A key state senator is proposing to repeal Michigan’s school-turnaround law and to overhaul a system that potentially could lead to the closure of academically failing schools. Senate Education Committee Chairman Phil Pavlov said Tuesday he will introduce repeal legislation Wednesday, the first day of the two-year legislative term. His bill comes as Michigan prepares to soon release its latest school rankings list. Governor Rick Snyder’s administration has said state-ordered school closures, an unused option allowed for under a 2009 law, could be coming for chronically under-performing schools where other forms of intervention haven’t worked. Pavlov, a Republican, says the law was “created with the best of intentions” but is “deeply flawed.” He says his bill will launch a conversation about replacing the law with “something that actually incentivizes” school improvements.
