Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE BILL NO. 4043
 January 24, 2023, Introduced by Reps. Schuette, Meerman and Fink and referred to the Committee
    on Education.
      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:
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       Sec. 1. As used in this act:
       (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
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 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:
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       (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
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 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 due to lack of
 qualified applicants in a funding round may be distributed in the
 next funding round. If money in the fund is not distributed due to
 lack of qualified applicants in 3 funding rounds, the department
 may administer additional funding rounds on a reasonable and
 similar timeline as the 3 previous funding rounds.
        (9) Not less than 40% of the money distributed in each funding
 round described in subsection (8) must be awarded to applicants
 living at or below the federal poverty guidelines. As used in this
 subsection, "federal poverty guidelines" means that term as defined
 in section 32d of the state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL
 388.1632d.
        (10) Except as otherwise provided in this act, money in the
 fund must be distributed as follows:
        (a) Subject to subdivision (d), 50% of the money must be
 distributed in round 1 described in subsection (8).
        (b) Subject to subdivision (d), 25% of the money must be
 distributed in round 2 described in subsection (8).
        (c) Subject to subdivision (d), 25% of the money must be
 distributed in round 3 described in subsection (8).
        (d) If 4 or more funding rounds are added by the department
 under subsection (8), the department shall determine the percentage
 of money in the fund that is to be distributed in all funding
 rounds.
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         (11) Applications, as described in subsection (7), for grants
 for each funding round described in subsection (8) must be open as
 follows:
         (a) April 1, 2022 to May 15, 2023 for round 1.
         (b) May 16, 2022 to June 30, 2023 for round 2.
         (c) July 1, 2022 to August 15, 2023 for round 3.
         (d) If 4 or more funding rounds are added by the department
 under subsection (8), the department shall determine the dates for
 which applications for those rounds will be open.
         (12) Grants through the grant program must be distributed to
 eligible students as follows:
         (a) Grant disbursements for funding round 1 described in
 subsection (8) must be distributed by not later than June 1, 2023.
         (b) Grant disbursements for funding round 2 described in
 subsection (8) must be distributed by not later than July 15, 2023.
         (c) Grant disbursements for funding round 3 described in
 subsection (8) must be distributed by not later than September 1,
 2023.
         (d) If 4 or more funding rounds are added by the department
 under subsection (8), the department shall determine the dates of
 distribution for grant disbursements for those funding rounds.
         (13) In distributing grants through the grant program, the
 department shall, for distributions in each funding round described
 in subsection (8), give higher priority in distribution to
 applicants with the lowest learning retention scores. An
 applicant's learning retention score is the result of the equation
 in subdivision (d). An applicant's learning retention score must be
 determined as follows:
         (a) The applicant's household poverty score must be
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 determined. An applicant's household poverty score is determined by
 assigning a whole number to the percentage of the federal poverty
 guidelines in which the applicant's household is.
         (b) The number of days the applicant's school has operated
 without an in-person option during the period beginning on March 1,
 2020 and ending on the date the application period began for the
 funding round during which the application will be considered as
 described in subsection (11) must be multiplied by 0.5. For
 purposes of this subdivision, for cyber schools, as that term is
 defined in section 551 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL
 380.551, or for a designated full-time virtual program, the number
 of days the school or program operated without an in-person option
 is 0.
         (c) The result from subdivision (b) must be added to the
 number of days the eligible student's school was closed without a
 virtual education option being made available.
         (d) The poverty score under subdivision (a) must be divided by
 the result in subdivision (c).
         (14) The total amount of all grants awarded through the grant
 program distributed to each eligible student under this act must
 not exceed $1,500.00.
         (15) A grant awarded through the grant program must be
 distributed via an electronic account that is assigned to the
 primary household that is indicated on the application for a grant
 under this act.
         (16) A grant awarded through the grant program may only be
 used to purchase educational supplies, opportunities, and
 supportive services that a parent or legal guardian identifies to
 be reasonably likely to help address a lost or disrupted
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 educational experience for his or her child who is an eligible
 student, excluding tuition and expenses related to attendance at a
 nonpublic school. All purchases made with a grant received from the
 grant program must be made through the marketplace. The marketplace
 must, to the extent possible, include access for all of the
 following services:
         (a) Tutoring.
         (b) Enrollment as an eligible student in an eligible course
 under the postsecondary enrollment options act, 1996 PA 160, MCL
 388.511 to 388.524. As used in this subdivision, "eligible course"
 and "eligible student" mean those terms as defined in section 3 of
 the postsecondary enrollment options act, 1996 PA 160, MCL 388.513.
         (c) Tuition or expenses related to trade courses, classes, or
 apprenticeships.
         (d) Software.
         (e) Before- or after-school educational programs.
         (f) Day camps, including camps for academics, music, and arts.
         (g) Tuition at learning extension centers.
         (h) Expenses related to establishing or administering learning
 pods.
         (i) Purchase of curricula and materials.
         (j) Educational, learning, or study skills services.
         (17) The private vendors chosen under subsection (5) to aid in
 the administration of the grant program shall establish an online
 learning loss recovery marketplace for the purpose of connecting
 grant recipients with eligible supplies, opportunities, and
 services as described in subsection (16).
         (18) The private vendors chosen under subsection (5) to aid in
 the administration of the grant program shall create a verification
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 process through which vendors whose products and services comply
 with the requirements of this act are added to the marketplace. A
 vendor must apply for inclusion on the marketplace in a form and
 manner prescribed by the department.
       (19) Vendors who are already approved to provide services
 through a substantially similar grant program in another state as
 the grant program must automatically be approved for addition to
 the marketplace. The approval or denial of other vendors not
 otherwise described in this subsection for inclusion on the
 marketplace must occur on a rolling basis. However, an approval or
 denial for the inclusion of a vendor on the marketplace must be
 completed by not later than 7 days after the date an application
 for inclusion on the marketplace is submitted.
       (20) A recipient of a grant from the grant program shall use
 the money as provided in this act within 12 months after the date
 of the disbursement of the grant. Any money remaining in an
 electronic account described in subsection (15) after the 12 months
 must be redeposited into the fund and used for future rounds of
 distribution under this act.
       (21) The department shall not grant or deny an eligible
 student money under this act solely because of the eligible
 student's prior enrollment in a public school academy or nonpublic
 school.
       (22) By not later than January 30, 2024, and every January 30
 each year thereafter, the department shall publish a review of the
 fund and the grant program. The review must be made publicly
 available on the department's website and submitted to the
 governor, the senate majority leader, the speaker of the house of
 representatives, the standing committees of the senate and house of
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 representatives with primary responsibility over issues pertaining
 to the department of education, the appropriations committees of
 the senate and house of representatives, and the appropriations
 subcommittees of the senate and house of representatives with
 primary responsibility over issues pertaining to the department of
 education. The review must include, but is not limited to, all of
 the following:
       (a) The amount disbursed in each funding round under this act.
       (b) The amount remaining in the fund as of the date of the
 review.
       (c) The number of students who received a grant through the
 grant program as of the date of the review.
       (d) The number of households that received grants through the
 grant program as of the date of the review.
       (e) The average number of grants approved through the grant
 program, as of the date of the review, per household and a
 breakdown of how many households received 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more
 grants through the grant program.
       (f) The administration costs associated with the grant program
 and the fund.
       (g) Whether the administration costs described in subdivision
 (f) could be reduced by issuing a request for proposals.
       (h) Any other information that significantly impacts the
 department's administration of the fund.
       (23) By not later than March 30, 2023, the department shall
 make a COVID-19 school disruption audit publicly available on its
 website and list the audit URL on grant program applications. The
 department shall update the audit before the opening date of each
 funding round described in subsection (11). The audit must include,
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