Citizenship

It started with a call from a mother on the West side of Michigan.  A member of her family was about to apply to college, and was thinking about applying to some schools without submitting her SAT scores (you can do that now).  In this student’s case, that issue had already been decided, since Michigan had a state law requiring SAT scores that are part of statewide testing to be placed on the student’s transcript.  Colleges still require transcripts, so, like it or not, colleges got the scores.   

Part of my work requires me to pay attention to issues like this, and when a state law prevents students from living out their college dreams, I’m supposed to call this to the government’s attention, and diplomatically ask them to cut it out.  The only way to do that here was request the law be changed, a process in Michigan that parallels that of the federal government, nicely described by  Schoolhouse Rock. 

I have the good fortune to know a public policy colleague whose passion is access to school.  He was a leader in the state legislature, so in the time it takes most conversations to get around to how are the wife and kids, he understood the problem, and said the words every amateur lobbyist loves—“Leave it with me.” He found a legislator willing to sponsor the bill, and it made its way through the process with remarkable speed.  It really seemed like everyone, Republican and Democrat alike, got it.

And then.  With about eight weeks before the bill expired, the last vote needed to pass the bill was never scheduled—and we couldn’t find out why.  Politics afoot, the bill died, and had to be reintroduced the next year.  Unfortunately, the sponsor of the bill suddenly found himself in a dicey political situation, where no one wanted to give him, or any of his legislation, the time of day.  After the dance of asking the original sponsor for his OK to get someone else to take over—now there’s a conversation– there just weren’t a lot of avenues to pursue, since everyone was preoccupied with reelection.

Enter year 4.  I heard there was a member of the House who might be willing to take up this work, a former teacher.  A meeting in January yielded interest, but no action—until August, when committee hearings for the bill were suddenly being held with two days’ notice.  Counselors (OK, I) and our key allies scrambled to put witnesses together, including a public-school counselor so persuasive, I was convinced the committee was going to ask her out to lunch.

Suddenly, we were back on track.  Unanimous votes out of committees and on legislative floors, combined with delays for things like the legislature being out of session for deer hunting season (welcome to Michigan), ultimately led to one final vote.  A phone call suggested this last vote might once again never come.  It came two days later.  Unanimous again.

There is incredible cynicism about the value of governance these days, suggestions efforts to make things better are vain, and there is too much animosity for Democrats and Republicans to even be in the same room.  But Democrats like college access, Republicans hate government interference, and this bill had a little of both.  The governor signed the bill into law today, so democracy is better, thanks to a high school junior, a caring mom, and a few folks who still believe good can be created out of thin air. It took time and effort.  Valuable things do.

That, my friends, is the real America.

More Perfect

The guy who wrote our defining document
Had slaves
And fathered children of slaves.
Not exactly the date
To take home to meet mom and dad.

Making 79 cents
For every man’s dollar.
DoorDashers
Paying more taxes than billionaires
Billions of dollars for planes
That aren’t designed to fly.

Discouraging?  Sure.
But the republic’s owner’s manual
Puts us in charge
Not asking for perfect
But better.
It’s safe to say
That
We can do.

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