Safety

A Michigan Education Association survey finds a majority of educators in Michigan have safety concerns and don't believe their schools will be able to return to in-person learning in January. It found 74% of educators prefer some level of virtual learning for now. Almost half of the 47,040 educators who responded to the survey said they felt their concerns were not addressed in their school district's plans for reopening or virtual learning. The state teachers' union wants to see this change and get teachers more involved in the decision making. The union has about 120,000 members.

Michigan legislators gave final approval Monday to bills that would provide flexibility for K-12 schools as they prepare to open amid the coronavirus pandemic, waiving physical attendance and minimum instruction requirements to allow for remote classes.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences won't play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19. The decisions take two of college football's five power conferences out of a crumbling season amid the pandemic. The Big Ten's announcement that it was postponing all fall sports and hoping to make them up in the second semester came first. An hour later, the Pac-12 called a news conference to say that all sports in its conference would be paused until Jan. 1, including basketball.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday extended her mask requirement to include many children who attend day care and camps, saying the step is necessary to ensure that such facilities can remain open and safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, child care centers and camps were exempt from her order to wear a face covering inside enclosed public spaces and crowded outdoor places, though masks had been highly recommended at camps when small groups cross paths and cannot socially distance.

A commission that oversees the Michigan Capitol voted Monday to further study the issue of banning guns from the building, days before another scheduled protest against the governor’s restrictions to curb the coronavirus.

Buds not bullets.

Boxes that could be used to store ammunition instead are being given away to store marijuana in three Michigan counties.

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is using a grant to purchase more than 500 lock boxes and provide educational materials to keep marijuana away from children. The boxes will be distributed at no charge.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued her first executive directive as Michigan’s governor. The directive requires state department employees to report threats to public health, safety or welfare up the chain of command. And it requires those threats to be investigated.

Governor Whitmer signed the directive while flanked by employees of the Department of Environmental Quality. That’s a department that has faced reports of low morale and that came under the microscope in the wake of the Flint water crisis. Whitmer says this isn’t about just one department –

Michigan's first school safety reform since the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting has passed the House.

Lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bipartisan five-bill package to create a school safety commission under the state police. The commission would pioneer statewide safety standards for school buildings, grade them based on new metrics and provide funds for campuses that need upgrades.