HOUSE BILL NO. 4043
A bill to establish a learning loss recovery grant program; to establish a learning loss recovery fund; to provide for certain grants; to prescribe conditions for the use of grant funds; to prescribe for the use of money in the learning loss recovery fund; to provide for the administration of the learning loss recovery grant program; to provide for the administration of the learning loss recovery fund; to prescribe certain powers and duties of certain state officers, agencies, and departments; and to make appropriations to the learning loss recovery fund.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
(a) "As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic:
(i) Mandated school closures.
(ii) Voluntary school closures due to staff shortages.
(iii) Voluntary school closures due to staff preferences.
(iv) Voluntary school closures due to illness outbreaks.
(b) "Department" means the department of treasury.
(c) "Fund" means the learning loss recovery fund created in section 3(2).
(d) "Grant program" means the learning loss recovery grant program created in section 3(1), but does not include grant programs in other states referenced in section 3(19).
(e) "Marketplace" means the learning loss recovery marketplace created in subsection (17).
(f) "Nonpublic school" means that term as defined in section 5 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.5.
(g) "Public school" means that term as defined in section 5 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.5.
(h) "Public school academy" means that term as defined in section 5 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.5.
Sec. 3. (1) The department shall create the learning loss recovery grant program. From funding appropriated to the fund for the grant program, the department shall distribute grants, as provided in this act, to eligible students for the purpose of recovering losses to learning for eligible students whose education has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2) The learning loss recovery fund is created in the state treasury. The state treasurer shall deposit money and other assets received from any source in the fund. The state treasurer shall direct the investment of money in the fund and credit interest and earnings from the investments to the fund.
(3) The department is the administrator of the fund for audits of the fund.
(4) The department shall expend money from the fund on appropriation only for the following purposes:
(a) Making grant distributions as provided in this act.
(b) Contracting with private vendors that will aid in the administration of the grant program.
(c) Paying reasonable expenses for staff services to administer and enforce the requirements under this act related to the grant program and the fund.
(5) By not later than 7 days after the effective date of this act, the department shall issue a request for proposals for the selection of private vendors that will aid in the administration of the grant program in accordance with this act. The department shall select vendors within a timeline that allows for compliance with the deadlines otherwise included in this act.
(6) A student who was enrolled in or attending a public school or nonpublic school in this state for at least the equivalent of 2 semesters or 1 full school year during the period beginning on March 9, 2020 and ending on April 1, 2022 is an eligible student under this act.
(7) Subject to subsection (11), to receive a grant through the grant program, an eligible student must apply for the grant in a form and manner prescribed by the department. All of the following apply to a grant application described in this subsection:
(a) Grant applications may be submitted by the parent or legal guardian of an eligible student. However, the eligible student is considered the primary applicant even if his or her parent or legal guardian submits the application as described in this subdivision.
(b) For purposes of an income portion of an application described in this subsection, if an eligible student is a child for whom his or her parents or legal guardians have a custodial, noncustodial, or shared custody arrangement, both parents' or legal guardians' incomes are applicable and must be listed separately in the application and the department shall consider the average of both incomes.
(c) For multihousehold applications, the eligible student shall indicate his or her primary household on the application.
(d) For applications with only 1 household listed on the application, the listed household is the primary household for purposes of disbursement under this act.
(e) Applicable income information on the application must be based on the 2020 tax year. The department shall define a list of alternative forms of proof of income for applicants who do not have access to or did not file a tax return for 2020, including, but not limited to, any of the following alternative forms of proof:
(i) A tax statement from an earlier year.
(ii) Three or more recent paystubs.
(iii) Proof of enrollment in a social safety net program, such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or the Women, Infants, and Children program. For applicants whose income is verified by proof of enrollment in a social safety net program, the income for that applicant must be set to the highest amount that would qualify the applicant for that benefit under current law.
(8) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subject to subsections (9), (10), (12), and (13), money in the fund must be distributed through the grant program in consecutive funding rounds, as determined by the department. Any money described in this subsection not distributed