The education spending plan unveiled Wednesday by Michigan House Republicans would provide about $40.8 million in new funding for private K-12 schools and $170.6 million in scholarships for college students attending private universities.

If enacted, the proposals would significantly increase taxpayer money flowing from the state government’s coffers to private educational institutions in Michigan. The proposed K-12 allocation could test the state Constitution, which bans explicitly public money from going to “aid or maintain” private elementary or secondary schools.

State Rep. Tim Kelly, a Saginaw Township Republican who oversees the K-12 budget for the House GOP, said the funding for private school students is meant to achieve “parity” among students in Michigan.

“We’re trying to treat a kid as a kid as a kid,” Kelly said. “Regardless of the choices you make in order to go to school, we think you ought to have the funds for it.”

When asked whether he had concerns about the constitutionality of the spending, Kelly had a brief response: “If they want to sue, sue.”

It’s not clear how many Michigan students currently attend private K-12 schools.

The Michigan Department of Education last published data on the number of students in private schools for the 2016-17 year. At that point, there were about 112,000 students enrolled in private schools, according to the tracking. There are about 1.4 million students enrolled in public K-12 schools.While Democrats still hold the governor’s office and the state Senate, Republicans won back control of the state House in November 2024.

In their first budget proposal of the new term, House Republicans proposed consolidating dozens of individual appropriations for schools — such as $33 million for health centers and $200 million for breakfasts and lunches — into $3.1 billion in so-called “per-pupil payments.”

The payments would be in addition to the normal foundation allowance given to public schools.

The foundation allowance would be set at $10,025 per student under the House GOP plan, increased 4.3% from $9,608 in the current year.

Traditional public school districts would also get $2.7 billion or about $1,975 per student through the new payments, while intermediate school districts would receive $314 million or $228 per student.

The rest, $40.8 million, would go to private schools “in an equal amount per pupil,” according to the text of the bill.

Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, said the expenditure, if it became law, would be the first time that the state gave a per-pupil funding amount to private schools.

House Republicans are attempting to normalize funding for private schools, Camilleri said. The allocation flies in the face of the Michigan Constitution, he said.

“No payment, credit, tax benefit, exemption or deductions, tuition voucher, subsidy, grant or loan of public monies or property shall be provided, directly or indirectly, to support the attendance of any student or the employment of any person at any such nonpublic school,” the Michigan Constitution says.

The House, Senate and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would have to agree to a budget plan for it to become law. The Michigan House voted 56-53 to approve the $21.9 billion K-12 budget Wednesday afternoon, hours after it was unveiled Wednesday morning. Republican state Reps. Josh Schriver of Oxford and Steve Carra of Three Rivers were the lone Republicans to vote against the budget.

In 2016, when Republicans controlled the Legislature, lawmakers provided $2.5 million for private schools to comply with state health and safety mandates. A lengthy legal battle eventually led to a 3-3 split decision from the Michigan Supreme Court in 2020 on the constitutionality of the spending. The high court allowed the expenditures because the money was meant to further the “health, safety and welfare” of nonpublic school students.

At the time, Republican-nominated justices, who voted to OK the appropriations, held a 4-3 majority on the state’s high court. Now, Democratic-nominated justices have a 6-1 majority.

Under the new House GOP bill, private schools could spend the per-pupil payment money on mental health support, school safety, breakfasts, lunches, stipends for student-teachers, robotics and literacy professional development.

The House Republican budget also included keeping $1 million to reimburse private schools for the cost of complying with health, safety or welfare requirements. Whitmer and the Democratic-controlled Senate had proposed getting rid of that $1 million appropriation.

Meanwhile, the House GOP’s plan for higher education featured $1.3 billion to award up to $5,500 to all Michigan resident students attending a four-year public or private university. According to the proposal, $170.6 million of the $1.3 billion amount would go to students attending private universities.

In the past, when Republicans controlled the Legislature, they provided a smaller $38 million tuition grant program to offer need-based tuition assistance to students attending private and nonprofit colleges.

The funding for private scholarships runs the risk of “setting a precedent” and “opening up a can of worms” when it comes to public dollars being diverted for private purposes, argued state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a Detroit Democrat who sits on the appropriations committee.

“At the end of the day, we are struggling as is to keep up with our public institutions,” McKinney said. “Why would we divert any of these dollars to private entities? It does not make sense to me.”

The higher education funding bill was expected to receive a vote in the full House Thursday.

Robert LeFevre, president of the organization Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities, didn’t respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.