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HOUSE BILL NO. 5919
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending sections 4 and 5 (MCL 380.4 and 380.5), section 4 as
amended by 2011 PA 232 and section 5 as amended by 2019 PA 38, and
by adding sections 562, 564, 565, 566, 567, 568, 569, and 1701b.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 4. (1) "Educational media center" means a program 1
operated by an intermediate school district and approved by the 2
state board that provides services to local school districts or 3
constituent districts under section 671. 4
(2) "Educational provider" means any person or entity, 5
April 29, 2026, Introduced by Reps. Paquette, Markkanen, Wortz, Outman, Kelly, Woolford,
Kunse, Cavitt and Alexander and referred to Committee on Education and Workforce.
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including an individual teacher acting as an independent contractor 1
selected and hired directly by a parent or legal guardian, that 2
provides a program, course, or service under a direct contract with 3
the learner-first district or under a parent-directed direct-4
instruction agreement facilitated and funded by the learner-first 5
district 6
(3) (2) "Intermediate school board" means the board of an 7
intermediate school district. 8
(4) (3) "Intermediate school district" means a corporate body 9
established under part 7. 10
(5) (4) "Intermediate school district election" means an 11
election called by an intermediate school board and held on the 12
date of the regular school elections of constituent districts or on 13
a date determined by the intermediate school board under section 14
642c of the Michigan election law, MCL 168.642c. 15
(6) (5) "Intermediate school elector" means a person who is a 16
school elector of a constituent district and who is registered in 17
the city or township in which the person resides. 18
(7) (6) "Intermediate superintendent" means the superintendent 19
of an intermediate school district. 20
(8) "Learner-first district" means the school district 21
organized under part 6F. 22
Sec. 5. (1) "Local act school district" means a district 23
governed by a local act or chapter of a local act. "Local school 24
district" and "local school district board" as used in article 3 25
include a local act school district and a local act school district 26
board. 27
(2) "Membership" means the number of full-time equivalent 28
pupils in a public school as determined by the number of pupils 29
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registered for attendance plus pupils received by transfer and 1
minus pupils lost as defined by rules promulgated by the 2
superintendent of public instruction. 3
(3) "Michigan election law" means the Michigan election law, 4
1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 to 168.992. 5
(4) "Nonpublic school" means a private, denominational, or 6
parochial school. 7
(5) "Objectives" means measurable pupil academic skills and 8
knowledge. 9
(6) "Public school" means a public elementary or secondary 10
educational entity or agency that is established under this act or 11
under other law of this state, has as its primary mission the 12
teaching and learning of academic and vocational-technical skills 13
and knowledge, and is operated by a school district, intermediate 14
school district, school of excellence corporation, public school 15
academy corporation, strict discipline academy corporation, urban 16
high school academy corporation, or by the department, the state 17
board, or another public body. Public school also includes the 18
learner-first district, a laboratory school, or other elementary or 19
secondary school that is controlled and operated by a state public 20
university described in section 4, 5, or 6 of article VIII of the 21
state constitution of 1963. 22
(7) "Public school academy" means a public school academy 23
established under part 6a and, except as used in part 6a, also 24
includes an urban high school academy established under part 6c, a 25
school of excellence established under part 6e, and a strict 26
discipline academy established under sections 1311b to 1311m. 27
(8) "Pupil membership count day" of a school district means 28
that term as defined in section 6 of the state school aid act of 29
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1979, MCL 388.1606. 1
(9) "Qualifying school district" means a school district that 2
was previously organized and operated as a first class school 3
district governed by part 6 that has a pupil membership of less 4
than 100,000 enrolled on its most recent pupil membership count 5
day, including, but not limited to, a school district that was 6
previously organized and operated as a first class school district 7
before June 21, 2016. 8
(10) "Regular school election" or "regular election" means the 9
election held in a school district, local act school district, or 10
intermediate school district to elect a school board member in the 11
regular course of the terms of that office and held on the school 12
district's regular election date as determined under section 642c 13
of the Michigan election law, MCL 168.642c. 14
(11) "Reorganized intermediate school district" means an 15
intermediate school district formed by consolidation or annexation 16
of 2 or more intermediate school districts under sections 701 and 17
702. 18
(12) "Rule" means a rule promulgated under the administrative 19
procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328. 20
PART 6F 21
LEARNER-FIRST DISTRICT 22
Sec. 562. (1) The learner-first district is created and shall 23
be governed by this part for the following purposes: 24
(a) To provide innovative, flexible, transparent, safe, 25
efficient, and effective public educational services throughout the 26
state. 27
(b) To provide parents and legal guardians with greater public 28
educational choices and an increased ability to determine and 29
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direct the care, teaching, and education of their children. 1
(c) To advance new flexible and adaptable educational models, 2
including the expanded use of technology in education, online 3
learning, and the provision of mastery-based learning. 4
(d) To stimulate innovation in teaching methods, including the 5
use of computer-adaptive methods of instruction. 6
(e) To provide new professional opportunities for teachers 7
within the public education system. 8
(f) To create new public-private partnerships for the 9
provision of public educational services. 10
(2) All of the following apply to the learner-first district 11
created under this section: 12
(a) The learner-first district is a school district for the 13
purposes of section 11 of article IX of the state constitution of 14
1963. 15
(b) The learner-first district is subject to the leadership 16
and general supervision of the state board of education under 17
section 3 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963. 18
(c) The learner-first district is a political subdivision and 19
public body corporate separate and distinct from this state and 20
other school districts in this state. 21
(d) The learner-first district and members of the learner-22
first district school board, its superintendent, administrators, 23
officers, employees, and volunteers have governmental immunity 24
under section 7 of 1964 PA 170, MCL 691.1407. 25
(e) The learner-first district encompasses a geographic area 26
containing the entirety of this state. 27
(3) As used in this section, "mastery-based learning" means 28
education that includes all of the following elements: 29
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(a) Pupils are empowered daily to make important decisions 1
about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply 2
knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning. 3
(b) Assessment is a meaningful, positive, and empowering 4
learning experience for pupils that yields timely, relevant, and 5
actionable evidence. 6
(c) Pupils receive timely, differentiated support based on the 7
pupil's individual learning needs. 8
(d) Pupils progress based on evidence of mastery, not seat 9
time. 10
(e) Pupils learn actively using different pathways and varied 11
pacing. 12
(f) Strategies to ensure equity for all pupils are embedded in 13
the culture, structure, and pedagogy. 14
(g) Rigorous, common expectations for learning, including 15
knowledge, skills, and dispositions, are explicit, transparent, 16
measurable, and transferable. 17
Sec. 564. (1) The learner-first district has all of the 18
rights, powers, and duties expressly stated in this act; may 19
exercise a power implied or incident to a power expressly stated in 20
this act; and, except as otherwise provided by law, may exercise a 21
power incidental or appropriate to the performance of a function 22
related to the provision of public education services in the 23
interests of public elementary and secondary education in this 24
state, including, but not limited to, all of the following: 25
(a) Educating pupils, in addition to educating pupils in 26
grades K to 12, this function may include providing preschool, 27
lifelong education, adult education, community education, training, 28
enrichment, and recreation programs for other persons. The learner-29
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first district may provide education services for pupils enrolled 1
in the learner-first district through an agreement, contract, or 2
other cooperative agreement with any public or private entity, 3
including, but not limited to, another school district, an 4
intermediate school district, a public school academy, a community 5
college district, a state public university, or a library. 6
(b) Providing for the safety and welfare of pupils enrolled in 7
the learner-first district while engaged in a public educational 8
service, an activity sponsored by the learner-first district, or 9
while en route to or from a public educational service or a 10
learner-first district sponsored activity. 11
(c) Acquiring, renting, constructing, maintaining, repairing, 12
renovating, disposing of, or conveying school property, facilities, 13
equipment, technology, or furnishings. 14
(d) Hiring, contracting for, scheduling, supervising, or 15
terminating employees, independent contractors, individuals hired 16
through parent-directed direct-instruction agreements under section 17
566, and others, including, but not limited to, another school 18
district or an intermediate school district, to carry out learner-19
first district powers. The learner-first district may indemnify its 20
employees. 21
(e) Receiving, accounting for, investing, or expending public 22
school money; borrowing money and pledging public school funds for 23
repayment; qualifying for state school aid and other public or 24
private money from local, regional, state, or federal sources; and 25
accepting gifts or grants from any public or private source. 26
(2) The learner-first district may enter into agreements, 27
contracts, concurrent enrollment agreements, or other cooperative 28
arrangements with other entities, public or private, including, but 29
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not limited to, another school district, an intermediate school 1
district, a public school academy, a community college district, a 2
state public university, or a library. 3
(3) The learner-first district may join organizations as part 4
of performing the functions of the learner-first district. An 5
agreement, contract, concurrent enrollment agreement, or other 6
cooperative arrangement that is entered into under this act is not 7
required to comply with the provisions of the urban cooperation act 8
of 1967, 1967 (Ex Sess) PA 7, MCL 124.501 to 124.512, as provided 9
under section 3 of the urban cooperation act of 1967, 1967 (Ex 10
Sess) PA 7, MCL 124.503. 11
Sec. 565. (1) The learner-first district created under section 12
562 is under the supervision and control of a learner-first 13
district board. The learner-first district board must consist of 8 14
members as follows: 15
(a) Four members appointed by the governor. 16
(b) Two members nominated by the speaker of the house of 17
representatives and appointed by the governor. 18
(c) Two members nominated by the senate majority leader and 19
appointed by the governor. 20
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an 21
individual appointed to the learner-first district board shall 22
serve for a term of 8 years and may be reappointed. The terms for 23
members first appointed must be staggered so that 2 expire in 2 24
years, 2 expire in 4 years, 2 expire in 6 years, and 2 expire in 8 25
years. A vacancy on the learner-first district board must be filled 26
in the same manner as the original appointment. 27
(3) Before beginning the duties of the office, a member of the 28
learner-first district board shall take and subscribe to the 29
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constitutional oath of office as provided under section 1 of 1
article XI of the state constitution of 1963. The oath of office 2
must be filed with the secretary of state. 3
Sec. 566. (1) The learner-first district board created under 4
section 565 shall identify and contract with educational providers 5
across this state to provide programs, courses, and services to 6
pupils who enroll in the learner-first district. To become an 7
educational provider for the learner-first district under this 8
section, the individual or organization that wishes to serve as an 9
educational provider must apply to the learner-first district board 10
in a form and manner prescribed by the learner-first district 11
board. 12
(2) The learner-first district board may enter into a contract 13
with an educational provider only if the learner-first district 14
board determines the educational provider meets all of the 15
following requirements: 16
(a) The educational provider has a demonstrated record of 17
improving pupil achievement in the program, course, or service the 18
provider proposes to offer, or the educational provider's program, 19
course, or service is a new approach to instruction that the 20
learner-first district board believes will likely result in 21
improved pupil achievement. 22
(b) The proposed program, course, or service to be offered by 23
the educational provider is consistent with the model core academic 24
content standards under section 1278, the requirements for a high 25
school diploma under section 1278a and 1278b, and other applicable 26
provisions of this act. 27
(c) The educational provider has sufficient operational 28
capacity to deliver the proposed program, course, or service as 29
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described in the educational provider's contract with the learner-1
first district board. 2
(d) The educational provider's proposed program, course, or 3
service does not discriminate in pupil enrollment based on the 4
pupil's academic or athletic ability, disability status, race, 5
ethnicity, religious affiliation, geographic location or any other 6
basis that cannot be used to prohibit enrollment in a public 7
school. 8
(e) The educational provider is operating in good standing 9
with all applicable state and federal law, and meets any other 10
operating standards established by the learner-first district 11
board. 12
(3) Except as otherwise provided by law, a program, course, or 13
service offered by an educational provider must be provided by a 14
certificated teacher, a faculty member of a community college 15
district, a faculty member of a state public university, or an 16
individual hired under subsection (6). 17
(4) The learner-first district board shall contract with a 18
sufficient number of educational providers in core academic 19
subjects to allow a pupil to complete the core academic curriculum 20
or state graduation requirements, as applicable. 21
(5) An educational provider approved by the learner-first 22
district board under subsection (1) may provide instruction in 23
person, virtually, or through a combination of the 2, and with the 24
assistance of computer-adaptive technology. 25
(6) The learner-first district board shall establish and 26
maintain a process through which parents or legal guardians may 27
select and directly hire an individual certificated teacher or a 28
faculty member of a community college or state public university to 29
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provide direct, one-to-one, or small-group instruction to the 1
parent's or legal guardian's child. The learner-first district 2
board shall do all of the following: 3
(a) Maintain an open registry of qualified individuals who 4
have applied and been approved by the learner-first district board 5
after a criminal background check, verification of certification or 6
faculty status, and demonstration of compliance with all applicable 7
state and federal laws. 8
(b) Facilitate the formation of a parent-directed direct-9
instruction agreement between the individual and the learner-first 10
district. The agreement must include the individual's compensation 11
rate, instructional hours, progress-reporting requirements, and any 12
other terms the board deems necessary. The individual's 13
compensation rate must not exceed the per-pupil foundation 14
allowance under section 20 of the state school aid act, MCL 15
388.1620, or the amount established by learner-first district board 16
policy. 17
(c) Disburse public funds directly to the selected individual 18
or, at the parent's or legal guardian's election, reimburse the 19
parent or legal guardian for payments already made to the 20
individual in accordance with the agreement. The learner-first 21
district remains the fiscal agent and retains all accountability 22
and oversight responsibilities. 23
(d) Require each individual providing direct instruction under 24
this subsection to administer or participate in all state 25
assessments required under this act and to provide regular progress 26
reports to the learner-first district board, parents, and legal 27
guardians. 28
(7) The learner-first district board shall develop a system 29
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through which educational providers are evaluated and information 1
on educational providers is provided to parents and legal guardians 2
who wish to enroll their child in the learner-first district. The 3
learner-first district board shall seek input from educational 4
providers on the evaluation system developed under this subsection 5
and changes to the evaluation system that can be implemented. 6
Sec. 567. (1) If a parent or legal guardian wishes to enroll 7
their child in the learner-first district, the parent or legal 8
guardian must submit an application for enrollment in a form and 9
manner prescribed by the learner-first district board. The learner-10
first district board may not deny a pupil the opportunity to enroll 11
in the learner-first district based on the pupil's geographic 12
location, academic or athletic ability, disability status, race, 13
ethnicity, religious affiliation, or any other factor that cannot 14
be used to prohibit enrollment in a public school. If the learner-15
first district board receives more applications than the learner-16
first district's capacity, the learner-first district board must 17
select students for enrollment using a random selection process. 18
(2) Any parent or legal guardian may enroll the parent's or 19
legal guardian's child in the learner-first district. If a parent 20
or legal guardian's application under subsection (1) is accepted, 21
the parent or legal guardian may select any of the following: 22
(a) Programs, courses, or services offered by preapproved 23
educational providers under contract with the learner-first 24
district board. 25
(b) An individual teacher for direct instruction under section 26
566. The parent or legal guardian has the right to negotiate the 27
specific instructional plan with the selected teacher subject to 28
learner-first district board approval of the resulting direct-29
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instruction agreement. The learner-first district board shall 1
provide support services, including a searchable online registry of 2
qualified teachers, to assist parents and legal guardians in 3
exercising this choice. 4
(3) The learner-first district board shall ensure that each 5
pupil enrolled in the learner-first district has access to 6
instruction in the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, 7
science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar 8
as necessary to provide the pupil with a complete core academic 9
curriculum or allow the pupil to complete the state graduation 10
requirements. The learner-first district shall maintain a 11
transcript for each pupil enrolled in the learner-first district 12
and shall award credit in a program, course, or service based on 13
objective measures of student achievement as provided for in the 14
contract entered into with each educational provider under section 15
566. A pupil receiving direct instruction under section 566 shall 16
receive credit based on objective measures agreed upon in the 17
direct-instruction agreement as described in that section. 18
(4) The learner-first district board shall ensure that each 19
pupil enrolled in the learner-first district is administered all 20
state assessments required under this act. 21
(5) This section does not prohibit a pupil enrolled in the 22
learner-first district from satisfying any graduation requirements 23
through dual enrollment in a postsecondary institution, or from 24
enrolling in a public school for any course. 25
(6) The learner-first district shall award a high school 26
diploma to a pupil who satisfies the state graduation requirements 27
established in sections 1278a and 1278b. 28
Sec. 568. (1) The learner-first district is subject to all 29
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operational transparency requirements and fiscal controls that 1
exist for other state educational agencies, including, but not 2
limited to, the following: 3
(a) The open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. 4
(b) The freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 5
15.246. 6
(c) The uniform budgeting and accounting act, 1968 PA 2, MCL 7
141.421 to 141.440a. 8
(d) 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217. 9
(e) Sections 1134, 1135, 1146, 1153, 1263(3), 1267, and 1274. 10
(f) Laws concerning participation in state assessments, data 11
collection systems, state level student growth models, state 12
accountability and accreditation systems, and other public 13
comparative data collection required for public schools. 14
(2) The learner-first district shall make information 15
concerning its operation and management available to the public in 16
the same manner as is required by state law for school districts. 17
Sec. 569. The validity of the formation of the learner-first 18
district is conclusively presumed unless questioned in an original 19
action filed in the court of appeals not later 60 days after the 20
learner-first district is created under this part. The court of 21
appeals has original jurisdiction to hear an action under this 22
section. The court shall hear the action in an expedited manner. 23
Sec. 1701b. (1) The learner-first district board created under 24
section 565 shall, subject to the approval of the state board of 25
education, develop and implement a plan for the delivery of special 26
education services to eligible pupils enrolled in the learner-first 27
district. 28
(2) For the purposes of ensuring that a student with a 29
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disability enrolled in the learner-first district is provided with 1
special education programs and services, the learner-first district 2
is considered to be an intermediate school district under this 3
article. 4
(3) The learner-first district may not levy ad valorem 5
property taxes or another tax for the purpose of providing special 6
education programs or services, or for any other purpose. The state 7
board of education shall adopt and implement a plan through which 8
intermediate school district funds meant to be used for the 9
provision of special education programs or services for a pupil 10
residing in the intermediate school district may be transferred to 11
the learner-first district for that pupil's education. 12