ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the political context for education prior to 2000, when school districts maintained substantial autonomy over curriculums while the state shifted funding for K—12 education away from property taxes in favor of per-pupil funding from a centralized school aid fund. During the mid-2000s, Governor Jennifer Granholm convened a statewide commission on higher education and economic growth, and the recommendations from that body established a public policy agenda that in some ways continues to serve as the framework for higher education policy in Michigan. Michigan has a history of delegating authority to schools through local control, and to universities through constitutional autonomy. As a consequence of the flawed political process, state leaders established an agenda for higher education policy that was both widely regarded and regrettably incomplete. The shift toward more neoliberal ideologies has resulted in a set of policy priorities that may effectively undermine access and exacerbate gaps by racial and ethnic groups.
