neuroscience.
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Statutes affected:
House Introduced Bill: 380.1278