In a likely preview of the K-12 agenda GOP candidates for governor and the legislature will run on in 2022, several key legislators unveiled a slew of ideas for legislation recently. The package was announced by Senate Education Chair Sen. Alberta Darling, Sen. Roger Roth, Rep. Robert Wittke and Assembly Education Chair Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, among others.
The bills would all almost certainly be vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers and become campaign talking points this summer and fall. The current 2021-22 legislative session is scheduled to wrap in March.
The bill topics, as described in Sen. Darling’s release,:
- Parental Bill of Rights – Establishes several parental rights relating to decisions regarding a child’s religion, medical care, records, and education, and creates a cause of action for the violation of these rights. Allows a parent to bring a suit if those rights are violated. View bill draft (LRB-5944); View the co-sponsorship memo.
- School Choice Expansion – Opens school choice to all Wisconsin families by removing state enrollment caps, family income limits, and grade entry points – marking the beginning of true school choice for all our students and families. View bill draft (LRB-4713); View the co-sponsorship memo.
- Milwaukee Public School Reform – Establishes by 2024, that MPS will be divided into smaller community districts that are more manageable and accountable to parents and their communities. The new community district boundaries will be developed by a commission made up of elected officials with a vested interest in the community, including the Mayor of Milwaukee, the Governor, and the State Superintendent. (Editors note: The bill would reorganize the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) System into four to eight school districts and create a Milwaukee Public Schools Redistricting and Implementation Commission to accomplish that task.) View bill draft (LRB-5632); View the co-sponsorship memo.
- School Accountability Reports – Establishes standards for school accountability reports. Our state’s educational accountability system relies heavily on the state school and district report card. This bill improves the accountability reports to provide a consistent assessment of student success. (Editor’s note: The bill would require the Department of Public Instruction to promulgate via administrative rulemaking, the components, methods, and formulas it uses to determine and publish school and school district accountability reports.) View bill draft (LRB-5871); View the co-sponsorship memo.
- High-Performing Charter Replication and Creation of Statewide Charter Board – Charter schools are public schools that operate with less red tape. This bill will streamline replication for the highest performing charter schools in our state and will increase opportunities for more students and families statewide. View the bill draft (LRB-5665 ); View the co-sponsorship memo
- Property Tax Credit after Virtual School – Increases the school property tax credit for residents of school districts that are closed to in-person instruction for more than 10 days of instruction during the second half of the 2021-22 school year. Many working families were left last minute to find options for their children, and this money will help offset some of those incurred costs. View bill draft ( LRB-5941); View the co-sponsorship memo.
Darling wrapped up her release with the following statement: “I welcome the debate from those who want to protect the status quo and support decades of failing students. The time is now to put children and families first because we can no longer afford to lose a generation of students.”
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