Michigan GOP budget takes aim unisex school bathrooms, ‘woke’ universities, email pronouns

• Michigan House Republicans unveil education budgets, proposing to boost K-12 funding if they comply with various mandates
• The increase comes at the expense of cuts to other programs, such as universal breakfast and lunch, sparking ire among school groups, Dems
• Michigan universities could see considerable funding cuts under a higher ed budget that would instead spend more on scholarships

LANSING —  Michigan schools could face a 20% funding penalty if they maintain diversity initiatives, allow transgender girls to play girls sports or have unisex bathrooms for LGBTQ students under a controversial new state House budget proposal unveiled and approved Wednesday. 

The $21.9 billion bill, which passed the Republican-led House in a 56-53 vote despite Democratic opposition, aims to boost per-pupil funding allowances but would eliminate funding for various programs and also penalize districts that teach “a curriculum that includes race or gender stereotyping.”

"I think it's time for a shock to the system ... It's time to restore some sort of sanity," said Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees the Michigan School Aid Fund budget.  

Republicans have waited for weeks to debut their state budget proposals, repeatedly stressing they were looking for areas they could cut from the now $83 billion state budget which conservatives have panned as bloated and ineffective, particularly as it relates to education.

Several of the education proposals unveiled Wednesday could actually boost total spending but would strip significant funding for schools, districts and departments that do not comply with various directives. 

The plans also include a $2.4 billion higher education budget that would slash operational funding for public universities to fund larger scholarships, which was noted voted on Wednesday, and a $640.5 million budget for the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education (MiLEAP) that was approved 56-53 and seeks to discourage officials from including chosen pronouns in their emails. 

The budgets are unlikely to become law as proposed, however, with Democrats who control the upper chamber already signaling opposition.

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, panned the House GOP plan in a statement to Bridge Michigan, saying it “misses the mark on so many things that are critical to a successful School Aid budget” such as dedicated transportation resources and access to free breakfast and lunch.

“I urge Republicans to go back to the drawing board,” she said, “or, better yet, adopt the responsible budget the Senate put together and passed weeks ago.”

It's not immediately clear how many Michigan schools have "multistall unisex bathrooms," which would be grounds for penalty under the House GOP plan. But at least some districts have adopted inclusive bathroom policies, including Potterville in Eaton County. Muskegon recently constructed a new school with gender-neutral bathrooms on each floor.

The House proposal comes amid a similar push by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has threatened to withhold funding for schools that have DEI or LGBTQ+ friendly policies or "indoctrinate" students.

State Superintendent Michael Rice has directed local school officials to consult with their legal counsel, but he has also encouraged them to continue complying with the state's anti-discrimination law, which Democrats amended in 2023 to include protections for LGBTQ individuals.

"Neither a presidential executive order nor federal regulations, whether related to federal funding or not, can supersede or otherwise set aside our obligation to comply with a validly enacted state anti-discrimination law," Rice wrote earlier this year in a memo to local school officials.

"State civil rights law remains the law."

Asked about the proposed funding penalty for transgender girls in sports, and whether it would run afoul of the state civil rights law, Brighton Republican Rep. Ann Bollin argued it was a policy change that Michiganders have “long demanded.”

“Frankly, I want to get away from focusing on those parts in the bill and in our policy statements,” said Bollin, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “We are talking about educating, and we want everybody to feel welcome to come in to get a good education.”

Universities would see significant cuts

Under a proposed $2.4 billion higher education budget, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University would lose a cumulative $301 million in annual operational funding — steep cuts that Republicans contend the schools could afford due to multi-billion dollar endowment funds.

All told, Michigan’s 15 public universities would lose a combined $828 million in operational funding. The money they received would be restricted for use on infrastructure, technology, safety or equipment purchasing purposes, among other things.

The House plan would redirect that money to grow a scholarship program for Michigan students, who could qualify for up to $5,500 a year to attend a four-year public or private university, or up to $2,750 a year scholarships for attending a community college or tribal institution “regardless of income level or high school graduation year.”

MSU spokesperson Amber McCann, in a statement sent to Bridge, said a budget reduction “of the scale proposed by the House would hinder our ability to deliver the high-quality, affordable education that Michigan students expect and deserve.”

“As other states invest more in their public universities, Michigan must do the same,” she said. “We urge lawmakers to adopt a higher education budget that reflects the values of Michigan residents and our shared priorities.”

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The base funding cut for Michigan universities would be sweeping, with Detroit’s Wayne State University seeing a roughly 5% cut to funding at the lower end, and the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus seeing a nearly 92% cut at the higher end.

Proponents of the move, like Milford Republican Rep. Matt Maddock, said the spending plan would penalize what he referred to as “woke universities,” giving funding instead to “the non-woke, or less woke, universities” instead.

$100 fine for pronouns in emails, on business cards

As part of the House’s $640.5 million budget proposal for the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) — which is responsible for administering and overseeing things such as child care, postsecondary scholarships, early childhood education and more — pronoun use could land the agency in fiscal hot water.

Under the proposals, any resident could sue MiLEAP in the Michigan Court of Claims if officials list their personal pronouns in their email signatures, on business cards or on departmental letterheads. 

Failing to heed the boilerplate would result in a $100 “for each violation.”

The overall budget proposal for the department is roughly $3.5 million less the current fiscal year, roughly $96 million less than what the governor is proposing in her budget plan and nearly $116 million less than what the Democratic-led state Senate is proposing in its budget.

Boost per-pupil funding, cut money for school meals

The House Republican School Aid Fund budget would increase the state’s per-pupil allotment for K-12 schools from $9,608 to at most $12,000 a student — depending on whether districts follow various directives.

Schools would receive a baseline of $10,025 a student — higher than the $10,000 proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the $10,008 approved by the Democratic-led Senate. But under the House plan, schools could see another $1,975 per pupil should they pledge to employ at least one school resource officer and one mental health support staff member. 

Nonpublic schools would only need to support at  least one school resource officer, which could be shared among other nonpublic schools or their local school district.

This additional funding for resource officers and mental health supports, a total of $3.1 billion, would be paid for by cutting other funding for specific school programs. That includes:

• Eliminating $200 million currently used to pay for a universal school breakfast and lunch program Whitmer’s championed 
• Eliminating $125 million in dedicated transportation funding for intermediate school districts based on riders per square mile and the cost per rider
• Eliminating a $107.8 million dedicated pot for school mental health and support services, instead rolling its funding into the per-pupil payment
• Eliminating $42 million in dedicated funding dedicated specifically to hiring early literacy teacher coaches for intermediate school districts
• Eliminating $33 million in dedicated funding for school-based health centers, supporting the primary health care of students up to age 21
• Eliminating nearly $17 million in dedicated funding to reimburse districts for the cost of providing breakfasts to students
• Eliminating nearly $11.7 million in dedicated funding for vision, hearing and dental screenings for Michigan students
• Eliminating $8 million for nutrition programs, school nurses, social workers, interventions and other supports for staff and students in the Flint School District following the water crisis

Critics panned the proposal to cut funding for universal school meals, which Amanda Klein of the American Heart Association called a "critical investment" that "ensured that all Michigan students, regardless of income and zip code, had access to the nutritious meals they need to thrive."

Kelly, the K-12 budget subcommittee chairman, defended the cut, noting academic performance has declined in Michigan despite the meal program. 

“What we’ve done is give the option to the districts,” Kelly said. “Do they want to continue this free lunch, breakfast, or do they want to start charging certain members? Certainly, families can afford to do this.”

Schools may lose funds over FAFSA, school lunch ingredients

While the per-pupil foundational allowance would increase for Michigan schools under the House Republican Budget — so too would the number of ways schools could lose that funding.

The spending plan would require the Michigan Department of Education to withhold state aid payments to schools that do any of the following: 

• Use ingredients the House bill calls “prohibited” in school meals. This includes brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben — used to extend food’s shelf life — and several food dyes including Red 40, Blue 1 and 2, Green 3 and Yellow 6
• Require all students complete the federal application for free and reduced-priced school meals
• Offer students financial incentives for filling out the Free Application for Federal School Aid, or FAFSA
• Offer financial incentives for attending school on count days, which are used to determine state funding based on a per-pupil formula
• Conduct private student surveys. The House proposed budget requires these questions and results be made available to the public and notify parents or legal guardians of the survey so that they can opt in for participation.

‘Read by Grade Three’ back from the dead

Republicans are also proposing a $286.5 million one-time deposit from the School Consolidation and Infrastructure Fund for a catch-all use which includes both infrastructure improvements and literacy efforts.

From that near-$290 million pot, schools could apply for competitive grants in any of the following areas:

• Infrastructure projects, with prioritization for roofing and HVAC projects
• Consolidating or the consolidation of school services
• A per-pupil incentive for reducing class sizes
• A per-pupil incentive for implementing a Read by Grade 3 program that includes the support of at least one literacy coach

As part of the Read by Grade Three effort, schools would also need to utilize a reading assessment and system approved by the state Department of Education. Test scores could be used to determine if a student could move from grade three to four, or be held back.

Public School Academies, otherwise known as charter schools, would also be eligible for this funding.

Michigan Republicans instituted a law requiring all students be able to read by the third grade, or risk being held back until they could, in 2016 under then-Gov. Rick Snyder.

When Democrats regained control of the House in 2022, cementing their first legislative trifecta in four decades, they repealed portions of the law which mandated retention in 2023.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Livonia Democrat who led the charge to neuter the Snyder-era law, called the House’s proposed School Aid budget a “total embarrassment” in a Senate floor speech Wednesday.