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LANSING, Mich - An effort to expand education choice in Michigan took another step April 4 as attorneys for several Michigan parents asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn an appeals court ruling in their lawsuit against the state.
Lawyers presenting five Michigan families and the Parent Advocates for Choice in Education Foundation filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. The heart of the case lies in an amendment to the Michigan Constitution. Article 8, section 2 of the constitution prohibits direct or indirect appropriation of public funds to nonpublic schools, whether secular or religious. The lawsuit argues that this ban violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Click here to read more.
NEW YORK, NY - Several U.S. universities took strident measures this week to address pro-Palestinian student protests, including arresting demonstrators, moving classes online and closing campuses.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor, alleged Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that the protests are being funded and organized by outsiders.
“It’s obvious that someone is funding them,” Foxx said. “They were well prepared.”
At Columbia University in New York, officials canceled in-person classes for the rest of the semester after more than 100 protesters were arrested last week during an encampment on the campus. The university’s president called in police to make the arrests, but that did not stop the demonstrations. Click here to read more.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - A Minnesota Democratic state senator was arrested on Monday over an alleged burglary potentially compromising Democrat control of the state Senate.
Police arrested 49-year-old Sen. Nicole Mitchell on burglary charges after they were called to a home after a report of “active burglary,” according to the Detroit Lakes Police Department. Police arrested Mitchell at the home in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at around 4:45 a.m. and she was later charged with first-degree burglary.
Mitchell, first elected to office in 2022, was held in Becker County Jail after the arrest. The Democrat was released on her own recognizance on Tuesday after a court appearance before District Judge Gretchen Thilmony, according to the Detroit Lakes Tribune. Click here to read more.
LANSING, Mich - A new ranking of the best high schools in the country is offering the latest assessment of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s leadership on education in the Great Lakes State.
Rankings released by U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday shows only two Michigan high schools ranked in the top 20 for best overall high schools, and only one in the top 10.
The media company evaluated 673 Michigan high schools and 17,660 nationwide based on six weighted factors that measure student performance on state assessments and how well schools prepare students for college.
The data from the 2021-22 school year includes college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rate. Click here to read more.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF - Santa Monica, California, is preparing to construct an apartment building for the homeless that would cost roughly $1 million per unit.
The apartment building, which will be built in Santa Monica and will be home to “122 apartments” and two levels of underground parking, will cost more than $123 million, according to the website for the City of Santa Monica.
A second design concept on the website found that the project could cost even more, totaling more than $200 million for 196 apartments. Click here to read more.
