10 June 20 • 2019
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jews d
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Equal Protection

Governor joins the call to expand
Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
Pilot Program

New students to Frankel Jewish Academy
can apply for merit-based scholarships.
O

n June 4, Michigan Gov. 
Gretchen Whitmer, along 
with Sen. Jeremy Moss, D–
Southfield, and other members of the 
Michigan Legislature’
s LGBTQ Caucus, 
renewed the call to expand the Elliott-
Larsen Civil Rights Act 
by adding sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity 
as protected classes. 
The bills introduced 
by the legislators would 
protect LGBTQ individ-
uals from discrimination 
in employment, housing, 
public accommodations 
and more. 
“It’
s time to get 
Michigan on the right 
side of history. In the 
year 2019, nobody 
should be fired from 
their job or evicted from 
their home based on 
who they love or how they identify,
” 
Whitmer said. “If we’
re going to attract 
the talented workforce our business-
es need to create jobs and grow our 
economy, we need to continue to make 
Michigan a state where everyone can 
come to for opportunity.
” She vowed to 
sign the legislation, if passed.
If enacted, Michigan would join 20 
other states that protect individuals 
from discrimination based on their sex-
ual orientation or gender identity. 
“This month, LGBTQ Americans 
will mark 50 years since the Stonewall 
Uprising, and still the community here 
in Michigan doesn’
t have the basic dis-
crimination protection that pioneering 
activists fought for all those years ago,
” 
Moss said. “Our community finally has 
representation in both chambers of the 
Michigan legislature and an advocate in 
the governor’
s office committed to see-
ing this process through.
” 
Attorney General Dana Nessel 
issued a statement after the legislation 

was introduced: “Every Michigander 
deserves equal protection under the 
law. For too long we’
ve allowed dis-
criminatory practices to be carried 
out against members of the LGBTQ 
community. Michigan law currently 
allows for LGBTQ people to be denied 
housing, a meal at a local restaurant, 
essential health care services and even a 
good-paying job. 
“By expanding the Elliott-Larsen 
Civil Rights Act to irrefutably include 
sexual orientation and gender identity 
as protected classes, we are saying all 
people in our state deserve to be treated 
equally and fairly — the very intent of 
this law when it was established. This 
legislation is common sense and it’
s the 
right thing to do. I look 
forward to working with 
our partners in the legis-
lature to ensure Michigan 
finally provides adequate 
protections to the LGBTQ 
community.
”
A 2014 effort to expand 
the Elliott-Larsen Civil 
Rights Act to cover the 
LGBTQ community ultimately failed 
despite support from business leaders 
and advocacy groups around the state. 
Michigan residents who believe 
they’
ve faced discrimination can file 
complaints with the Michigan Civil 
Rights Commission as of May 2018, 
but the legal grounds for such com-
plaints remain uncertain without 
explicit changes. The governor has also 
issued an executive directive to extend 
discrimination protections for state 
employees and contractors, but there is 
nothing yet to protect individuals out-
side of that scope. ■

See an op-ed from Mel Larsen on page 
6 and a story about neo-Nazis at the 
Motor City Pride Festival on page 16.

W

ith multiple sources of fund-
ing and donations, Frankel 
Jewish Academy (FJA) creat-
ed the Frankel Merit Scholars Program, 
a four-year, merit-based scholarship 
available for the 2019-2020 school year 
for up to 15 new enrollees in grades 
9-12. 

Eligible students should be excep-
tional leaders in academics, athletics, 
arts, community service or in the 
Jewish community. An anonymous 
committee will determine deserving 
students who will be offered $20,000 
scholarships for each students’
 tenure 
at FJA for a total of up to $80,000 per 
student. Current tuition is $25,000 per 
year. 

All new students who already have 
applied for the 2019-2020 school year 
will be considered for this pilot pro-
gram. Eligible recipients can be from 
any grade level, Jewish background or 
any school — if they are new to FJA. 
“This is something we’
ve been 
exploring for several years,” said FJA 
Head of School Rabbi Azaryah Cohen. 
“[The goal is] to make an FJA educa-
tion affordable to mission-appropriate 
and highly capable students. Students 
who we believe will be leaders and 
who will demonstrate that an invest-
ment in Jewish education pays invalu-
able dividends for our local and glob-
al communities.” 
Increasing enrollment also plays a 
role. For comparison, enrollment for 
the 2015-2016 school year was 220 stu-
dents. This academic year, the school 
had 146 enrolled, with a senior class of 
43. So far, enrollment for the incoming 
freshman class will be in the mid- to 
high-20s, about what it was last year, 
Cohen said.
Although neither Farber Hebrew 
Day School in Southfield nor Hillel 
Day School in Farmington Hills have 

merit-based scholarships, Cohen noted 
some day schools do in New Jersey, 
Connecticut, New York and California. 
FJA leaders have been studying infor-
mation and initiatives in a report issued 
several years ago by UJA Federation 
of Toronto, and have been following 
the San Diego Jewish Academy, which 
instituted a half-off tuition fee for chil-
dren entering kindergarten and ninth 
grades, which are considered transi-
tional grades. 
“In thinking about the innumerable 
design options a program like this can 
take, we also took into consideration 
the success of other initiatives, factors 
that shape our market and the students 
who would thrive given an opportunity 
like this,” Cohen said, adding that merit 
scholars will participate in leadership 
training opportunities.
The merit program will not affect the 
school’
s financial assistance program. 
Shana Kantor, FJA director of advance-
ment, said students receiving merit 
scholarships who still need help with 
the balance of the tuition can apply for 
financial aid.
How have parents of current students 
been responding to the new program?
“I have had nothing but posi-
tive responses from current parents 
in the school,” Cohen said. “I think 
people understand that a program like 
this will benefit everyone in the school 
and the greater community. Families 
who receive the scholarship and are 
fortunate to be able to afford tuition 
will, I believe, increase their contribu-
tion to Jewish education at FJA.”
Application deadline to be con-
sidered for the scholarship is July 
1. Frankel Merit Scholars will be 
announced July 15. To apply, go to 
frankelja.org/scholarship or contact 
Arielle Endelman at aendelman@
frankelja.org. ■

JN STAFF

Gov. Gretchen 
Whitmer

Attorney 
General
Dana Nessel

State Sen. 
Jeremy Moss

DAVID OLDS, MICHIGAN SENATE DEMOCRATS

Michigan Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, 
speaks at a press conference June 4.

KERI GUTEN COHEN STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

COURTESY FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY 

