Latest news with #CamCavitt
CBS News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Extra "snow days" official for schools in Northern Michigan ice storm region
Northern Michigan schools that canceled classes because of the March 28-30 ice storm will not be required to make up those days with summer school. In some cases, those students missed two weeks of classes because of the widespread damage and resulting regional power outages. Those closures were in addition to any weather-related days off that happened earlier in the year for local weather situations. The bill had passed the House in early May and later passed the Senate. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill Monday. There was nearly unanimous support among the Lansing lawmakers for the step. The bill was introduced by State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, whose district includes several of the school districts within the region affected by the devastating ice storm March 28-30. "Schools shouldn't be penalized for keeping kids safe during an ice storm. This is a smart, bipartisan win for students, teachers, and local communities. Now that our snow day forgiveness plan is law, school districts can end the school year when it makes the most sense for them," Cavitt said. "Schools don't budget for facility costs in July. Teachers and students line up summer work well before the school year ends. Districts plan regular facility maintenance for the summer because students aren't supposed to be there. "For all these reasons, it didn't make sense to force schools into hosting mandatory summer school." Michigan schools have some leeway in setting their academic calendars, but the state requires at least 1,098 hours and 180 days of student instruction. There is some wiggle room for emergency days off. House Bill 4345 specifically addresses the 2024-25 school year and allows a waiver of up to an additional 15 days. The school district must be located, at least partially, within a county covered by a state of emergency declared by the governor. Those counties were Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, and Presque Isle. Michigan has allowed additional days because of severe winters in the past, but that has been on a case-by-case basis. The above video originally aired May 7.
CBS News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan House passes "snow day" bill for ice storm-affected districts
A request to allow some Northern Michigan schools additional days off this year has cleared the state House and is going to the state Senate. The bill was introduced April 17 by State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, whose district includes several of the school districts affected by a devastating ice storm March 28-30. Some schools were out of session for two weeks because of the power outages and storm damage. The bill passed the House with unanimous support. "While no one is happy that this ice storm took our kids out of the classroom, extending instruction past the 4th of July is not an appropriate remedy," Cavitt said. "I've spoken to teachers and administrators who say summertime instruction is challenging and ineffective. Students are checked out, and much of what teachers say will likely go in one ear and out the other." Michigan schools do have some leeway in setting their academic calendars, but the state requires at least 1,098 hours and 180 days of student instruction. There is some wiggle room built in for emergency days off. Michigan has allowed occasional allowances because of severe winters, but that is a case-by-case basis. House Bill 4345 is specific to the 2024-25 school year and to districts who are in counties covered by an already-issued emergency declaration from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Those counties include Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego, and Presque Isle. "These kids sat at home for two weeks without power. They helped parents chop wood, clean up debris, keep pipes from freezing, and manage the overall disaster that was this ice storm. These kids did their part; they shouldn't lose a month of their summer break because of a situation entirely out of their control," Cavitt said. The plan now moves to the Senate for further consideration. The video above previously aired on April 11, 2025.
Epoch Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
About 20 Michigan Communities With Sanctuary Policies Could Lose Funding Under Proposed Bills
A package of bills that would eliminate the sanctuary policies of an estimated 20 communities across Michigan has cleared the Michigan House Oversight Committee and is headed for a vote in the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives. The bills are HB The 20 local governments have adopted, to some degree, policies of non-cooperation with federal immigration authorities when it comes to illegal immigration. Michigan is not a sanctuary state but has allowed individual municipalities to make their own decisions on the subject. A sanctuary community seeks to prevent harassment, discrimination, and deportation for illegal immigrants, while ensuring their access to health care, education, legal aid, and language classes, according to an online Under the proposed legislation, noncompliant communities could face the loss of statutory state revenue-sharing funds as a penalty. As of April 18, Muskegon County has been Related Stories 9/23/2024 4/1/2021 The Muskegon County administrator's office did not respond to a request for comment. The proposed new laws set forth a two-option enforcement mechanism. Option one says that 61 days after the laws are enacted, an individual may sue the alleged violating community in the local circuit court. The complainant may seek an injunction restraining the prohibited sanctuary actions and a court order to ensure the law is obeyed. The proposed statute requires the court to order the offending local government to amend or repeal its sanctuary policies. According to the proposed laws, the court must award actual damages, costs, and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing individual challenging a municipality's sanctuary policies. The second enforcement option would also become active 61 days after the enactment date of the act. It says an individual may file a complaint form supplied by the state attorney general, who then must investigate the allegations against the alleged noncompliant unit of local government. The law, if enacted, would require the locality to cooperate with the attorney general's investigation. If a violation is confirmed, the attorney general must bring a legal action like the one described above in the locality's circuit court. If the attorney general prevails, the court is bound by law to follow the above-mentioned mandates to stop the practice. Michigan state Rep. Cam Cavitt. Courtesy of the Michigan House Republicans Republican state Rep. Cam Cavitt, the chief sponsor of the legislation, said in a Cavitt said that he somewhat understands the desire of some local officials to help people. 'But what they don't understand is that allowing people to live here illegally–putting up this false flag of protection–does nothing but keep people in the shadows and invite the worst criminals, gangbangers, and traffickers into our communities,' he said. Cavitt stated that despite the federal government's crackdown on illegal immigration, local law enforcement continues 'to have regular interactions with illegal immigrants.' 'It should be no surprise that we're seeing violent gangbangers, perverts, scammers, and all sorts of other criminals flocking to Michigan to hide from the feds. ... We should be doing everything we can to get these criminals out of our country. Instead, some radical Michigan communities are bending over backward to obstruct immigration officials at every turn,' Cavitt said. State Rep. Mike McFall, a Democrat who voted against advancing the bills out of committee, did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. State House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, a Democrat, also did not respond to a request for comment. Before the bills can become law, they must be passed by the Democrat-controlled Senate and survive a potential veto by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
CBS News
18-04-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Northern Michigan lawmaker seeks forgiveness for ice storm-related school closings
A Michigan state representative has presented a bill seeking forgiveness of missed school days in a region that was hit hard by the March 28-30 ice storm . Some school districts in Northern Lower Michigan were out of session for two weeks in the aftermath because the resulting power outages were so widespread and extensive. Gaylord Community Schools, for example, posted on social media that it welcomed its students back on April 14. Cleanup and recovery efforts are still in progress. State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-District 106, presented his plan Thursday via House Bill 4345 , which has been referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce. The bill would remove minimum school hours and day requirements during the current school year for any county included in a state of emergency declared by the governor. Without such relief, Cavitt said, some schools might have to stay in session until July. The list of counties, under a state declaration issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle. Cavitt's district includes parts of Cheboygan, Alpena, Oscoda, Montmorency and Presque Isle counties. Whitmer has requested , but not received a formal answer yet, on a federal declaration of emergency over the ice storm. Some of the school districts in Northern Michigan were out of session for two weeks in early April – and that's not counting any weather emergencies from earlier in the year. Michigan schools do have some leeway in setting their academic calendars, but the state requires at least 1,098 hours and 180 days of student instruction. There is some wiggle room built in for emergency days off. Extensions that Michigan allowed to the emergency day allowance during previous severe winters were granted for those years only. One such example involved the additional days that were allowed in 2018-19. "We had over 190 inches of snow this year. We've got days of school to make up already," Katy Xenakis-Makowski, Superintendent of the Johannesburg-Lewiston School District and President of the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators, said in her statement on the matter. "Adding additional days after assessments, after Memorial Day, going past Father's Day and towards the Fourth of July will not help instruction. We need to be focused on the basic needs of our community and helping build our kids back up."
