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MI Supreme Court: Schools Must Show Dollar Loss To Sue State

The Michigan Supreme Court says schools districts cannot sue the state under the Headlee Amendment for underfunding K-through-12 education.

We have more from The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta.

450 school districts claimed the state passed along expensive new reporting requirements without appropriating all the money needed to pay for them. But the districts never said exactly how much the mandates cost them. The Legislature required them to collect and report performance data to the state Department of Education.

The districts said all they had to show was that the state imposed a mandate, and the process for determining their costs was flawed. The Michigan Supreme Court told the districts, if you can’t show the numbers, you don’t have a case.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.
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