Senator Jeff Irwin
We are here to help you!
Whether you have a question about legislation, need assistance navigating government, or simply want to share your thoughts, we are here for you.
Newsroom
Learn what we’re doing for your community.
Senate Democrats, Experts Host Freedom to Plan Town Halls, Engage with Local Residents on Legislation to Expand Access to Contraception, Reproductive Health Care
LANSING, Mich. (Oct. 4, 2024) — This month, Sens. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), and Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) hosted a series of virtual town halls on Senate Democrats’ Freedom to Plan legislation, a comprehensive bill package to reduce...
Senate Committee Hears Testimony on Legislation to Improve Access to Contraception, Give Michiganders the Freedom to Plan
From over-the-counter contraception to postpartum contraception, Senate Democrats are paving the way to a future where Michiganders have full control over their reproductive health LANSING, Mich. (Sept. 26, 2024) — Today, Sens. Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.),...
Irwin and Polehanki Legislation to Improve Literacy and Help Students With Dyslexia Heads to Governor’s Desk
Bills to screen students for characteristics of dyslexia receive bipartisan and nearly unanimous support in Senate LANSING, Mich. (Sept. 26, 2024) — Today, the Michigan Senate finalized Senate Bills 567 and 568, comprehensive legislation to improve reading in...
Stay Connected on Facebook
Subscribe to my e-newsletter!
Sign up to be the first to know what I'm doing to build a thriving community to fight for you.
I am ecstatic that we finally passed this critical #literacy legislation.
This legislation will help more kids become expert readers. With an early emphasis on #phonics & the science of reading, we will help all students read, especially those with characteristics of #dyslexia. ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
🙌 It will absolutely help non-dyslexic students, too. Phonics should never have been removed from our public ed systems.
Absolutely!!! Thanks Jeff!😄
The Michigan Legislature passed our bills to improve literacy in Michigan.
My bill, SB 567, and Sen Polehanki's bill, SB 568, will weave the science of reading into our early elementary reading instruction. Our bills improve training, assessments, and interventions to support early literacy.
These bills will improve our response for kids who are struggling with characteristics of dyslexia and will help all kids master decoding schools. I'm incredibly excited to see these changes integrated into our schools and I thank my colleagues and all of the advocates who have pushed this legislation forward for years.
Special thanks to my colleagues for passing this important legislation, especially SML Brinks and Speaker Tate. Without their support, we couldn't have passed this today. Also, huge thanks to Education Chairs Sen Polehanki and Rep Kolezar. Their support, expertise and credibility were essential to getting this done and getting it done right. In addition, this legislation earned support from both parties and I am very thankful to Sen Theis, Sen Runestad, and Rep Greene who, among our many Republican partners on this, were steadfast supporters of this change and who were invaluable to ensuring that this got done in a bi-partisan way.
Also, we had a tremendous amount of support from parents, literacy experts, the Michigan Department of Education, and educators. It would be too long of a post to thank everybody who helped but I want to specifically thank Caroline Kaganov, Susan Schmidt, and Elyse Presnell as well as groups like the Michigan Education Justice Coaltion, the Michigan Dyslexia Institute, the Student Advocacy Center and so many others who raised their voices to support literacy. ... See MoreSee Less
11 CommentsComment on Facebook
Thank you!!
Amen! Amen! Thanks to all who worked tirelessly over the years on this. This will help every child in Michigan and give our teachers the knowledge to help identify the characteristics of dyslexic children!
Congratulations. I'm extremely proud of my friend Caroline Kaganov for her hard work to get this passed.
View more comments
Good news: The Michigan legislature just passed a supplemental budget to support school safety and mental health programs.
This $125 million dollar school aid investment passed with 22 yes votes (all the Democrats and 2 of the Republicans).
www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2024-HB-5503 ... See MoreSee Less
1 CommentComment on Facebook
Yup more taxes