Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush says Michigan should pursue more charter schools and online learning as part of the state’s efforts to improve education.
As we hear from The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta, he also asked state lawmakers to stick with common national standards to measure student performance.
The Michigan Legislature’s Republican majorities just approved a school aid budget that forbid spending to enact the Common Core standards developed by the nation’s governors. Some conservatives say the standards hand over Michigan’s education policy to a national consortium.
Jeb Bush helped come up with the standards as Florida’s governor, and made an impassioned plea for Michigan to stick with them.
“Do not pull back!” he said. “Please, do not pull back from high, lofty standards.”
Bush was addressing the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference. Governor Rick Snyder also supports the standards. He says there is still time to change some minds in Lansing before the state’s new fiscal year begins in the fall.