Children's Advocacy Resources for EducationC.A.R.E.

If you have an IEP for your child, consider the need for a personal curriculum to achieve her dream of employment, further education, and independent living.  Read on: 

Overview:  About the Michigan Merit Curriculum 
The curriculum, which took effect for students entering the eighth grade in 2006 (Class of 2011) requires four years of math, four years of English, three years of science, including biology and either physics or chemistry and an online learning experience. A foreign language requirement still is being phased in. These exceptions are allowed:

• Adjusting math expectations for students challenged with meeting Algebra II expectations.

• Modifications of some requirements for students who transfer from an out-of-state or nonpublic school system, because they may not have time to meet all requirements in less than four years.

• Modifications to allow students who have individualized education programs to demonstrate proficiency in the course material.


Diploma likely out of reach for some Michigan students Mom: New law will leave kids with disabilities behind Kathleen Lavey • klavey@lsj.com • December 30, 2010

Breck Graham is doing his best to learn. The 14-year-old eighth-grader at Grand Ledge's Hayes Middle School even meets with a tutor after school to build reading skills.

But his mom, Shelia Graham, fears he won't be awarded a diploma when he graduates in 2015, thanks to a portion of Michigan school law that takes effect this year. Students who don't meet the strict academic requirements of the Michigan Merit Curriculum won't get diplomas.

It's part of a push to boost academic achievement for all students in Michigan. But Shelia Graham and others say it doesn't make any provision for kids with disabilities.

"No Child Left Behind is just a joke," she said, referring to federal legislation designed to improve schools. "Because states are leaving behind a big group of kids."

The Michigan Merit Curriculum, which took effect in 2006 for the 2011 graduating class, requires four years of math, including geometry and algebra, four years of English and three science classes, including biology and either physics or chemistry, as well as one online learning experience. A foreign language requirement is being phased in.

School districts can choose to offer a certificate of high school completion instead of a diploma to students who don't master the curriculum.

Cindy Anderson, assistant superintendent in the Ingham Intermediate School District, acknowledged that educators have concerns about the issue and have been working on it.

Some kids at risk"I'm not sure we know the scope of the impact of this," she said. "We do know there are certain subgroups of students that are at risk."

Graduating without a diploma could put up yet another hurdle for students with disabilities when they finish school and seek work, said Alicia Paterni, executive director of the Capital Area Business Leadership Network Disability Council. She said people with disabilities already have a drastically higher unemployment rate.

"I can see employers coming to me saying, 'Why should I take this certificate over a diploma?' " she said. "The implications are concerning."Special education students each receive an individualized education program, which sets goals for and lays out a plan for them to make progress through school.
Kids with such plans get some leeway under the Michigan Merit legislation, Anderson said, and may be able to earn a diploma.

"In the legislation, it says the personal curriculum has to incorporate as much of the content expectation in a particular subject as is practicable," Anderson said. "So how far we modify the merit curriculum and still call it the merit curriculum is our challenge."

Anderson said kids who don't earn diplomas will be allowed to enter Michigan trade or vocational schools, and many community colleges, and apply for state and federal aid. They also can enlist in certain branches of the military.

Anderson's best advice for families who think their kids might be at risk: Don't wait to address the issue.

"We need to proactively have conversations between the schools, the student and the parents as kids start to struggle," she said. "We need to look at their course of study, their career goals and then have everybody working on the same page together."