By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Monday night the Dowagiac Board of Education adopted a community service policy.
Tuesday Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox voided the new requirement that high school students perform 40 hours of community service to qualify for $2,500 Michigan Merit Award scholarships.
The requirement was voided because it does not relate to academic achievement.
Cox, a Republican, said in a legal opinion requested by Rep. Brian Palmer, R-Romeo, that the state's Merit Award Board lacks the authority to require volunteer work starting with the Class of 2006.
The board's power to impose extra eligibility requirements is limited to the goals of increasing access to post-secondary education and rewarding graduates who succeed academically.
Requiring 40 hours of community service does neither, Cox wrote.
Palmer hailed Cox's ruling: "Community service is a noble undertaking and should be its own reward - not another mandate for students and schools imposed using questionable procedures."
Merit Awards give $2,500 to high school students based on their performance on a state standardized test to attend college in-state.
Those who leave Michigan to further their educations only get $1,000.