Capitol News

The Michigan House Oversight Committee has approved a move to seek a subpoena against the Michigan Department of Education. The action aims to obtain records and communications related to the department's proposal for new health education standards, which include topics such as gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township) issued a statement following the committee’s decision. “Families and taxpayers throughout our state deserve to know if special interests from outside Michigan are impacting state policies and curriculums. Our committee recently asked the department for various materials relevant to this question and were given a vague and unrealistic timeline in response. The pressing nature of this issue and the inadequate response from the department led us to seek this subpoena," DeBoyer said.

He continued, “Our committee’s role is to examine the inner workings of state government, ensure it is working for the people, and review things that are potentially noncompliant with current law. I look forward to receiving this information from the department so representatives of the people can drill down into what went into this proposal in the first place. There has been a lot of warranted concern and mistrust from parents about what these changes would entail and what business government has in presenting this material to children. Our committee will deliver additional and needed transparency regarding this move.”

The committee seeks meeting minutes, records of meetings with outside groups, and other communications related to how these proposed standards were developed.