Michigan Department of Education

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is a state agency of Michigan, in the United States. The MDE oversees public school districts in the state. The department is governed by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education was first provided for in the Constitution of 1850 and currently exists through the provisions of Article VIII, Section 3, of the Constitution of 1963. The state board is composed of eight members [2] nominated by party conventions and elected at-large for terms of eight years, with two members being elected at each biennial state general election. The governor is authorized to fill vacancies on the state board and also serves as an ex officio member of the state board, without the right to vote. The superintendent of public instruction is appointed by the board for a term to be determined by the board, to serve as its chair, without the right to vote.[3]

Department of Education
Michigan Department of Education Logo
Department overview
Formed1850
Headquarters608 West Allegan Street, Lansing[1]
Ministers responsible
  • Dr. Pamela Pugh, Board President
  • Ms. Ellen Lipton, Board Vice President
  • Dr. Judith Pritchett, Board Secretary
  • Mr. Marshall Bullock, II, Board Treasurer
  • Dr. Mitchell Robinson, NASBE Delegate
Department executives
  • Michael F Rice, Superintendent of Public Instruction
  • Sue C Carnell, Chief Deputy
  • Delsa Chapman, Deputy Superintendent, Educator, Student, and School Supports
  • Scott Koenigsknecht, Deputy Superintendent, P-20 System and Student Transitions
  • Vacant, Deputy Superintendent, Finance Operations
Child agencies
  • Library of Michigan
  • Michigan School for the Deaf
Key document
Websitehttps://www.michigan.gov/mde

The department is led by the superintendent of public instruction, Michael F. Rice, who was appointed in 2019.[4] As the principal executive officer of the Department of Education, the superintendent sits on the Governor's Cabinet, the State Administrative Board, and acts as chair and a non-voting member of the State Board of Education. The superintendent advises the legislature on education policy and funding needs, as defined by the State Board of Education. The superintendent is responsible for the implementation of bills passed by the legislature and policies established by the State Board of Education. The superintendent is a spokesperson for education in the state. The superintendent also is the primary liaison to the United States Department of Education and other federal agencies.[5]

Major departmental responsibilities include: educator preparation and certification; providing technical assistance to schools in the areas of education improvement and innovation, special education, grants, transportation, health and food programs; statewide student assessment; school accountability; career and technical education; early childhood learning; distribution of state school aid; and overseeing the distribution and use of federal education program funding. The department also operates the Library of Michigan and the Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint.[6]

List of superintendents of public instruction
A group photo of men who have served as Michigan superintendent of public instruction in the late 19th and early 20th-century.

The following is a list of those who have served as Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction.[7]

Superintendent Term Notes
John Davis Pierce 1836–1841
Franklin Sawyer Jr. 1841–1843
Oliver C. Comstock 1843–1845
Ira Mayhew 1845–1849
Francis W. Shearman 1849–1854
Ira Mayhew 1855–1858
John M. Gregory 1859–1864
Oramel Hosford 1865–1872
Daniel B. Briggs 1873–1876
Horace S. Tarbell 1877–1878 Resigned.
Cornelius A. Gower 1878–1881 Resigned.
Varnum B. Cochran 1881–1883 Resigned.
Herschel R. Gass 1883–1885 Resigned.
Theodore Nelson 1885–1886
Joseph Estabrook 1887–1890
Ferris S. Fitch Jr. 1891–1892
Henry R. Pattengill 1893–1896
Jason E. Hammond 1897–1900
Delos Fall 1901–1904
Patrick H. Kelley 1905–1906
Luther L. Wright 1907–1913 Resigned.
Fred L. Keeler 1913–1919 Died in office.
Thomas E. Johnson 1919–1926 Removed by governor.
Wilford L. Coffey 1926–1927
Webster H. Pearce 1927–1933
Paul F. Voelker 1933–1935
Maurice R. Keyworth Died before taking office.
Eugene B. Elliott 1935–1948 Resigned.
Lee M. Thurston 1948–1953 Resigned.
Clair L. Taylor 1953–1957
Lynn M. Bartlett 1957–1965
Alexander J. Kloster 1965–1966 Acting superintendent.
Ira Polley 1966–1969
John W. Porter 1969–1979 Resigned.
Eugene T. Paslov 1979–1980 Interim superintendent.
Phillip E. Runkel 1980–1987
Gary D. Hawks 1987–1988 Interim superintendent.
Donald L. Bemis 1988–1991 Resigned.
Gary D. Hawks 1991 Interim superintendent.
Robert E. Schiller 1991–1995
Arthur E. Ellis 1995–2001
Thomas D. Watkins Jr. 2001–2005
Jeremy Hughes 2005 Interim superintendent.
Michael P. Flanagan 2005–2015
Brian J. Whiston 2015–2018 Died in office.
Sheila A. Alles 2018–2019 Interim superintendent.
Michael F. Rice 2019–

References
  1. MDE - Contact Information. Michigan Department of Education. Retrieved on January 19, 2023.
  2. State Board of Education Members. Michigan Department of Education. Retrieved on January 9, 2019.
  3. "Article VIII, Section 3" (PDF). Constitution of Michigan. 1963.
  4. "State Board Appoints Michael Rice As Next State Superintendent". www.michigan.gov. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  5. MDE - Superintendent. Michigan Department of Education. Retrieved on August 1, 2019
  6. "Michigan Manual" (PDF). Michigan Legislature. 2021–2022.
  7. "Former Officials of Michigan" (PDF). Michigan Legislature. 2021. p. 507. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
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