By Lily Guiney
Gognwer News Service
A boilerplate provision within the current state budget will stand after the Michigan Supreme Court denied an appeal from dozens of school districts in a lawsuit which claimed it was unconstitutional and harmful to schools around the state.
The order in Macomb Intermediate School District vs. Michigan brought to a close a tug-of-war over critical education funding, delivered months late last year, on the eve of a budget deadline school groups have begun to sound the alarm over as another summer of fiscal purgatory seems like a fairly likely outcome for the legislative class of 2026.
The 31aa clause of the 2025-26 state school aid budget added conditions to $321 million in mental health and school safety funding that the school districts characterized as a privilege waiver: a provision that schools must waive “any privilege that may otherwise protect information from disclosure in the event of a mass casualty event” and comply with any state investigation into that event ordered by the governor.
Nearly 40 public and intermediate school districts and their superintendents sued the state when the budget took effect last year, arguing the waiver constituted both irreparable harm to districts that would see no choice but to opt out of the funding rather than risk signing away rights in a scenario that, definitionally, could range from a mass shooting to a gas leak or a fight breaking out on a football field.
The plaintiffs were supported by an additional 200 districts in amicus briefs before the Court of Claims in December, but a judge ruled in favor of the state and several districts chose to forfeit their cuts of the funding for the year as an appeal was filed shortly before Christmas. The case came before the Court of Appeals in April, where the state won again.
In a short order issued last Thursday evening, the justices of the high court ended the months-long back-and-forth just two weeks before the deadline for the next school aid budget to be completed.
“On order of the court, the motion to expedite is granted,” the justices ordered. “The application for leave to appeal the April 10, 2026, judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is denied, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who reportedly was the driving force behind adding the privilege waiver to the line item and fought to have it included throughout a bitter negotiating process, issued a celebratory statement upon the court’s decision.
“Today’s decision protects critical investments in school safety and student mental health while providing much-needed clarity for schools and communities across Michigan,” Whitmer said in the statement. “Last year, we made the largest investment in our state’s history to help schools keep kids safe, from hiring more mental health professionals and school resource officers to improving security and crisis planning. It also increased transparency to give parents greater certainty. Today’s decision is an important step forward. Let’s keep working together to protect our students and educators and build a bright future for our state.”
With few details public about what lawmakers are considering in budget negotiations for this upcoming fiscal year, education advocates are wondering if the language in 31aa will be left intact by the Legislature.
Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity Executive Director Peter Spadafore, whose organization represents several plaintiff districts, expressed disappointment in the court’s decision. He said the privilege waiver led school districts to turn down funding that was needed and, in many cases, already planned to be spent on safety projects.
“Every superintendent I know would do anything to keep their students safe. But over 65% of districts have turned this money down, not out of indifference, but because the fine print creates risks no responsible leader can accept,” Spadafore said. “The Legislature needs to fix this language and pass a budget that actually gets safety dollars into every school.”
Gognwer News Service
A boilerplate provision within the current state budget will stand after the Michigan Supreme Court denied an appeal from dozens of school districts in a lawsuit which claimed it was unconstitutional and harmful to schools around the state.
The order in Macomb Intermediate School District vs. Michigan brought to a close a tug-of-war over critical education funding, delivered months late last year, on the eve of a budget deadline school groups have begun to sound the alarm over as another summer of fiscal purgatory seems like a fairly likely outcome for the legislative class of 2026.
The 31aa clause of the 2025-26 state school aid budget added conditions to $321 million in mental health and school safety funding that the school districts characterized as a privilege waiver: a provision that schools must waive “any privilege that may otherwise protect information from disclosure in the event of a mass casualty event” and comply with any state investigation into that event ordered by the governor.
Nearly 40 public and intermediate school districts and their superintendents sued the state when the budget took effect last year, arguing the waiver constituted both irreparable harm to districts that would see no choice but to opt out of the funding rather than risk signing away rights in a scenario that, definitionally, could range from a mass shooting to a gas leak or a fight breaking out on a football field.
The plaintiffs were supported by an additional 200 districts in amicus briefs before the Court of Claims in December, but a judge ruled in favor of the state and several districts chose to forfeit their cuts of the funding for the year as an appeal was filed shortly before Christmas. The case came before the Court of Appeals in April, where the state won again.
In a short order issued last Thursday evening, the justices of the high court ended the months-long back-and-forth just two weeks before the deadline for the next school aid budget to be completed.
“On order of the court, the motion to expedite is granted,” the justices ordered. “The application for leave to appeal the April 10, 2026, judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is denied, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who reportedly was the driving force behind adding the privilege waiver to the line item and fought to have it included throughout a bitter negotiating process, issued a celebratory statement upon the court’s decision.
“Today’s decision protects critical investments in school safety and student mental health while providing much-needed clarity for schools and communities across Michigan,” Whitmer said in the statement. “Last year, we made the largest investment in our state’s history to help schools keep kids safe, from hiring more mental health professionals and school resource officers to improving security and crisis planning. It also increased transparency to give parents greater certainty. Today’s decision is an important step forward. Let’s keep working together to protect our students and educators and build a bright future for our state.”
With few details public about what lawmakers are considering in budget negotiations for this upcoming fiscal year, education advocates are wondering if the language in 31aa will be left intact by the Legislature.
Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity Executive Director Peter Spadafore, whose organization represents several plaintiff districts, expressed disappointment in the court’s decision. He said the privilege waiver led school districts to turn down funding that was needed and, in many cases, already planned to be spent on safety projects.
“Every superintendent I know would do anything to keep their students safe. But over 65% of districts have turned this money down, not out of indifference, but because the fine print creates risks no responsible leader can accept,” Spadafore said. “The Legislature needs to fix this language and pass a budget that actually gets safety dollars into every school.”
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