The state Assembly met in session yesterday and amended Assembly Bill (AB) 1, the state’s COVID-19 response legislation, on a party-line vote. The amendments added back in provisions that had been removed by the state Senate in reaching a bipartisan compromise with Gov. Tony Evers.
This makes it more likely that the governor will veto the entire legislation, according to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) — as reported by WisPolitics.com.
A number of the provisions added to the bill in one of the amendments by the Assembly GOP affect K-12 education:
- Wide open full-time open enrollment under the alternative application process is allowed under the bill as amended, effective immediately upon publication. As amended, AB 1 allows applications into an unlimited number of districts and if a non-resident district and the parents agree that open enrollment is in the best interests of the student and accept an application, the resident school district may not object;
- Virtual charter school students must be allowed to participate in extra-curriculars and athletics in their resident school district on the same basis as the district’s full-time resident students, effective July 1, 2021;
- Restrictions on a school district’s WIAA membership unless the WIAA allows eligibility for open enrollment transfers where it is argued the reason for transferring was because the mode of instruction (i.e., in-persons vs. hybrid or virtual), effective July 1, 2021;
- Allows individuals hired as short-term substitutes to teach without a DPI license as follows: an individual may teach in a public school as a short-term substitute teacher without a license or permit issued by DPI if they meet the following requirements:
- the individual has submitted a complete application for a short-term substitute teacher license, and DPI has not made a decision on the application; and
- DPI conducts a background investigation of the individual, the results of which would not make the individual ineligible for a teaching license.
