House Bill 5868 Introduced  At long last, Rep Donigan has introduced HB 5868. This is very good news. Next step is to secure a hearing from the House Education Chairman Tim Melton. David Ladd will be meeting with him again in the coming weeks to push for a hearing. MSCA members should be ready to write letters and make phone calls in support of the bill after the hearing has taken place.  

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/ 20072008/ billintroduced/House/pdf/2008-HIB-5868.pdf

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School Aid Funding for Pilot Programs  At the last board meeting David Ladd was working to secure support to pursue a counselors "pilot program" in the School Aid Fund. The idea would be to increase the number of counselors in three or four school districts and then study the outcome.  The data analysis would further inform legislation as to the impact of comprehensive school counseling programs on Michigan students. Unfortunately, the school aid fund is down $150m from the January revenue estimating conference. The decline is due to a significant decrease in the State Education Tax and the Non-Homestead Property Tax. The current housing slump has hit the SAF hard.