A group of gun safety advocates launched an “exploratory committee” last week to examine the possibility of a 2024 ballot initiative to pass some form of gun safety legislation if the Michigan Legislature fails to act on the issue themselves. The organization would like to see reforms on universal background checks, safe storage measures, red flag laws, and prohibitions on guns at government buildings like the state Capitol.

The bills package would mandate that K-12 public schools, charters schools, and intermediate school districts incorporate curriculum lessons on Asian American and Pacific Islanders; Latin Americans, Hispanic Americans Caribbean Americans; Indigenous Peoples and Native Americans; and Middle Easterners and Chaldeans starting in the 2022-23 school year.

This week, 211 pre-kindergarten-12 schools are reporting new or ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks. Only halfway through the month, 24 Michigan public schools have closed temporarily or put in place remote learning plans in January due to COVID-19 disruptions, including Ann Arbor Public Schools, Detroit Public School Community District and Flint City School District, according to Burbio, a data service that aggregates calendars nationwide.