Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Chair Camilleri on New Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential

Jul 12, 2023 | Press Release

LANSING, Mich. (July 12, 2023) — Today, Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) issued the following statement after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order establishing the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, or MiLEAP. 

“We know that a high-quality public education doesn’t start in kindergarten — it starts well before that,” said Sen. Camilleri, Chairman of the Senate Pre-K-12 Education Budget and a former teacher. “I’m encouraged by this strategic move as we take steps toward a universal Pre-K system in Michigan and make other improvements that will allow every child to reach their full potential and succeed in the future.”

“Every Michigander deserves a path to ‘make it in Michigan’ with strong, lifelong learning support,” said Gov. Whitmer. “For too long, we have thought of education as K-12, but we know that’s not good enough. I’m establishing MiLEAP today because we need to get every kid started early, in pre-K, so they succeed in kindergarten, have paths after graduation to get higher education tuition-free, and forge strong partnerships with our employers so they can get a good-paying, high-skill, and in-demand job. MiLEAP will help our learning ecosystem take the jump to the next level as we grow our economy and build a brighter future for Michigan.”  

MiLEAP

MiLEAP will align all available resources, data, and funds around a single vision — building an education system from early learning through postsecondary to help anyone ‘make it’ in Michigan.   

MiLEAP has three broad goals: 

  • Add capacity in early learning. 

  • Accelerate progress towards the state’s Sixty by 30 higher education goal. 

  • Prioritize community, regional, and state partnerships.

These goals will be pursued by MiLEAP’s 3 offices:  

  1. Office of Early Childhood Education 
  2. Office of Higher Education 
  3. Office of Education Partnerships  

MiLEAP will partner with the Michigan Department of Education and State Board of Education, complementing their long-term planning efforts and with the new Growing Michigan Together Council as they look at ways to grow the state’s economy and population.

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