Advocacy and Government Relations Services

The DPI has authority under secton 118.38 of the state statutes to grant waivers to school districts from requirements in chapters 115 to 121 of the state statutes. WASB sample resolutions relating to requests for waivers of school district requirements under section 118.38 (such as a waiver of minimum hours of direct instruction) are provided here below. A school board may be able to use one of these samples to help organize and document the board’s approval of any waiver requests. Please note that DPI offers a simplified online waiver submission process for certain waiver requests.

• Sample 1 — MS Word version; PDF version (shorter sample with less background detail; last revised on 3/26/2020)
• Sample 2 — MS Word version; PDF version (longer sample with more background detail about the public health emergency that is the reason behind the waiver requests; last revised 3/26/2020)

School boards are reminded that they will need to hold a public hearing, as per state law (section 118.38(1)(b) of the state statutes) and document the date of the public hearing to receive a waiver from any state law requirement. The public hearing can be virtual or by teleconference. The DPI guidance related to public hearings for requesting waivers reminds districts to remain attentive to Open Meetings Law concerns, as further covered in guidance issued by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (see DOJ’s March 16 advisory and a related supplement issued on March 21).

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