LANSING, MICHIGAN - Public schools across the state of Michigan have one thing in common on February 10, 2021, and that is Student Count Day. Student Count Day is when public schools in Michigan count the total number of students attending school. Student Count Day occurs twice a year, once in the Fall and once in the Spring. Schools encourage their students to attend on this day because the enrollment taken will determine how much state aid schools receive.

This year has presented many challenges towards in-person learning due to COVID-19. School districts across the state have approached count day differently.

Lansing School District spokesman Robert Kolt spoke about how Lansing Schools, a large district with over 10,000 students, are counting their students today.

"We have to count differently because of online face-to-face instruction. Until we can count and analyze the data, we will not know how many students were present," said Kolt.

In a new procedure developed by the Michigan Department of Education, 75% of funds will be determined by last year's count and 25% by this year's student count. Usually, the funds are based on 90% of this year's count and 10% on the prior year's student count.