State History

Michigan’s public school system is based upon a Constitutional mandate to the Legislature to Maintain and support a system of free public elementary and secondary schools as defined by law. [Article VIII, Section 2] The Legislature has established the
public education system through Michigan’s Revised School Code and funds it through the State School Aid Act. An extensive revision of the funding of public education was undertaken in 1993 by the Michigan Legislature resulting in the adoption of Proposal A that changed the school financing system for school operating expenses. As a part of the new financing system, each student enrolled in a public school was entitled to a “foundation allowance” used by the public school to provide for the student’s education.

At the same time, the Legislature also began to develop laws permitting choice within the public school system. Both inter-district choice and charter schools are elements of the legislatively mandated school choice. In addition, magnet schools and other programs undertaken by school districts have added to the choices that parents and students can make within the public school system. Michigan’s charter school law was initially challenged, in part, on grounds that it provided funding for private schools in violation of Michigan’s parochiaid amendment that prohibits any public funding for nonpublic schools or students.

After extensive litigation, the Michigan Supreme Court found that charter schools were public schools under the ultimate and immediate control of the state. The Supreme Court also found that as public schools, charter schools were subject to the leadership and general supervision of the State Board of Education to the same extent as all other public schools. Under Michigan’s charter school law, enacted as Part 6a of the Revised School Code, a charter could be issued to establish new charter schools by the following existing educational bodies: school district boards, intermediate school district boards, community college boards, and state public university boards. These entities are designated authorizing bodies (“authorizers”).

In all, more than 600 existing educational boards are authorized to issue charters. The Michigan Legislature initially did not place limits on the total number of charters issued by any of the authorizers. In 1996, however, the Legislature imposed a limit, or cap, on the total charters that could be issued by the governing boards of state public universities. According to the 1996 legislation, the combined total number of schools that could be chartered by public university boards could not exceed eighty-five through 1996, 100 through 1997,125 through 1998, and 150 thereafter. When the Commission was established, the number of charters issued by university boards was at or near the maximum.

There are currently 187 charter schools operating in Michigan; two other contracts have been approved but the schools have not been opened, for a total of 189. Boards of public universities authorize 147 charter schools, local school districts authorize thirteen, intermediate school districts (ISDs) authorize twenty-three, and community college boards authorize four schools. The Board of Trustees of Central Michigan University authorizes charter schools that serve 39 percent of the students, while the board of Grand Valley State University authorizes those serving 17 percent of the charter school student population. The number of students in charter schools has steadily grown to 64,510. About 3 percent of all K-12 students in the state attend charter schools. There is a significant concentration of charter school students in urban areas, but charter schools are distributed geographically throughout Michigan.