For over a decade, Michigan’s virtual public schools successfully battled for equitable funding. After Gov. Rick Snyder lifted the state cap on online charters in the early 2010s, the state repeatedly proposed funding them at just 80% of traditional school levels, even as enrollment grew to 25,000 students, many from high-need communities.

In 2022, however, a new legislature signaled - and finally inflicted - funding cuts for online schools. PSO-Michigan overhauled its strategy: elevating new voices from underserved areas, leveraging guidance counselors, securing allies inside the State House, and using media to counter misconceptions about virtual learning.

During the 2025 budget standoff, parents and partners applied relentless pressure, and lawmakers ultimately restored full funding for virtual public schools. The victory reinforced virtual education as a vital part of Michigan’s public school system and highlighted the power of parent advocacy.

The History of Equitable Funding in Michigan

For over 15 years, Michigan families have fought for fair funding and access to high-quality virtual education. This timeline highlights the key moments, political shifts, and parent-led advocacy that shaped the battle for equitable online school funding.

Laying the Foundation (2010–2013)

When Gov. Rick Snyder took office in 2010, Michigan lifted the cap on online charter schools, which allowed more families to choose virtual options. At this time, online schools were funded at 100% of the brick-and-mortar school per-pupil rate, ensuring students received full support.

But just a couple of years later, the Snyder Administration began proposing steep cuts that would have reduced virtual school funding to 80%. However, through relentless advocacy work and discussions with lawmakers, these cuts were never enacted. PSO-Michigan along with parent advocates and partner organizations beat back budget cuts every year for roughly a decade, setting the tone for a long-term defensive battle. 

Standing Strong Through a New Administration (2018–2022)

When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office in 2018, the threat didn’t disappear. Her administration also proposed reducing virtual school funding to 80%. Once again, PSO-Michigan along with parents, schools, and advocates mobilized to block virtual school funding cuts and protect student options.

Adapting to New Politics (2023–2024)

It wasn’t until 2023, however, that funding for online schools in Michigan was finally reduced. This legislative session was the first time since the enrollment cap was lifted that virtual schools did not get the same funding increase that other schools received, effectively lowering their relative funding level.

This forced PSO-Michigan to pivot quickly. “We had to rebuild our entire strategy overnight,” said coalition manager Matt Resch. Advocates shifted to more direct engagement with lawmakers, amplifying parent stories and educating the new majority about the unique needs of virtual learners.

The Misconception

At the heart of this issue were 25,000 Michigan students enrolled in virtual schools across the state, many from Detroit or other lower income neighborhoods, who deserved better. 

This misconception of virtual schools and their funding ran deep, and frankly still does today. Critics argue that because online schools do not maintain facilities like gymnasiums or fleets of school buses, they could not possibly require equal funding to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. But what these critics do not take into account is that virtual schools spend these dollars differently given their unique needs and the populations they serve. 

“A typical brick-and-mortar high school in the state of Michigan has 1 counselor for every 638 students,” Resch explained. “At Michigan Virtual Charter Academy, they have thirty-five counselors and support staff members for a population of 3,300+ learners. It is a different and big expense, but an even bigger service that they are offering their students.”

Families choosing virtual education do not often do so for convenience. Many are facing complex challenges, including health issues, bullying and violence, learning differences, or special needs. Therefore, inequitable funding for these students can not be seen as smart budgeting, but instead should be seen as underfunding and devaluing some of the most vulnerable populations of students. 

PSO’s Fight Strategy and Approach

PSO-Michigan went back to the drawing board, throwing away their old advocacy playbook. They quickly realized that traditional messaging that had worked no longer resonated with the majority party, and they needed to introduce lawmakers to the families that turn to virtual education as the best and, sometimes, only resource for their child. 

Pivoting to New Voices

PSO began to meet and recruit advocates from new communities, particularly in Detroit and other urban areas represented by key lawmakers. They leaned on school partners and guidance counselors, who had existing trusting relationships with these families, to open the doors and help us shed a light on the population that virtual education serves. 

“The counselors see firsthand what these students are going through. There are teen parents, students with anxiety, families without reliable transportation. Sitting them in front of lawmakers and asking them to share their stories made the lawmakers see these students as real people, not statistics,” Resch recalled. 

And when they were unable to bring families to the capitol, guidance counselors would accompany PSO-Michigan with “piles of letters” sharing testimonials from students and families. These stories included tales of resilience, concerns about school safety, and the feeling of belonging and thriving thanks to their virtual school. “The words of these students carried the same weight.” 

Mobilizing Parents and Media

Every year, parent advocates in Michigan would email and call their legislators at key moments in the budget process. But in this critical year, after facing difficulties with discussions being frozen out by the committee chair, PSO-Michigan organized its first statewide virtual press conference. 

To draw attention to the fact that lawmakers were considering a 20 percent decrease in funding for online schools, our team brought together reporters from all across Michigan via Zoom. Parents, teachers, and students shared stories live on camera. For many journalists, it was their first exposure to the realities of virtual schooling.

“Earned media became a tool we hadn’t fully used before,” said Resch. “It helped counter the idea that online schools are less real or less rigorous.”

The Present-Day Fight: The 2025 Funding Win

The spring and summer of 2025 brought on the most unpredictable funding fight to-date, testing the decade’s long groundwork built by the PSO-Michigan coalition in the fight for equitable funding. 

In July, budget negotiations in the statehouse ended up in a gridlock. The governor, House and Senate were unable to agree on spending priorities. For months, the Capitol was quiet, and without hearings or session days… there were no opportunities for advocates like PSO to come in and make the case for virtual school equitable funding. 

Determined to keep the momentum going, parents and partners flooded lawmaker inboxes with emails and testimonials to keep the issue and cause visible, despite being unable to get meetings scheduled. 

Several deadlines came and went, and on the final day before the fiscal year start date, rumors swirled that lawmakers may cut online school funding drastically to free up funds for other priorities. 

It was a nailbiter. “We had to trust the relationships we’d built with lawmakers to fight for us behind closed doors,” said Resch. “Ten years of showing up built us credibility, and this was the moment when those relationships were put to the test”. 

At 2:00 a.m. on October 1, after months of negotiation, Michigan’s legislature finalized the state budget. In a major victory for school choice, details emerged showing that virtual public schools were once again funded at full parity with traditional brick-and-mortar schools.

Conclusion

The Michigan funding fight offers a roadmap for advocates nationwide. The 2025 victory was the product of storytelling and a decade of relationship-building. Key takeaways from this coalition’s success include:

Advocacy Must Evolve. Each election cycle reshapes the landscape, and success came from adapting messages to new audiences and framing virtual education as a public good that protects vulnerable students.

Stories Beat Statistics. Data mattered, but personal testimony, parents, counselors, and students sharing lived experience, ultimately moved lawmakers.

Relationships Are Currency. Trust built over ten years, through meetings, Capitol Days, and ongoing engagement, carried the coalition through shifting political winds.

Coalition Strength Multiplies Impact. A unified network of school choice organizations amplified the message and ensured consistency across overlapping policy battles.

The Work Never Ends. As Resch reflected, “There’s always another fight ahead,” and sustaining momentum requires early preparation, funding stability, and developing new advocates for the next chapter.

Ultimately, restoring full funding proved what advocates have always said, virtual schools aren’t an experiment, they’re a lifeline, and when families, educators, and lawmakers unite, they guarantee equity for the students who depend on it.