Michigan announced on Friday (20th January) that they are planning to close nearly 38 schools, which are not performing well in Detroit and in other urban communities.
The decision can potentially affect nearly 18,000 students, this was the first time that the state is planning to close traditional public schools clearly for academic reasons.
Despite of the announcement, some schools are likely to remain open. The state officials will be determining if closing will be an “unreasonable hardship” for students with no other better schools to attend.
The following announcement came in conjunction with the release of Michigan’s school rankings. The rankings are based on standardized test results, students’ improvement over time and the gap between the best and worst pupils.
According to the Michigan law, the state can close any schools that have been in the bottom ‘five percent’ for at least three consecutive years, if the forms of state intervention have not worked.
State-ordered closings appear to be rare nationally. Texas has closed entire school districts for failing to meet attendance and other standards. Other cities such as Detroit and Chicago have closed several schools at a time to address falling enrollment, sparking protests for safety and other reasons.
Out of 28 schools which are targeted to close 24 of the schools are in Detroit, which is a predominantly black city with the worst academically performing school district of its size in the United States. The rest of the schools are in cities such as Kalamazoo and Saginaw.The plan drew sharp criticism from teachers’ groups.
Steven Cook said that “Simply by closing schools and upending the lives of students will not fix any of the problems, until the root causes are adequately addressed.
Steven Cook is the president of the Michigan Education Association, which is the state’s largest teachers union.
The move follows attempts by Republican Governor Rick Snyder to use state law to exert near-total state financial control of some cities, resulting in successfully guiding the Detroit through bankruptcy but also the man-made Flint water disaster.
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