Lansing Update: Tell Congress to Pass Transformational School Choice Legislation
Posted May 2, 2025
Action Alert: Tell Congress to Pass Transformational School Choice Legislation
Catholics are encouraged to contact their congressional representatives to advocate for legislation that would greatly expand the opportunity for parents across the nation to choose the best education for their children, and particularly here in Michigan.
MCC is urging all Catholics to send a message to their representatives now through an online Action Alert initiated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which advocates on behalf of the Church on federal policy.
The U.S. bishops are asking Congress to include critical components of the proposed Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) into federal budget legislation, which Congress is currently working to finalize over the next few weeks, prompting the call for grassroots advocacy now.
The ECCA would create the ability to fund and award scholarships to lower- and middle-income households to help families pay for expenses related to the school they choose—including public, nonpublic, or other education options. The scholarships could pay for tuition, technology, materials and more.
The scholarships would be awarded by scholarship-granting organizations, which are nonprofit entities that would be created under the federal legislation. The law would allow the scholarship-granting organizations to be funded through donations from individuals and businesses, who in turn could receive credit on their federal taxes.
Thus, the legislation would incentivize giving to the scholarship-granting organizations, while also provide opportunities to support families who need financial assistance in selecting the education they deem best for their children.
Under the legislation, Michigan and every other state would be guaranteed at least $20 million worth of funds if the scholarship-granting organizations can raise the money from donors.
Further, in the case of Michigan, a federal tax credit program for education choice would not conflict with the state constitution, which restricts state taxpayer dollars from directly aiding all types of nonpublic education.
Several states already make use of similar scholarship-granting organizations, but for Michigan, this would represent a new opportunity to increase education choice.
The proposed Educational Choice for Children Act is similar to legislation proposed in Michigan a few years ago, which was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. A campaign to collect petition signatures toward a citizens initiative commenced as a result of the veto, but it ultimately did not succeed.
Advocates are asked to urge Congress to include the most critical components of the ECCA into federal budget discussions—specifically, the provision of $10 billion in annual credits for individual and corporate giving, as well as providing for a 100% credit on the donation by the taxpayer.
Click or tap here to send a pre-written message to your congressional representatives. You are also invited to personalize the message and share how this legislation could improve your ability to choose the best education for your children.
MCC Mourns Loss of Sister Monica, Former President & CEO
MCC this week announced with sadness that Sister Monica Kostielney, R.S.M., former president and CEO of the organization, died on Monday, April 28th at the age of 87.
Sister Monica’s MCC career spanned four decades, beginning in 1972 and continuing through to her appointment in 1994 as president and CEO, a position she held until her retirement in 2010. She became the first female in the country to lead a state Catholic conference, and soon thereafter the first woman to chair the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors.
Her career included several gubernatorial appointments, numerous board positions, lifetime achievement awards, and countless friends and colleagues in Michigan and across the country, according to the press release MCC issued upon the news of her death.
“Sister Monica was filled with a deep love for every human person, which was evidenced by her interactions with others, her advocacy work, and her tenured leadership of MCC,” said Paul A. Long, president and CEO of MCC, who succeeded Sister Monica in 2010. “She was among the most consequential women, and indeed individuals, in the Capitol community and the Church during her thirty-eight years with MCC.”
In both her career at and leadership of MCC, Sister Monica dedicated herself to public policy issues that were at the forefront of society and the interests of the Church, including the protection of human life at all stages, supporting the dignity of the poor and vulnerable of the state, and promoting justice and choice in state and federal education policy.
Among her most impactful accomplishments was her role in the defeat of a ballot proposal to legalize assisted suicide in Michigan in 1998. Other policy achievements in which Sister Monica played an instrumental role were MCC’s support of legislation that implemented the first and most comprehensive state ban on human cloning in the country, as well as legislation requiring school districts to provide transportation to nonpublic school students to off-site auxiliary service classes.
Sister Monica’s funeral will take place Tuesday, May 6 at Mercy Circle, a retirement community for Religious Sisters of Mercy in Chicago, Illinois.
There will be a gathering from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. which will be immediately followed by the Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will then be held at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Arrangements are provided by Thompson and Kuenster of Oak Lawn, Illinois.
You are invited to view an online tribute developed by MCC staff detailing the life and legacy of Sister Monica, which is available at micatholic.org/SisterMonica.
Senate Panel Leaves Nonpublic Schools Out of Budget Proposals
The state Senate’s first draft of the next education budget failed to fund critical functions for the state’s nonpublic schools that help ensure the health and safety of students.
The budget approved by the Senate K–12 Appropriations Subcommittee unfortunately mirrored the Governor’s recommendations in not providing health and safety funding to nonpublic schools, which educate more than 100,000 Michigan students.
The current funding that would be cut under both the Governor and Senate budgets includes $1.5 million in grants to invest in school security upgrades and mental health services, as well as $1 million for nonpublic schools to reimbursed for complying for state-mandated health and safety regulations.
In a separate Senate budget document, lawmakers also removed funding for nonpublic students to participate in dual enrollment, which allows high school students to earn college credits.
However, the budget process remains in its early stages. The House has not yet proposed its own budget, and the Senate budgets that emerged from subcommittees this week must still pass the Appropriations Committee and the full chamber.
Most of the final decisions on the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that will go into effect October 1 will be made in joint House-Senate conference committees once both chambers pass their own versions of next year’s budget.
Until then, MCC and the Michigan Association of Nonpublic Schools (MANS) continue to speak with lawmakers about the importance of funding essential services that help all students in Michigan.
Diaper Grants for Mothers in Need, Foster Care Funding Continue in Senate Budget
The state Senate would continue MCC-supported budget funding that helps provide diapers to mothers in need as well as state support of Catholic Charities agencies and other entities in providing foster care services.
In its first draft of next year’s budget, a Senate panel approved a budget that maintains the current $6.4 million diaper assistance program, which provides funding to purchase diapers for maternity homes, local county offices, and other nonprofit agencies that distribute diapers free of charge.
The proposed Senate budget would also maintain last year’s increase to the foster care rate, which is set at $60.20 per hour and critical for Catholic Charities agencies in their work to care for foster children.
These proposals, contained within the draft budget for the state Department of Health and Human Services, head next to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
MCC is also monitoring other budgetary items of interest, including the Rx Kids Program, which provides direct cash assistance to expectant and new mothers. The Senate is proposing a substantial increase in funding, from $20 million to $78 million. The program started in Flint and has expanded to Kalamazoo and the eastern Upper Peninsula, with plans for further expansion elsewhere across the state.
Other items that MCC is looking at in this portion of the budget include:
- A $5 million program to support fatherhood organizations and implement caseworker training to raise awareness regarding the importance of fathers was not funded by the Senate, after the new initiative was proposed in the Governor’s budget recommendations.
- Lawmakers added language to the budget to implement a Palliative Care Advisory Task Force that would conduct research, recommend provisions for palliative care services and reimbursement, and collaborate to improve and expand palliative care.
- The per diem rate that supports homeless and emergency shelters would increase from $19 per bed night to $24.
- The Senate would increase funding for caseworkers who provide immediate assistance to children removed from dangerous environments, from $50,000 to $75,000.
- The panel agreed with the Governor’s recommendation of a $1.2 million increase in young child supplemental payments for those receiving cash assistance.
Other Legislative Action of Note This Week
Here’s a quick roundup of other legislation that MCC has previously reported on that saw action in the Legislature this week:
- The House passed three bills on partisan lines that MCC has said could create the perception that immigrants are not welcome in Michigan. MCC is neutral on the package that bans local governments from adopting “sanctuary” policies, but noted enactment of the legislation could discourage migrants from interacting with law enforcement, which poses a health and safety risk to those individuals.
- School staff—including those in nonpublic schools—would receive regular safety training developed and provided by the state under two bills approved by a House committee. MCC has supported these measures and others as part of a broader package to implement school safety policy reforms for both public and nonpublic schools.
How Is a New Pope Chosen? A Look Inside the Church’s Conclave Process
As the Church and entire world watches and waits for the election of a new pope, Catholics may be interested in a receiving a refresher on the ages-old process of how a new Successor to St. Peter is selected.
To that end, the U.S. Catholic of Bishops have made available a number of resources, including this article on how a new pope is chosen ahead of the conclave, which is the gathering of cardinals to vote on a new pope and is scheduled to begin May 7.
Also of interest is this graphic featuring a breakdown of the current College of Cardinals, which consists of bishops and other Church officials who have been elevated to the status of cardinal, and thus eligible to participate in the conclave to pick a new pope, provided they are under the age of 80.
Finally, this graphic provides a look inside the conclave, which takes place in the famous Sistine Chapel. You’ll learn how long it took to elect each of the past seven popes and receive an explanation about the iconic colored smoke system used to announce to the world that we have a pope—or as will eventually be announced from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, “Habemus Papam!”