SB 981 Summary

• Establishes "schools of excellence" as a new type of public school under Part 6e, with up to 10 total contracts statewide issued by authorizing bodies (school districts, intermediate districts, community colleges, or state universities).

• Allows existing public school academies meeting performance criteria to convert to schools of excellence; includes provisions for cyber schools serving dropout populations with enrollment caps and expansion based on dropout enrollment ratios.

• Requires school districts and public school academies to adopt rigorous, transparent teacher and administrator evaluation systems incorporating student growth as a significant factor in performance ratings and compensation decisions.

• Implements school administrator certification requirements for newly hired superintendents, principals, and instructional administrators, while grandfathering existing administrators who complete continuing education requirements.

• Modifies high school graduation requirements to include online learning component, world languages credit, and updated curriculum standards aligned with Michigan Merit Curriculum.