Survey seeks parent perspective to ensure student success, builds on Michigan Parents’ Council meetings to gather input for future education budgets 
 
LANSING, MI – On Oct 26th, Governor Gretchen Whitmer continued her work on the Michigan Parents’ Council by launching the state’s first MI Parent Survey. The survey is intended to continue the governor’s work to bring the parent perspective into education policy decisions and help Michigan kids learn in person as we get students back on track for long term success. 
 
"Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers and we need their input to help our kids thrive in school," said Governor Whitmer. "I’m launching the MI Parent Survey to urge every parent in every district to share their thoughts on how we can help all our kids succeed. The success of our kids and schools is a bipartisan priority and I am proud of the record investments we have made to improve every student’s in-class experience over the last couple of years. As we put our kids back on track for long-term success, we need parent input. Let’s keep working together to put our kids first." 
 
All Michigan parents of pre-K through 12th grade students are invited to add their voice to the conversation around what is working well and what future investments may be needed in their schools. The survey takes approximately six minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish and Arabic.  
 
The survey is part of the work of the Michigan Parents’ Council, which Governor Whitmer created to represent the parent perspective and ensure that parents have an empowered seat at the table in state budget and policymaking decisions. The Council has convened roundtables across Michigan to collect parent ideas and feedback, and the new survey is another opportunity for parents to make their voices heard. Following the completion of the roundtables and survey, the Council will host a virtual meeting on Thursday, November 3 open to parents statewide. 
 
Parents may complete the survey online through Monday, October 31 by clicking the link below: 
https://www.research.net/r/MIParentSurvey  
 
Michigan Parents' Council 
Eleven parents and family members were appointed by the governor who have children in a range of school learning environments, including public, private, and home school. Appointees have children enrolled in PreK-12 and represent diverse student experiences, including special education, English as second language students, and students in foster or kinship care. The council also includes the governor’s K-12 policy advisor and a designated representative of the Superintendent of Public Instruction from the Michigan Department of Education. 
 
The council is convening a series of roundtables of parents and family members across Michigan to strengthen partnerships between parents and schools and bring in as many voices as possible. They will share input from the roundtables directly with the governor’s team and state superintendent. The council will submit a report to the governor highlighting major themes from the roundtables and summarizing proposals for inclusion in the governor’s budget recommendation by December 9, 2022.  
 
FY 2023 Education Budget Investments 
The recently signed bipartisan education budget can be divided into six key sections: students, mental health, learning supports, student safety, school infrastructure, and teacher recruitment. 
 
1) Students 
For our students, the highest state per-pupil funding in Michigan history—$9,150 for every kid, in every public school district. Additional support for the nearly 200,000 special education students and 710,000 at-risk students in Michigan. Expanding funding for career and technical education programs by 27%. 
 
2) Mental Health 
Dedicated mental health dollars for every student in every school. Increasing funding for teen centers, district mental health grants, and TRAILS, which offers training to school mental health professionals so they can better serve students with evidence-based services. 
 
3) Teacher Recruitment 
Funding MI Future Educator Fellowships, which pay up to $10,000 in tuition for 2,500 future Michigan educators a year, $9,600 stipends a semester for student teachers, and Grow-Your-Own programs that help districts put support staff on no-cost paths to become educators.  
 
4) School Infrastructure 
$250 million for school construction and renovations, helping them build or refurbish classrooms, labs, and libraries.  
 
5) Learning Supports 
An expansion of before and after-school programs to keep kids engaged. The budget offers every kid in Michigan tutoring to help catch up and get on track for long-term success, and resources for districts to develop learning pods for academically at-risk and economically disadvantaged students. 
 
6) Student Safety 
Dedicated school safety dollars for every student in every school. Funds to hire more on-campus school resources officers, create an intervention system for at-risk students that brings together law enforcement, schools, and mental health professionals, and establish a school safety commission. 
 
Governor Whitmer’s Education Investments 
For four years in a row, Governor Whitmer has worked across the aisle to make the largest education investments in Michigan history—without raising taxes. Since taking office, the governor has tripled the number of literacy coaches and last year, closed the funding gap between schools, boosted state per-student investment to an all-time high, and helped districts hire thousands of teachers on-campus mental health professionals. 
 
The Whitmer-Gilchrist administration’s education accomplishments can be found here.