Education

A high school sports advocacy group and some parents sued Michigan on Thursday, seeking to stop a new requirement that all teen athletes be regularly tested for the coronavirus.

The lawsuit, filed in the state Court of Claims, came on the eve of the mandate’s Friday effective date. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department announced the free, required rapid testing nearly two weeks ago as a way to help curb the spread of COVID-19 amid a climbing case rate that is now the country’s highest.

The investigation of Michigan State University’s handling of disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar is over because the university has refused to provide thousands of documents related to the scandal, Michigan’s attorney general said Friday.

Dana Nessel’s announcement came after the university said it would not change its position that the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Eastern Michigan University “turned a blind eye” to the sexual assault of students by other students, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by 11 women who said they were victims.

The lawsuit in federal court targets the university, campus police and two fraternities. It states that the assaults were committed by four men between 2015 and 2020; one, Dustyn Durbin, is facing multiple criminal charges in Ypsilanti.

Starting Monday, hundreds of Michigan school districts had to offer at least 20 hours a week of in-person instruction to receive all of a minimum $450-per-student increase in emergency pandemic funding.

The provision affects 206, or 38%, of the state’s 537 traditional K-12 districts — those with higher numbers or percentages of children from middle-class and wealthy families.

The University of Michigan will be in-person instruction this fall, have nearly 80% of residents halls open and allow fans back into athletic events, the university announced Friday.

This reopening of campus since students went online last March is based on the presumption that all faculty and staff that are planning on getting vaccinated will be able to before classes begin Aug. 30, university communications said in a news release.

A high school in western Michigan reopened Tuesday, a day after a student accidentally detonated a homemade explosive in a classroom.

Newaygo High School was found to be safe after vents and the heating and cooling system were checked, the district said.

“Law enforcement and school administrators met with students to review the situation and share any pertinent details about what had happened,” the district said in a statement.

Michigan State University plans to offer in-person instruction in 75% of undergraduate classes in the fall, and spectators will be welcomed again at sports events and performing arts shows, the president said Friday.

“I am excited at the prospect of coming back together again, and I am greatly looking forward to seeing our vibrant community of students, faculty and staff fully engaged in on-campus life,” Samuel Stanley Jr. said in a letter.

Stanley encouraged staff and students to get a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as they qualify.

More than 80% of Michigan school districts planned to offer some form of in-person instruction in February, a 20-plus point rise over the previous month amid a decline in the coronavirus’ spread.

Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Colloborative said it was the largely monthly increase since the start of the academic year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has strongly encouraged schools to provide a face-to-face option by March 1.

A Michigan university next fall will begin offering classes toward a bachelor’s degree in social justice.

The program at Ferris State University will be a collaboration between the colleges of arts and sciences, business and health professions.

“The timing of this program’s inauguration is good, as it will allow students to connect what they have learned to their society and become agents of change,” said Bobby Fleischman, provost and vice president of academic affairs.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing a $67 billion budget that she says would aid the state's pandemic recovery by solidifying new programs to attend community college for free, expanding child care assistance and boosting local bridge repairs. The Democrat's annual spending blueprint was unveiled to the Republican-led Legislature on Thursday. She ácalled for $570 million to address learning loss and K-12 enrollment declines on top of a $162-per-student, or 2%, increase in base aid for most traditional districts.