Michigan Government Archives - Special Parents Confidential

Lt. Governor Brian Calley Returns.

What a difference a year can make. In December of 2014, the Michigan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules was going to approve some changes to the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) that would have severely impacted parent participation in their children’s education. However, during the only Public Comment time the committee allowed, Michigan’s Lieutenant. Governor, Brian Calley asked the committee to suspend the meeting and take no further action, because he felt that there had not been an adequate amount of time to allow parents to have input into the rules changes.

What followed next, in 2015, was an unprecedented listening tour undertaken by the Lieutenant Governor. He traveled around the State, holding public meetings where he listened to parents of special needs children talk about their concerns. These meetings were up to two hours in length, during which the Lt. Governor said very little and allowed every parent who attended to speak.

I was privileged to attend the meeting the Lieutenant Governor held in Grand Rapids, and had a chance to ask him if he would be a guest on Special Parents Confidential to talk about his efforts. That interview took place in June and you can listen to it here – Special Parents Confidential Episode 24.

In November of 2015, Lt. Governor Calley completed his listening tour and compiled a report summarizing the key points from parents for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who then appointed Lt. Governor Calley to head a Special Education Reform Task Force, which would take the Lt. Governor’s report and make a recommendations strategy for the State Board of Education. That report was presented to the Board of Education in January of 2016.

We are very pleased that Lt. Governor Brian Calley has taken time from his schedule to talk to us on Special Parents Confidential about the Special Education Reforms that the Task Force has recommended, and what Michigan families can do to help. Lt. Governor Calley also talks about a new project that he and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein (who I interviewed in August of 2015 – Special Parents Confidential Episode 30) are working on together, called the Hidden Talent Tour.

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Links mentioned in the podcast:

Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley’s Website

Summary of the Special Education Reform Task Force Recommendations

Full Report of the Special Education Task Force (.pdf form)

Information on the members of the Special Education Task Force

Information on the Michigan Hidden Talent Tour

Michigan Senate Website – including the Find Your Senator link

Michigan House Website – including the Find Your Representative link