Michigan parents may soon find themselves with much more choice regarding their children’s education due to Senate Republicans’ Parent Empowerment Education Reform package, introduced Wednesday, September 7th.

The legislation was introduced by Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, chair of the Senate Education Committee. One bill focuses on turning public schools into charter schools if a majority of parents or teachers petition it. If the school board of the school to be chartered refuses to handle the conversion process, parents or teachers could go to an outside source.

Another bill in the package will allow school districts to privatize teaching services, although the details are not yet complete. Others would:

•    require all schools to be open to the schools of choice program
•    remove caps on how many charter schools universities authorize
•    allow charter school boards to operate at more than one location
•    remove restrictions on how many cyber charter schools can operate in Michigan
•    expand dual enrollment opportunities
•    allow nonpublic school students the ability to dual enroll in colleges.

The Detroit Free Press reported Pavlov as saying that these changes are "going to give choices and power to parents and students across the state to make their own decisions on what's best for their education."

The Michigan Education Association said that "both pieces of Pavlov’s proposals undermine local control and public education with students, parents, school employees and school districts paying the ultimate price." The MEA compared the outsourcing of teachers to selling children's educations to the lowest bidder. They also call this legislation "anti-union, anti-school employee, anti-middle class."

Senate minority leader Gretchen Whitmer told motherjones.com she and Senate Democrats plan to fight this legislation. "Gov. [Rick] Snyder and Republicans have made no bones about it: they're trying to dismantle public education in Michigan."