Governor Gretchen Whitmer has officially weighed in on a lawsuit that challenges state payments to private and parochial schools.
She says any state payments to non-public schools is not legal.
Republicans in past years pressed the boundaries by allocating money in the state budget to help private and parochial schools pay for complying with health and safety regulations. In 2016, the state budget allocated two and half million dollars for that purpose. Courts split on whether that was legal. The case is now before the Michigan Supreme Court.
Governor Whitmer filed a brief supporting the challenge to the policy. Her legal team says the state constitution is clear on this point – no public money can go to private schools in Michigan, either directly or indirectly as reimbursements for costs.