Michigan is spending more money than ever on public schools, but test scores haven’t improved, according to new standardized test scores released earlier this month. michigancapitolconfidential.…

A company hired by the state of Michigan to study the feasibility of a mileage tax has come under fire for a conflict of interest from a legislator who says it could also benefit from the new tax. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Traverse City Light and Power will raise electricity rates 5% beginning in October. michigancapitolconfidential.…

A September audit of the Going Pro Talent Fund in the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity revealed that the fund isn’t doing its job, according to one lawmaker. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Residents who set up bird feeders near their house are no longer at risk of being cited for a misdemeanor, due to a new law enacted earlier this year. michigancapitolconfidential.…

State voters will decide Nov. 3 whether a new roster of delegates should amend and possibly rewrite our state constitution. michigancapitolconfidential.…

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A Michigan Senate bill seeks to require people and organizations that publish certain paid political social media posts to disclose who funded them.

Michigan is spending more money than ever on public schools, but test scores haven’t improved, according to new standardized test scores released earlier this month. About 61.8% of third graders weren’t proficient at reading, according to the 2025-26 M-STEP, the state’s set of standardized tests. That’s a slight increase from the previous school year, when 61.2% of third graders weren’t proficient. When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office in 2019, she vowed to fix the literacy crisis in Michigan. As her second and final term comes to an end in four months, test scores are worse, despite increased state funding. In the 2018-19 school year, 55% of Michigan’s third graders weren’t proficient at reading, M-STEP data show. At that time, Michigan’s schools spent an average of $15,821 per pupil. Seven years later, Michigan is spending $23,867 per pupil, and M-STEP results are worse. The state must improve testing rates said Glenn Maleyko, state superintendent of instruction. “We need to increase proficiency rates in all subject areas and show steady improvement over time,” Maleyko said in a September 4 news release. The state must keep investing in education, Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Education, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email. “We need to put Students First by continuing to invest in education,” Wheaton wrote. “That’s what the Legislature and governor did with the fiscal year 2027 budget and the 2024 and 2026 literacy and Science of Reading laws. We have a research-based plan that has bipartisan, broad support. We need to double down on this strategy.” According to Wheaton, literacy laws won’t be activated fully until 2027. “The 2024 literacy/dyslexia laws won’t be fully implemented until 2027, so students have not yet fully experienced the benefits of what’s in those laws,” Wheaton wrote. “However, in visits to local schools we’ve seen teachers who are very passionate about how well the research-based Science of Reading is working. We are already making progress, and many districts have been implementing the Science of Reading and having teachers complete Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training even before it’s mandatory under the 2026 law. “t will take continued hard work by everyone to improve student achievement in Michigan. We must improve our assessment results. We must increase proficiency rates in all subject areas and show steady improvement over a period of years.” The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, is designed to gauge how well students are progressing toward state standards. These standards, developed for educators by educators, broadly outline what students should know and be able to do to be prepared to enter the workplace, career education training and college.

A Michigan Senate bill seeks to require people and organizations that publish certain paid political social media posts to disclose who funded them. It includes specific requirements for videos, graphics and audio but exempts certain media. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Michigan voters on Nov. 3 will decide a ballot proposal marketed as limiting the political influence of utilities and government contractors by amending the state’s campaign finance laws. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Last living delegate looks back on 1961 Constitutional Convention. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent about $204,941 on an eight-day September trip to South Korea and Taiwan, according to documents Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through a records request. michigancapitolconfidential.…

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Michigan’s public schools suffer from an inadequate funding mechanism, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said in recent comments reported by Fox News. But the state abandoned that approach to funding in 1994.

Michigan’s public schools suffer from an inadequate funding mechanism, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said in recent comments reported by Fox News. But the state abandoned that approach to funding in 1994. michigancapitolconfidential.…

Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $21 million contract without getting legally required approval, according to a new state audit. michigancapitolconfidential.…

The city of Westland, Michigan, has started taking down its Flock cameras after community pushback. michigancapitolconfidential.…

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Michigan returned an indictment charging Emory Matthews, 62, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, with conspiring to bill Medicare for psychotherapy services that an adult daycare center his wife owned never provided to patients. michigancapitolconfidential.…

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