LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s effort to overhaul its K–12 health education standards has ignited a political and cultural firestorm, with critics accusing the state of embedding gender and diversity ideology into required coursework that parents cannot opt their children out of.

The proposed Health Education Standards Framework, released in September by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), is the first such update since 2007. Officials say the changes modernize lessons on mental health, substance abuse, relationships, and wellness to match contemporary realities. But parental rights groups, editorial voices, and political candidates warn the revisions cross a line, blurring the boundary between required health instruction and elective sex education, and undermining state laws that guarantee families opt-out rights.

The Michigan Department of Education is taking comments from the public at this link up until midnight on October 10.

What the draft would change

The framework expands instruction across multiple areas:

• Mental and emotional health: More emphasis on resilience, coping skills, and social-emotional learning.

• Healthy relationships and sexuality: Lessons on consent, gender identity, sexual orientation, and inclusive language.

• Substance use: Updates covering vaping, prescription misuse, and harm reduction.

• Personal health, safety, and wellness: Broader connections between health, community, and environment.

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According to the draft, students as young as middle school would learn to “apply a decision-making process” to “sexual relationships” and discuss “consent or non-consent.” By high school, students would be expected to support programs that “promote respect for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.”

Supporters say the update reflects national health standards and aims to be “culturally responsive.” Critics call it a blueprint for embedding sexual and gender identity instruction in mandatory health classes, circumventing the statutory rules that govern sex education.

Critics: “A back-door effort”

Kaitlyn Buss, editorial page editor for the Detroit News, blasted the plan in a recent column. She described it as “an identity agenda, beginning in the earliest grades, marked by wholly inappropriate instruction on gender fluidity, sex and relationships as the students age into middle school.”

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Buss argued the framework “folds sexually centered guidelines into regular K–12 health classes” that are separate from elective sex education under Michigan law. “What the Education Department is planning is a back-door effort to enact stalled legislation … that would have rewritten sex ed language and allowed contraception to be given out at schools,” she wrote.

The editorial cited passages directing middle schoolers to role-play discussions about consent and affection. “What does it look like in practice for a teacher to role-play ‘non-consent’ to a classroom of middle schoolers? The possibilities for harm are endless,” Buss wrote.

She warned that the draft encourages students to become LGBTQ activists and “subject them to inappropriate, sexually explicit instruction,” concluding: “These aren’t topics that need to be explored in a school setting, regardless of the available opt-outs. The State Board of Education should reject Rice’s proposed changes outright.”

Faith and advocacy groups echo concerns

Faith-based advocacy organizations share those worries. Katherine Bussard of Salt & Light Global said the state has been “misleading and dishonest” in describing how opt-outs would apply.

“Health class is mandatory K–12. Sex education courses are separate, with different statutes that include opt-out provisions,” Bussard wrote. “Teaching content related to sex education in health class is still health class, governed by health class laws.”

She pointed to Michigan’s compulsory attendance laws, warning that parents who withheld their children from mandatory health classes could face truancy or other penalties.

Political voices: parental rights under threat

Republican attorney general candidate Kevin Kijewski called the proposal “a blatant overreach” that undermines parental authority. “The Michigan State Board of Education wants to strip away parents’ rights to opt their children out of lessons on gender and sexual identity that have no place in our schools without transparency and consent,” he said in a message to supporters.

Kijewski urged residents to submit public comments before the October 10 deadline, vowing to launch a Division of Parental and Student Rights if elected.

The state’s defense: modernization and local control

MDE officials insist nothing in the draft changes parental rights under Michigan law. “In Michigan, parents can opt out of sex education programs,” spokesperson Bob Wheaton said. “General health education is a graduation requirement under Michigan law. Sex education is not mandated, with the exception of instruction about HIV, which since 2004 has been mandated by state law.”

Former Superintendent Michael Rice, who retired October 3, defended the revisions as necessary to reflect “current trends, terminology, and best practices.” He said the standards would make instruction “more culturally responsive” and align Michigan with national benchmarks.

The department emphasizes that local districts will decide how to implement sexual health content, guided by sex education advisory boards made up of at least 50 percent parents.

Legal backdrop

Michigan law separates health education and sex education:

• MCL 380.1170 and related statutes make health education mandatory for all K–12 students and part of the Michigan Merit Curriculum.

• MCL 380.1507 governs sex education, requiring parental notice, advisory board review, and opt-out rights.

Critics argue that by embedding topics like gender identity and sexual orientation into health courses, the state effectively bypasses opt-out protections designed for sex education.

District challenges

Even if adopted, the framework leaves practical hurdles:

• Curriculum adoption: Districts must decide how to meet standards while balancing community concerns.

• Teacher training: Instructors may need preparation to handle sensitive discussions on identity and consent.

• Transparency: Schools will have to manage parental requests for review and potential opt-outs.

• Community alignment: Districts in conservative areas may face pushback, board fights, or lawsuits.

What’s next

Public comment on the draft standards closes at midnight October 10. The State Board of Education will then review feedback before voting on final adoption. Newly appointed Superintendent Glenn Maleyko is expected to play a pivotal role in deciding whether to continue Rice’s approach or modify it.

Lawmakers are already signaling their own response. The House is expected to introduce a resolution opposing the framework, setting the stage for further clashes in Lansing.

Regardless of the outcome, the controversy has already ensured that health education will be a flashpoint in Michigan’s education and political debates, pitting parental rights against calls for more inclusive instru

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Whistleblower Claims MEDC Overlooked Her Concerns About Taxpayer-funded Grant to Whitmer Donor

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s top economic development official and close ally of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ignored a whistleblower’s warning about a taxpayer funded $20 million grant since the recipient was his “personal friend.”

A 30-page affidavit revealed the conversation between the whistleblower and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) CEO Quentin Messer. That’s when the whistleblower said she “realized nothing was going to get done about the appropriation” after hearing those words from Messer.

The revelation is the latest in a scandal that’s encompassed Gov. Whitmer, the MEDC, and Democratic donor and MEDC committee member Fay Beydoun.

The affidavit served as the basis for a slew of warrants issued in June that lead to a search of the MEDC’s downtown Lansing office and Beydoun’s home in Farmington Hills. The searches are part of an ongoing embezzlement investigation into a grant Whitmer pressured the Legislature three years ago to direct to Beydoun’s nonprofit, Global Link International. Click here to read more.

 

Turning Point USA counters Super Bowl halftime over Bad Bunny uproar

Turning Point USA, the grassroots conservative political action network founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk, is planning a Super Bowl halftime show with the goal of competing with the official show featuring Bad Bunny and sponsored by Apple Music.

“The All-American Halftime Show” will take place on Super Bowl Sunday, during the big game on Feb. 8. A website for the event gave few other details about Turning Point’s plans, but indicated more information about performers and how the concert will be broadcast would be forthcoming.

A survey on the site asks respondents to select from a number of genres they’d like to hear during the show, including country, hip-hop, rock or “anything in English.” Click here to read more.

 

State Department Fires Foreign Service Officer in Secret Relationship With Chinese Communist

President Donald Trump’s State Department has fired a foreign service officer who admitted to hiding a relationship with a woman who had known ties to the Chinese Communist Party, the department confirmed to The Daily Signal.

Investigative journalist James O’Keefe uncovered that Foreign Service Officer Daniel Choi admitted on a hidden camera to hiding his relationship with the daughter of a senior Chinese Communist Party official.

“This termination is consistent with the executive order signed by President Trump affirming both his constitutional authority over our foreign policy and the State Department’s responsibility to carry out his directives,” Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson at the State Department, said in a statement shared with The Daily Signal. “Under Marco Rubio’s leadership, we will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who is caught undermining our country’s national security.” Click here to read more.

 

New Episode Drops In Katie Porter Drama: Staffer Takes Verbal Abuse For Being ‘In My Shot’

Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) is fighting off a wave of self-made crises, the most recent of which features a video obtained by Politico in which she can be seen swearing at and berating one of her staffers for appearing in her shot while she recorded a video meeting with then Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Porter, who pivoted from her Senate loss to Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) to a run for the governorship of California when Governor Gain Newsom (D-CA) terms out in a year, paused her meeting with Granholm to tell the unnamed staffer to “get out of my f***ing shot!”

Porter was speaking with Granholm about how much money Americans could save if they made the switch to electric vehicles when one of her staffers walked into the shot behind her. Her tone changed mid-sentence as she began scolding the staffer. Click here to read more.

 

A brief case for electricity choice. Turns out, free market competition benefits customers

Michigan’s electricity is among of the most expensive and least reliable in the country, and ratepayers have no option to take their business elsewhere. The monopoly over electricity sales that investor-owned utilities are given by the state is a key reason for this sorry state of affairs.

Consumers Energy, DTE, Upper Peninsula Power Company, and Indiana Michigan Power Company are just a few of the electric utilities that enjoy insulation from market competition. State-granted monopoly power allows them to charge rates as high as the Michigan Public Service Commission will allow.

Their monopoly is limited to 90% of the market, allowing the remaining consumers to choose from a selection of alternative suppliers. The results speak for themselves; the waiting list to get into this market has more customers in it than the market itself.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

From 2002 to 2008, Michigan enjoyed electricity choice; purchasers of electricity were true customers, selecting from a variety of electricity generators in a comparatively free market. Prices in Michigan were lower during most of that period than prices in other states in the Great Lakes region, and in the country as a whole. Click here to read more.

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Michigan drops $1M so company can move six miles

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, an organization that offers taxpayer subsidies to select companies, has awarded $1 million to a Grand Rapids insurance company through the Michigan Business Development Program.

Giving $1 million to OVD Insurance will generate at least $12 million in capital investment and create 131 jobs, the MEDC said in a press release.

OVD Insurance, founded in 1982, is currently based in a nearby suburb, but it purchased a seven-story building in downtown Grand Rapids.

“OVD Insurance is required to create at least 131 jobs over the next three years,” Danielle Emerson, public relations manager at the state economic development agency, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email, citing an agreement between the MEDC and the company.

OVD plans to use the state grant on the building, Josh Van Vels, company president, told CapCon during a telephone interview. Click here to read more.

 

Kentucky sues Roblox for alleged lack of child safety measures

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Kentucky sued the developer of Roblox, the online game, on Monday for allegedly choosing to not create safety measures for young players.

The state accused Roblox Corporation of deciding against using safety controls to protect children from potential sex offenders. The developer also chooses to not warn parents of child users of possible dangers in the game, Kentucky claimed.

“Using the authority of the attorney general’s office and the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, we’re gonna compel them to change their ways,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced during a press conference, referring to an act against “unfair” and “deceptive” business activities.

“We’ll push ahead with all possible speed. At this very moment, there are kids in this commonwealth who are on Roblox and could be falling into the grasp of a predator or seeing things they can’t unsee.”

A spokesperson for Roblox said in a statement to The National News Desk that the lawsuit is based on information that’s outdated and taken out of context. Click here to read more.

Single mother gets $16,067 bill after Whitmer unemployment debacle: ‘Thought of owing my state for the rest of my life makes me sick’

Across the state, more than 350,000 Michiganders are facing steep bills from the Michigan Unemployment Agency to fix mistakes made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration during the pandemic.

“The thought of owing my state for the rest of my life makes me sick,” Amanda Doubblestien, a single mother of three from White Cloud who was hit with a bill for $16,067, told MLive.

The 42-year-old was forced to apply for unemployment for the first time when Whitmer shut down her home cleaning business, and it’s been a nightmare ever since.

Doubblestien received a letter from the UIA in March 2020 claiming “misrepresentation” in her application, but officials later determined she had “not overpaid, and restitution is no longer required.”

The UIA reversed that decision a year later and demanded the money back.

MLive reported that Doubblestien received two letters from the UIA, one claiming she was eligible for benefits and another claiming she wasn’t.

Doubblestien tried to contact the UIA for clarification, but it was no use.

“It’s so confusing,” she told the news site. “It seems so wrong.”

“I submitted everything that I was supposed to. I was reporting all my income. I did everything that they asked of me,” Doubblestien said. Click here to read more.

 

Man with Hundreds of Explosives, Leftist Manifesto Arrested Outside of Supreme Court Church Event

Police in Washington, D.C. arrested a man on Sunday who was found with hundreds of explosive devices outside the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, which was holding a Mass in honor of the Supreme Court.

Police arrested 41-year-old Louis Geri, of Arizona and New Jersey, while the church held its annual “Red Mass,” an event where a cardinal prays for the Supreme Court as it begins its new term, The Daily Wire reported. Justices have historically attended the event, but none were in attendance on Oct. 5 because of security concerns.

Police encountered Geri as they were attempting to clear and secure the area for the Supreme Court event, according to an affidavit. Geri was in a green tent on the steps of the church at the time and allegedly told police, “You might want to stay back and call the federales, I have explosives.” Click here to read more.

 

ICE Nabs Illegal Immigrant Gang Member Who Fled California After Murder Only To Kill Another In Texas

An illegal immigrant gang member on the run for allegedly killing a man in California went on to kill a woman in Texas before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were able to apprehend him, The Daily Wire has learned.

Cambodian citizen Savin Seng, 41, is wanted in California for allegedly murdering 20-year-old Gabriel Isiguzo outside a North Hills strip club in 2022, according to ICE. Authorities said the killing was “unprovoked,” while reports at the time suggested the shooting stemmed from an argument over a handicapped spot outside the club.

Seng then went on to allegedly kill 47-year-old Charminy Lewis in Victoria, Texas, on Friday, authorities said. He was later caught by the Victoria County Sheriff’s Department while walking down the highway with a loaded pistol.

Seng, who goes by the moniker “Two-Face,” admitted to authorities that he’s a member of the Asian Boyz gang and said that he desired to return to his home country, according to court documents. When asked how he obtained a firearm, Seng told officers “that he wasn’t a snitch” and that the “gun fell from the sky and he picked it up.”

“For the second time in three years, this violent criminal alien gang member has allegedly murdered someone and then attempted to flee from authorities,” Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire.