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• Introduced by Rep. Brian Palmer (R) on April 10, 2002, to make the state merit scholarship award board an agency of the Michigan Assessment Governing Board, with the same person serving as chair of each. The Assessment Governing Board would be required to establish the statewide toll-free telephone line and Internet access to receive questions, comments, and complaints concerning the assessment tests. House Bill 5880 also would eliminate the merit award board's authority to promulgate rules governing assessment test administration and cheating. See also House Bills 5879 and 5881.
  • Referred to the House Education Committee on April 10, 2002.
  • Substitute offered in the House on May 23, 2002, to replace the previous version of the bill with a version originally worked out in committee which reported it, but since superceded by the addition of other revisions. See the committee substitute. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on May 23, 2002.
  • Substitute offered by Rep. Jason Allen (R) on May 23, 2002, to replace the previous version of the bill with a version which would reverse a decision made when the merit award scholarship program was adopted to not include the MEAP social studies test in the tests required to qualify for a $2,500 scholarship. The definition of "social studies" would be revised to mean geography, history, economics, and American government. The substitute also incorporates some of the elements of the introduced version and of House Bill 5881 related to the consolidation all student and school assessment and award activities under a Michigan Assessment Governing Board in the Department of Treasury. The substitute passed by voice vote in the House on May 23, 2002.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Paul Gieleghem (D) on May 30, 2002, to require that merit award scholarships be granted not just on the basis of high test scores, but also on the basis of “qualifying improvement,” defined as a pattern of assessment test results, scores, or ranges of scores which demonstrate consistent academic improvement. The amendment failed 45 to 54 in the House on May 30, 2002.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Judith Scranton (R) on May 30, 2002, to require students to sign an affidavit stating that they have not used any tobacco products while in high school as a condition for being granted a merit award scholarship. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on May 30, 2002.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. David Woodward (D) on May 30, 2002, to clarify a technical provision in the bill so the language of the amended law is internally consistent. The amendment failed by voice vote in the House on May 30, 2002.
• Passed 55 to 41 in the House on May 30, 2002, to specify that the Assessment Governing Board proposed by House Bill 5879 would also be in charge of the state merit scholarship award program. The bill would revise and increase the college scholarship awards made to students based on MEAP tests given while in seventh and eight grades. It would also include the MEAP social studies test in the tests required to qualify for a scholarship, and redefine "social studies" to mean geography, history, economics, and American government.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"