Hornberger’s solution addresses concerns that the state Board of Education is a politically driven layer of government, which for years has slowed Michigan’s educational advancement and contradicted the Legislature’s goal of a more transparent state government.

Furthermore, Hornberger said that in recent years the state board and the state superintendent have enacted mandates that are unpopular among the majority of parents and students they are supposed to protect.

“For far too long, there has been a lack of accountability at the top of Michigan’s educational system with a rogue department that does not fall under the governor’s umbrella,” said Hornberger, a former teacher. “The state board of education only serves to complicate efforts to create a more accountable education system in Michigan. The department of education is the only department for which the governor does not appoint the director. This convoluted construct hasn’t worked for decades and we should no longer be bound to it.”

Because the governor, both chambers of the state Legislature and local school boards are all elected by the people of Michigan, Hornberger maintains that by eliminating the state board, education policy will still be reviewed and advanced in a more transparent and public manner.

Approval of this change would require a vote of the people in the next general election.