The bills were adopted by Democrats on party-line votes and now go to the House floor.
The bills would reverse laws signed in 2011 by Republican Governor Rick Snyder over the protests of teacher unions. The laws made teacher placement and discipline policies, among other things, non-negotiable topics. Democrats and teacher unions say negotiations should determine what’s in a contract. Democratic Representative Matt Koleszar is a former teacher. He says the 2011 laws made the bargaining one-sided, which affected trust and morale.
“So I have always been of the argument that collaboration rather than competition is what’s best for kids.”
