The Mackinac Center for Public Policy joined an amicus brief in support of private school students who would be negatively affected by a Michigan lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. That lawsuit, Michigan v. DeVos, seeks to restrict federal coronavirus relief funds for use only by public schools. The amicus brief was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

The following statement can be attributed to Ben DeGrow, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center:

“The coronavirus does not discriminate between school labels, and neither should coronavirus relief funds. The attempt by Michigan officials and others to tip the scales against some students based on choices their families have made is especially shameful, given that public schools already have access to additional pots of federal funding. In the interest of fairness and sound policy, the court should reject the plaintiffs’ claims.”

The funding formula approved by the U.S. Department of Education requires public school districts to share dedicated CARES Act funds with area private schools on the same per-student basis. Successful action by the plaintiffs would authorize Michigan districts to withhold $16 million from private schools, even though they have been equally impacted by COVID-19.

Document links:

Michigan v. DeVos Amicus Brief
CARES Act Amicus Release PDF
Michigan v. DeVos Administrative Motion for Leave to File

To learn more about the Mackinac Center’s work on education, visit www.mackinac.org/education.