Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020–35, which protects Michigan families from the global COVID-19 pandemic by ending in-person K–12 instruction for the remainder of the 2019–20 school year.
Her order requires all public schools to develop plans for remote instruction. Each school’s plan will be approved by its local intermediate school district or, in the case of public charter schools, by the school’s authorizer.
The Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers, which is directly involved in developing a statewide planning tool for all Michigan charters to use in submitting their remote learning plans, today issued the following statement:
“We applaud the Governor for her determination to protect students and families during this unprecedented time in our state’s history,” said Rob Kimball, chair of the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers. “The Governor’s commitment to ensure all students—regardless of their socioeconomic status—have access to the tools they need to keep learning is especially inspiring. We look forward to working in partnership with her to implement this Executive Order.
“Public charter school leaders teachers have been rapidly innovating and adapting their practices to keep learning moving forward. They are our heroes. We look forward to sharing best practices for online and remote learning across Michigan’s entire K–12 community.
“The next few months are going to bring extraordinary change for all our state’s families. For us, job number one is keeping our students connected to academic content so they can continue their progress toward becoming the talented, skilled Michiganders of tomorrow.”
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The Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers is a collaborative non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing quality charter school oversight. Its members share best practices, updates, and helpful resources for boosting K–12 performance and advancing educational choice across Michigan.