Pence visits Michigan to tout DeVos-backed scholarship opponents deride as voucher scheme

Former Vice President Mike Pence visited Michigan on Tuesday, speaking alongside former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in favor of a proposal to create new scholarship accounts for Michigan students to cover education expenses, including private school tuition.

The pair told an assembly of several hundred students at Lutheran High School Northwest — a private Christian school in Rochester Hills — that the Let MI Kids Learn initiative petitions would allow more Michigan students to attend a school like theirs.

Pence called the DeVos-backed proposal an "idea whose time has come" that would expand school choice and improve public schools by forcing them to compete with private ones.

"Some children in this state are trapped in failing schools," he told the students. "Some children go to schools that are plagued by violence. Some students who want to learn just math and science and history often endure political indoctrination in the midst of those lessons. And it's not their fault, it's the government's fault."

Opponents of the Let MI Kids Learn proposal argue that it would create an unconstitutional voucher system to divert taxpayer dollars from public schools to private ones.

Pence's speech to the students ended with a standing ovation and was capped by several minutes spent taking selfies with students before he and DeVos hosted a roundtable discussion with parents and school officials from religious and charter schools.

The Let MI Kids Learn plan he is in Michigan supporting includes two initiative petitions.

One would create a scholarship called the Student Opportunity Scholarship to provide grants to families of K-12 students to cover educational expenses such as online classes or tutoring. The second would create a new tax credit for those who contribute to the program. The proposal would cap tax credits for donors and businesses that contribute to the scholarship fund at $500 million annually.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed GOP-backed bills last November that sought to create the scholarship accounts. But if organizers of the Let MI Kids Learn initiatives collect at least 340,047 signatures on each of the petitions by June 1, the GOP-led Legislature could enact the measures without Whitmer’s approval.

Michigan stands out nationally in allowing lawmakers to enact voter-initiated legislation with enough signatures, bypassing the governor and the approval of a majority of voters in a statewide election.

More: Betsy DeVos backs Michigan school choice ballot drive

More: Whitmer vetoes scholarship plan critics liken to vouchers

While serving as education secretary, DeVos consistently championed proposals slashing funding for public education and deploying federal dollars to expand school choice, including increasing federal support for private schools, according to analyses by the nonpartisan Committee for Education Funding.

DeVos and members of her family have contributed $500,000 to Let MI Kids Learn, campaign finance reports show.

Responding to critics who say that the plan would degrade the quality of public schools, DeVos countered that "the resources that we already spend on kids should be dedicated to following that child to the best place for him or her."

Pence echoed the comment. "I mean frankly, there are many families across Detroit, many families across Michigan who have no choice," Pence said. "They don't have the economic means to either move into a school district where the schools are better or safer or more effective. Or they simply don't have the ability to leave a public school."

DeVos said that she expects Let MI Kids Learn to prompt legal challenges if approved by lawmakers but she doesn't expect any challenges to ultimately succeed.

Michigan's constitution contains a broad prohibition on public funding for private education. It states that "no public monies or property" can "aid or maintain" private schools, including direct and indirect funding through tax benefits among other forms of financial support.

A federal judge could soon rule on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Michigan's ban on public funding for private schools.

Under the Let MI Kids Learn initiatives, public school students would receive up to $500 and those with disabilities up to $1,100 annually through the Student Opportunity Scholarship funds. Private school students would receive up to 90% of the annual baseline per-pupil funding for public school students, which is currently set at $8,700.

Nearly 70% of Michigan voters in the 2000 election rejected a proposal similar to the Let MI Kids Learn initiatives.

Pence touted his tenure as governor of Indiana in speaking in support of the plan, stating that under his leadership, public schools improved when the state doubled the size of its school choice program.

Pence was also scheduled to appear at a fundraiser Tuesday for state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, who is running to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, in the new 7th Congressional District centered in Lansing.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pence visits Michigan to tout DeVos-backed education proposal