Senator Dayna Polehanki
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.
District 5 Legislative & Community Updates
Dear Neighbor, Over the past weeks and months, my colleagues and I have been working hard to craft a fiscally responsible state budget to ensure that while chaos and confusion comes from Washington, our communities can find security at the state level. Full of...
District 5 Legislative & Community Updates
Dear Neighbor, Spring is well underway now, and I hope you’ve taken some time to enjoy Michigan’s warmer weather and brighter blue skies. Our state has so much to offer during the spring season, from the beautiful blooms at the Holland Tulip Time Festival to the...
Senate Democrats Pass Bold New Education Budget Proposal Focused on Putting Students, Teachers First
LANSING, Mich. (April 29, 2025) — Today, Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), alongside his Senate Democratic colleagues, announced a record education budget proposal that prioritizes Michigan students, invests in safe and healthy learning environments, and strengthens...
Stay Connected on Facebook
Sen. Polehanki’s Legislative YouTube Channel
Senator Polehanki March is Reading Month
Sen Polehanki in Support of SB 944
Sen. Polehanki Testifying in Support of Senate Bills 857 and 858
Senator Polehanki Asks Colleagues to Vote Yes on SB 911
Important: No API Key Entered.
Many features are not available without adding an API Key. Please go to the YouTube Feeds settings page to add an API key after following these instructions.
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.
While, I won't denigrate Mississippi's efforts to improve its academics, the picture that is being painted by at least one Michigan publication that Mississippi is outperforming Michigan on the NAEP reading test ("The Nation's Report Card") is MISLEADING.
While Mississippi has *scored higher than Michigan ONE TIME over the past decade on the Grade 4 NAEP reading test . . .
Michigan has *scored higher than Mississippi EVERY TIME over the past decade on the Grade 8 NAEP reading test.
The assertion in the Michigan publication that Michigan "abandoned" our 3rd grade read-or-flunk law to our detriment is not supported by test score data.
It's not surprising that states that flunk their "worst" 3rd grade readers achieve elevated results ahead of the Grade 4 NAEP reading test, but these elevated test scores tend to flatten over time (by Grade 8 NAEP reading), like they do with Mississippi.
This is borne out in NAEP data from other states as well, like Florida, which also flunks its worst performing 3rd grade readers.
Source: Grade 4 NAEP Reading (toggle through the years) www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile?sfj=NP&chort=1&sub=RED&sj=&st=MN&year=2015R3
Source: Grade 8 NAEP Reading (toggle through the years) www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile?sfj=NP&chort=2&sub=RED&sj=&st=MN&year=2015R3
*statistically significantly higher
Note: NAEP only tests Grade 4 in elementary and Grade 8 in middle school. High school Grade 12 is not tested in Michigan and many other states in reading.
In my time in office, I’m proud to have pushed for a DATA-DRIVEN approach to improving Michigan's reading scores by doing the following:
Funding free high-quality preschool, getting closer and closer to making it universal
Making a law that will completely overhaul how our teachers teach reading (going back to phonics, the "science of reading")
Incentivizing the best and brightest of our young people to join our ranks as educators, while paying our veteran teachers closer to what they deserve (reversing the Snyder years 59% decline in teacher candidates)
On my still-need-to-do list:
Make Kindergarten mandatory
Shrink class sizes in K-3 classrooms
Tackle our chronic absenteeism problem
and more to come . . ... See MoreSee Less
9 CommentsComment on Facebook
Team Polehanki enjoyed our neighborhood outreach today—both at our Community Conversation and then on the doors! ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
LANSING, MI - Nearly 48,000 Michiganders will be getting retroactive unemployment payments under a new law that raised weekly benefit rates earlier this year.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed [Democrats’] bill in December to increase unemployment benefits for the first time since 2011.
The state reviewed more than 78,000 claims made during [an implementation] gap, from Jan. 1 to April 1, to figure out who was eligible for [retroactive] higher payments. Of those, about 47,000 were qualified to receive extra money.
The maximum weekly benefit will go up to $530 starting Jan. 1, 2026 and increases to $614 on Jan. 1, 2027. Amounts will then be set by the state treasurer based on federal data starting in 2026. ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook