The Michigan Senate approved eliminating a cap on the number of charter schools, but not before a heated debate broke out about bullying.
The state Senate eventually approved a measure that eliminated restrictions on the number of university-sponsored charter schools in the state by a narrow margin. It now moves to the state House.
State Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) says eliminating the cap might give students and parents more options, but not necessarily better options.
"Good public schools should be nurtured. Bad ones, they should be shuttered. Good charter schools should be nurtured. Bad ones should be shuttered," said Johnson. "The legislation proposed today does everything to eliminate the limits on how many charter schools can open in the state of Michigan, but it does nothing to ensure that those are high-quality schools."
Prior to passage, discussion over eliminating the cap on university-sponsored charter schools turned into a heated debate over bullying.
Democratic state lawmakers tried to attach an amendment to the charter school proposal that would require charter schools to adopt anti-bullying policies that specify what qualifies as bullying.
Senator Glenn Anderson tried to tack an amendment onto the charter school bill that would require charter schools to adopt anti-bullying policies.
His bill required lists of reasons kids could not be picked on, including weight, gender, race and sexual orientation.
Republicans have traditionally railed against similar bullying lists, and Anderson says that’s not acceptable.
"The sad fact is that there are some people that believe that there are some kids that should be protected and not others," said Anderson.
State Senator Tory Rocca (R- Sterling Heights) argued a Republican proposal that does not specifically list which groups of kids should be protected from bullying is better. He said their bill does not make distinctions between who is protected and who is not.
"This is why, when I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, with who I’ve repeatedly worked in good faith, make frankly hateful comments about people on this side of the aisle, saying ‘they want to see children bullied, they want to see children committing suicide,’ it is beneath contempt, frankly," said Rocca.
In the end, Republicans voted against both bullying proposals, saying the issue should be dealt with at a later date.
