Awesome news out of the Great Lakes State!  The Michigan House voted yesterday to lift the arbitrary cap on online public schools, allowing more students to choose an education that works for their needs.   For months, Michigan families have worked tirelessly to appeal to legislators to pass Senate Bill 619.  Leading the charge was the Michigan Chapter of the National Coalition for Public School Options.  Michigan NCPSO parents have become familiar faces to legislators and staffers in Lansing as they have been actively meeting with their members, testifying before committee, or making their voices known through op-eds, letters to the editor, and phone calls.  

Passing by a 56-54 vote, the legislation will allow up to five online schools to open by 2014, ten by 2015, followed by 15 schools after that date.

The House bill also gradually increases the number of students in the schools, allowing schools to enroll up to 2,500 students in the first year, 5,000 in the second year and 10,000 after the third year.  Online schools are currently capped at 1,000 students.

The passage of SB 619 by the Michigan House has received its share of media attention with stories appearing on MLive.com, Getting Smart, Ann Arbor.com, Michigan Confidential, and in the Detroit Free Press.

Awesome job Michigan families and a big thank you to State Senators Phil Pavlov and Patrick Colbeck, along with State Representatives Lisa Lyons and Tom McMillin for their continued support of school choice!