LANSING — This week, the House passed House Bill 4206 to provide K-12 schools with flexibility following declarations of emergency. The flexibility comes by way of an exception to the minimum days of student instruction required by the State School Aid Act when the governor has declared a state of emergency. The bill is now expected to be taken up by the Senate Committee on Education and Career Readiness for review. In response to the bill’s passage by the House, Rep. Kristy Pagan (D-Canton) issued the following statement:
“During a declared state of emergency, our local school districts have no choice but to follow the order and issue a school cancellation. Beyond following protocol, this is in the best interest of the students, staff and their families. We faced extreme weather this winter and our schools deserve this sort of consideration given these extraordinary circumstance. They should not be unfairly penalized for weather events beyond their control. I was proud to work with my colleagues to provide schools with this necessary flexibility in order to protect their students and staff without jeopardizing vital state funding.”
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