Center for Local State and Urban Policy

News

Brian Jacob: Michigan's education system needs structural reform now

Aug 4, 2025

After a year of studying Michigan’s K-12 education system — reviewing the academic literature, analyzing data, interviewing and surveying stakeholders, and examining state practices nationwide — one thing is clear: The current system of state-level e...

Photo of Brian Jacobs with quote from op-ed

News

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

May 1, 2024

In partnership with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), a team of researchers from the Ford School will conduct a study into how Michigan’s education governance system can be improved for the benefit of public school students. “An effective s...

Ford School researchers to study Michigan’s education governance

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023

The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in polic...

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State Se...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

News

Ford School students help local townships navigate and adapt during pandemic

Sep 29, 2020

Four teams of undergraduate and graduate Ford School students embarked on research and engagement projects this past summer to help the Michigan Township Association (MTA) better understand the state of affairs for local townships and the challenges ...

Ford School students help local townships navigate and adapt during pandemic

News

Students support local organizations to improve equity

Aug 28, 2020

One element of the struggle for economic equity in Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities is the intentional denial of support networks that provide funding, customers, connections or other resources for businesses and commu...

Students support local organizations to improve equity

News

Michigan Radio interviews Brian Jacob about latest research on MI high school curriculum reforms

Mar 9, 2016

Last week, Brian Jacob, Susan Dynarski and two colleagues from Michigan State released a new paper, "Are expectations alone enough? Estimating the effect of a mandatory college-prep curriculum in Michigan." The paper examines the effect of the 2006 M...

Michigan Radio interviews Brian Jacob about latest research on MI high school curriculum reforms

Report

K-12 Education Governance in Michigan

July 23, 2025

Youth Policy Lab, Education Policy Initiative, Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, Brian Jacob, Sarah Cohodes, Stephanie Leiser, Anna Erickson, Deb Hubbard, Katja Robinson, Natalie Fitzpatrick, Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija

This report presents the findings from a year-long study of K-12 educational governance in Michigan commissioned by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). The research was conducted by researchers and staff at the University of Michigan affiliat...

a teacher giving whole class instructions with three students by her side in an elementary classroom