CRC NEWS RELEASE
For immediate releaseContact: Earl M. Ryan
January 16, 2003 Eric Lupher
(734) 542-8001
Citizens Research Council Study Calls for Focus in State Education Structure
The role of the Michigan State Department of Education would be focused on preschool and elementary-secondary education with a key element of that focus consisting of quality assurance and oversight under an organizational structure described in a study released today by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
The study, Organization of the State of Michigan Education Functions, was carried out under a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation following a request from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Watkins.
Several functions previously housed in the Department of Education were transferred out of the Department in the 1990s. Some of these functions, such as Disability Determination Services, have little discernible relationship to educational policy and have found more appropriate organizational locations. Others, such as the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), have a direct relationship to educational policy but were transferred to departments whose basic missions do not include education.
The Michigan Constitution prevents a clear line of accountability between the Governor and the Department of Education because the head of the department, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is appointed by the separately-elected State Board of Education.
“Our problem was to work within this constitutional context to come up with a structure that would bring greater focus to state-level education policies and programs and to foster greater efficiency and accountability,” said Earl M. Ryan, CRC President.
The approach adopted was to recommend placement of activities related to preschool and elementary-education policy in the Department of Education and to recommend creation of an Office of Standards, Assessment, and Accreditation Services to carry out an enhanced quality assurance and oversight function.
The principal organizational changes that would occur under the proposed structure would be transfer of Career and Technical Preparation and Adult Education from the present Department of Career Development to the Department of Education and transfer of MEAP from the Department of Treasury and the Center for Educational Performance and Information from the Department of Management and Budget to the Department of Education. Other changes were proposed as well.
The Citizens Research Council of Michigan is a private nonprofit public affairs research organization founded in 1916 to analyze issues pertaining to state and local government organization and finance in Michigan.
To read the 4-page summary, click here.
To read the complete report, click here.
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