By Rick Snyder and Doug Ross

At a time when Michigan is working to strengthen its economy and grow its talent pipeline, we cannot afford to let outdated structures hold back our students or our state.

This is not a Republican or Democrat idea — it is a Michigan idea. Elected officials would be wise to put politics aside and move together into an educational express lane for the benefit of our kids. Communities deserve the flexibility to design learning environments that better meet the needs of their students while maintaining outcome accountability.

It’s called 21st Century Learning in Michigan Innovation District legislation and unleashes education innovation at the pace locals — students, parents or guardians, school boards, and teacher unions select. And it is not a mandate, but rather an optional path to foster educational innovation.

Our Educational System is Designed for 1906

Much of our current system is still built around the Carnegie Unit, a structure developed in 1906 that measures learning based on “seat time,” the number of hours a student spends in a classroom, rather than mastery of content. Even the Carnegie Foundation, which helped establish the model, has acknowledged the need to move beyond it. After more than a century, it is time to update a system designed for a very different world.

Pursue Innovation That Accounts for Human Nature

We often talk about equity in education, and rightly so. But a system designed around uniform structures does not always serve students equally. The students who struggle most in traditional models are often those facing the greatest challenges outside the classroom. Many of the innovations our proposed legislation would enable are already happening in pockets across Michigan. What this idea does is remove unnecessary barriers, allowing districts to better use the resources they already have and giving educators more time to focus on students.

Innovation Starts With Micro Schools, Not Mandates

Districts that choose to participate can develop more flexible models, whether through personalized learning plans, competency-based progression, or stronger connections between the classroom and real-world careers. Participation requires alignment from parents, students, educators, and local school boards, ensuring that innovation reflects the priorities of each community.

Districts that prefer to continue their current approach can do so.

For example, consider a micro school consisting of three educators teaching English, science, and math. Instead of having three separate hours on three topics, it would be 90 students together for three-hour blocks, combining these subjects so the students can learn all these skills in a realistic fashion in an application that is exciting to them.

If we are willing to give our educators the flexibility to innovate and our students the opportunity to succeed, Michigan can lead in both economic growth and educational achievement in the 21st century as we have in the past. This could potentially also allow businesses the opportunity to offer more internships and apprenticeships, because it is not tied to measuring a student’s desk time; it is about what they are learning and how to enhance that learning, further developing the talent pipeline.

Let’s Empower the Willing and Let Them Fly

We believe that the school districts that have already embraced student-centered learning are the early adopters, and there will be fast followers. There are currently 85 schools identified as early adopters in our state. Ultimately, parents in non-participating districts will go to their school district and ask how their kids can be part of it.

Let’s not force change on people, especially when it comes to their children’s education. But let’s also not hold back those who want to try something new, exciting, and innovative.

We have students ready to fly. Let’s let them fly.

Rick Snyder was the 48th Governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2018 and is a current Board Member of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Doug Ross was formerly a Michigan State Senator and a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training.