Proposed transfer of Postsecondary units, including KCP, from DLEG back
to MDE. House vote likely this week.
[Title]
RETURN PROGRAMS TO DEPT. OF EDUCATION
House Bills 6370-6376 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. Judy Emmons
House Bills 6377 and 6378 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. Leslie Mortimer
House Bills 6379 and 6380 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. Tim Moore
House Bills 6381 and 6382 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. David Farhat
House Bills 6383 and 6384 as introduced
Sponsor: Rep. Neal Nitz
Committee: Higher Education and Career Preparation
Complete to 9-6-06
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILLS 6370 - 6384 AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
BRIEF SUMMARY: The bills would amend various acts, listed below, in order to
transfer back to the Department of Education or Superintendent of Public
Instruction certain powers, duties, and functions that were transferred to the
former Department of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order No.
1999-7, MCL 388.995. A more detailed description of each bill follows.
FISCAL IMPACT: It is likely that there would be administrative costs
associated with transferring the various programs and functions from DLEG to DOE
and the State Board of Education; however, those costs are indeterminate at this
time.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The proponents of the package of bills point out that the
administrative functions being transferred are essentially education-related
functions and logically belong in the Department of Education. They were
transferred by executive order from the Department of Education to the
then-Department of Career Development by then-Governor Engler in 1999. The
Department of Career Development was abolished by executive order in 2003 by
Governor Granholm, and the transferred programs were collapsed into the much
larger Department of Labor and Economic Growth, where many of the
responsibilities and functions lie outside of education.
Proponents also say that with the recent enactment of new graduation
requirements, there needs to be an effective "crosswalk" between those
requirements and the programs that fall under the headings of career technical
education and adult education. The Education Alliance of Michigan says,
"Bringing these programs back to MDE creates greater consonance in philosophies,
polices, procedures, and reporting. It will help enhance understanding and
accountability . . .[and] benefit students that participate in CTE and Adult
Education High School Completion Programs."
Critics of the package of bills make a number of points. They say
the transfer of duties, if necessary, should be carried out by an executive
order, which could provide more detailed and clearer delineations of staff and
program responsibilities. They also point out that the current organizational
scheme is working well and that regardless of where the various programs are
housed, the two departments will need to cooperate. The duties of the affected
employees would not change, and there appears little be gained from the
organizational upheaval involved in this proposal.
DLEG representatives say that DLEG and the Department of Education
are already collaborating on integrating new high school curriculum requirements
into career and technical programs. Further, they say that the programs'
current location in DLEG allows for the linkage between workforce development
and education in a manner that serves both the needs of students and of future
employers. There simply is no existing problem that needs to be solved by
reorganization.
DETAILED SUMMARY:
House Bill 6370 would amend the Executive Organization Act of 1965 (MCL 16.101
et al.) to specify that all of the following powers, duties, and functions that
were transferred to the former Department of Career Development by Executive
Reorganization Order No. 1999-7 would be transferred to the Department of
Education by a type II transfer:
(a) all of the administrative statutory powers, duties, functions, and
responsibilities of the State Board of Education set forth in the following
provisions of federal law regarding vocational education: the Carl D. Perkins
Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act; the School to Work
Opportunities Act of 1994; and the Job Training Partnership Act;
(b) the King-Chavez-Parks Program authorized in Public Act 93 of 1999 and
subsequent higher education appropriation acts;
(c) certain authority of the abolished State Board of Control for Vocation
Education that includes the authority to accept and disburse federal funds for
specific federal grant programs; and
(d) rules 395.231 to 395.376 of the Michigan Administrative code, regarding
reimbursed programs of vocational-technical education.
House Bill 6371 would amend Public Act 287 of 1964 (MCL 388.1010), which
provides for the appointment and functions of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction under the State Constitution of 1963, to return to the Department of
Education the administration of certain postsecondary and career education
services and programs, including among others, the Schools for the Deaf and
Blind at Flint, the Michigan Rehabilitation Institute for Veterans and Disabled
Adults at Pine Lake, regulation of school bus transportation, inspection of
educational corporations, and the appointment, by the State Board of Education,
of the members of the State Board for Public Community and Junior Colleges.
House Bill 6372 would amend Public Act 148 of 1943 (MCL 395.101 et al.), which
provides for the regulation and licensing of proprietary schools, to transfer
back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties, and
functions that were transferred to the former Department of Career Development
by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6373 would amend Public Act 40 of 1963 (MCL 395.121 et al.), which
authorizes private trade, business, and correspondence schools and institutes,
to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties,
and functions that were transferred to the former Department of Career
Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6374 would amend Public Act 251 of 1972 (MCL 390.502 et al.), which
provides for the reciprocal exchange of educational services between Michigan
and other states, including reduced or waived tuition, to specify that
reciprocal agreements would be administered by the Department of Education,
rather than by the Department of Labor and Economic Growth as is presently the
case. However, the bill also specifies that if this legislation were enacted
into law, it would not affect the validity of a reciprocal agreement entered
into by the Department of Labor and Economic Growth on behalf of the state.
House Bill 6375 would amend Public Act 327 of 1931 (MCL 450.171 et al.), which
provides for the organization and regulation of higher education general
corporations, to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the
powers, duties, and functions concerning the administration of postsecondary and
career education services and programs that were transferred to the former
Department of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6375 also would expand the definition of Class Z educational
corporations (those instituted and maintained by ecclesiastical or religious
orders or corporations) to include, among other things, all of the following:
(i) a school, academy, or college founded under former 1899 PA 135 and known as
an Ursuline Academy;
(ii) a school, academy, or college founded under former 1915 PA 121 and known as
an ecclesiastical seminary;
(iii) a school, academy, or college founded under former 1901 PA 28 and known as
an evangelical Lutheran deaf mute institution;
(iv) a school, academy, or college founded under former 1967 PA 135 known as an
industrial and charitable school;
(v) a school, academy, or college organized under Paragraph c, subdivision 1,
chapter 2, part 4, of former 1921 PA 84; and
(vi) a school, college, institution, or educational program of like character
and purpose to an educational corporation, school, academy, or college described
in this subdivision and formed under any law of this state for educational
purposes.
[Note: This expanded definition is identical to the definition for a Class Z
educational corporation that is contained in House Bill 6014, a bill concerning
Bible colleges. That bill has passed the House, was recently reported by the
Senate Education Committee, and is currently awaiting action on the Senate
calendar.]
House Bill 6376 would amend the Community College Act of 1966 (MCL 389.105 et
al) to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers,
duties, and functions concerning the administration of postsecondary and career
education services and programs that were transferred to the former Department
of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6377 would amend the State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1707) to transfer
back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties, and
functions concerning the administration of postsecondary and career education
services and programs that were transferred to the former Department of Career
Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7. Currently under the
act, there is allocated an amount not to exceed $21 million for Fiscal Year 2006
for adult education programs authorized under Section 107 of the State School
Aid Act.
House Bill 6378 would amend Public Act 18 of 1946 (MCL 388.531), which
authorizes counties to provide a program of adult education, to transfer back to
the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties, and functions
concerning the administration of postsecondary and career education services and
programs that were transferred to the former Department of Career Development by
Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6379 would amend the Revised School Code (MCL 380.3) to transfer back
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties, and functions
concerning the administration of postsecondary and career education services and
programs that were transferred to the former Department of Career Development by
Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6380 would amend the Higher Education Loan Authority Act (MCL
390.1152) to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the
powers, duties, and functions concerning the administration of postsecondary and
career education services and programs that were transferred to the former
Department of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6381 would amend Public Act 102 of 1986 (MCL 390.1283), which
establishes a grant program for certain part-time independent students, to
transfer back to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties,
and functions concerning the administration of postsecondary and career
education services and programs that were transferred to the former Department
of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6382 would amend Public Act 273 of 1986 (MCL 390.1403), which
establishes the Michigan Educational Opportunity Grant program to transfer back
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction the powers, duties, and functions
concerning the administration of postsecondary and career education services and
programs that were transferred to the former Department of Career Development by
Executive Reorganization Order No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6383 would amend Public Act 303 of 1986 (MCL 390.1323), which
establishes the Michigan Work-Study Program for graduate students and those
attending professional schools, to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction the powers, duties, and functions concerning the administration of
postsecondary and career education services and programs that were transferred
to the former Department of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order
No. 1999-7.
House Bill 6384 would amend Public Act 288 of 1986 (MCL 390.1373), which
establishes the Michigan Work-Study Program for those attending qualified
postsecondary schools, to transfer back to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction the powers, duties, and functions concerning the administration of
postsecondary and career education services and programs that were transferred
to the former Department of Career Development by Executive Reorganization Order
No. 1999-7.
POSITIONS:
The Education Alliance of Michigan provided testimony in support of putting
career technical education and adult education back in the Department of
Education. (9-5-06)
(This organization includes, among others, the Michigan Association of School
Administrators, the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators,
the Michigan Association of School Boards, the Michigan Association of Secondary
School Principals, Michigan Business Leaders for Education Excellence, the
Middle Cities Education Association, the Michigan Education Association, the
American Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel-Michigan, the
Michigan Parent Teacher Student Association, and the Michigan Association of
Public School Academies.)
The Department of Labor and Economic Growth testified in opposition to the
bills. (9-5-06)
Legislative Analysts: Chris Couch
J. Hunault
Fiscal Analysts: Mary Ann Cleary
Bethany Wicksall
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members
in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of
legislative intent.
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