MiLEAP is partnering with the Michigan College Access Network to support districts in their efforts. The Iron Mountain school board last month approved a change its graduation policy to accommodate the FAFSA initiative.

Hartland Consolidated Schools, Kensington Woods and Ann Arbor are among 75 Michigan districts splitting $10 million from the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, or MiLEAP.

"Even though we have a small uptick, that's a win, and we want to celebrate that," Fewins-Bliss said. "But we are still leaps and bounds away from where we were at the peak time of enrollment and FAFSA completion."

Reaction to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget for 2026 is coming in. Below are a few of the statements 6 News has received.

Henry Ford II High School Associate Principal Anthony Tocco was recently named in a group of 12 school leaders statewide who will take part in an 18-month program for the next generation of administrators at the secondary level.

Henry Ford II High School Associate Principal Anthony Tocco is among 12 school leaders including Ferndale High School Principal Fellicia Searles-Powell selected for a leadership program aimed at growing the next generation of secondary administrators.

The Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals and the Michigan College Access Network have announced the second cohort of Michigan Leadership for Equity and Transformation Fellows which includes a Manistee educator.

For the ninth year in a row, Dryden High School is offering a Senior Seminar College Planning Course to all high school seniors in conjunction with the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN). The goal of the College Planning Course is to increase college completion by lowering barriers that prevent students from getting to and through college, including social capital, academic preparation, college knowledge and affordability.

Southwestern Michigan College Dean of the School of Business and Advanced Technology Dr. Karen Reilly won second place and $5,000 in the inaugural Take Flight: Sixty by 30 Pitch Competition at Michigan College Access Network's 13th annual conference.

Movement on initiatives expanding such tuition-free programs throughout Michigan kicked off in earnest with the 2019 announcement of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Sixty by 30 initiative, whose goal is to increase the number of working-age adults with a skill certificate or college degree to 60% by 2030.