Lansing Update: School Safety and Vulnerable Adult Bills Advance Ahead of Sacred Triduum
Posted April 17, 2025
This edition of Lansing Update is arriving early this Holy Week to allow you to fully enter the Sacred Triduum that precedes the great Solemnity of the Resurrection of Our Lord. But first, the legislative news from the week.
Nonpublic Schools Benefit from New Safety Protections Under Bills
Nonpublic school safety would improve under new procedures to ensure emergency preparedness, as well as from shared access to regional safety and mental health support staff, as part of a wide-ranging bill package to improve safety procedures in all schools.
The House Education and Workforce Committee this week took up seven school safety-related bills, all of which earned the support of Michigan Catholic Conference and the Michigan Association of Nonpublic Schools (MANS) for including nonpublic schools in proposed regulations to promote safety.
The committee reported five of the bills, with plans to vote on the remaining two next week. One of the bills that advanced was House Bill 4222, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Schmaltz (R-Jackson), which adds the requirement for public schools to have a school crisis team and for nonpublic schools to have an emergency operations plan, which must be reviewed once every three years.
The legislation requires all schools to include guidelines to address the installation and use of temporary locking devices, as well as another requirement that all schools appoint a school crisis team that would consist of school leadership, law enforcement personnel, and staff.
Another bill approved by the committee was House Bill 4227, sponsored by Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs), which requires every intermediate school district (ISD) in Michigan to employ at least one emergency and safety manager and at least one mental health coordinator.
Intermediate school districts are regional entities that provide shared services to multiple local school districts within their geographic boundaries. Under the bill, both new positions created for ISDs would be responsible for serving nonpublic and public schools located within the intermediate school district’s boundaries and would be responsible for several safety and mental health issues outlined in the bill.
The committee this week also approved two other bills—House Bills 4226 and 4258—that were previously reported on in Lansing Update and also supported by MCC and MANS.
Other bills considered by the committee but not voted on included:
- House Bill 4225 would require all schools to include the number for the state’s confidential tip line for students to report potential harm or criminal activities—also known as OK-2-SAY—on the identification cards issued to students in grades 6 through 12. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Donna Steele (R-Lake Orion).
- House Bill 4229 would require quarterly reports of the tips received to the state’s OK-2-SAY tipline to be presented to the School Safety and Mental Health Commission. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Cynthia Neeley (D-Flint).
The final bill reported to the full House was House Bill 4259, sponsored by Rep. Samantha Steckloff (D-Farmington Hills) which adds a definition of what a tip is in relation to the OK-2-SAY hotline to the state’s Student Safety Act.
Bolstered Protections for Vulnerable Adults Passes Senate
The state Senate passed an MCC-backed package to protect vulnerable individuals from financial harm or exploitation by setting up personal protection orders (PPO) specifically for elder or vulnerable adults.
The PPO, if approved by the court, could prohibit an individual from accessing, exercising, or transferring control over the funds, benefits, property, resources, belongings, or assets of the elder or vulnerable adult who requested the PPO.
The legislation establishing the new PPO and the process to obtain one, Senate Bill 111, passed by one vote in the Senate. The other bills—Senate Bills 112 through 114—all passed unanimously.
Senate Bill 112 includes embezzlement from a vulnerable adult in the definition of racketeering. Senate Bill 113 provides penalties and steps for property recovery for embezzlement from vulnerable adults and the estates of vulnerable adults. Senate Bill 114 would establish the ability for counties or regions to create a vulnerable adult multidisciplinary team to work toward strategies to protect vulnerable adults from financial exploitation.
The package next heads to the House for further consideration.
Dying and Rising with Our Lord Through the Sacred Triduum
Each year, Catholics are invited to meditate upon the great mysteries of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ Jesus as they play out between Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil.
The three liturgies that take place across Triduum constitute one liturgical whole over the course of three days and present an opportunity for the faithful to participate in the Sacred Mysteries from beginning to end and fully prepare for the coming joy of the Resurrection.
On Holy Thursday at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the Church marks the origin of some of our most important traditions: The Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood. We experience the love Jesus has for us as we recall him stooping to wash his disciples’ feet, and the gift of his presence in the Eucharist instituted at the Last Supper.
Much like the disciples after the Last Supper, the faithful are invited to follow the Lord in a procession outside of the church to an Altar of Repose, where Our Lord present in the Eucharist asks us as he did to his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to stay and keep watch with him.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion occurs during the hours Jesus hung upon the cross. The liturgy captures the sober mood of the day when Christ took upon the sins of the entire world, as does the Church décor—the altar is stripped bare, holy images are covered, and the tabernacle is emptied of the Lord’s presence until after Communion on Easter Vigil.
On Holy Saturday, the Church remains somber as it recalls the day that God descended into death and laid in a tomb. However, as the day goes on, anticipation grows as the Church gathers after dark to usher in the great celebration of the Lord’s victory over sin and death.
The Easter Vigil is a must-attend occasion for all Catholics, with the celebration beginning in darkness lit by candles—signifying Jesus as the light of the world—followed by an extended Liturgy of the Word recounting salvation history and God’s work to reconcile us through His Son.
It is a liturgy packed with moments to anticipate, from the beautiful Exultet sung or chanted to proclaim the great feast, to the great return of the “Alleluia” that departed during Lent.
Adding to the joyous atmosphere is the opportunity to welcome new individuals into the Church, as the Easter Vigil marks the final step in the initiation process for new Catholics, who receive Baptism and/or Confirmation—along with First Holy Communion—or are welcomed into communion with the Church if they are already baptized.
The Sacred Triduum is a wonderfully rich time to contemplate the central mysteries of our faith, and attending these liturgies is highly encouraged. In any case, this week is a time to set apart for more time in prayer and contemplation of Our Lord’s great saving work.
On behalf of MCC, we wish you, in anticipation of the joyous days ahead, a blessed Triduum and happy Easter, when we can proclaim now and forever: “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!”