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Legislative Update


“Physical activity” mandate on schools barely passes out of committee after lawmaker changes vote

The end of session is a hectic time. Since time is short and things are rushed, the standard of review and vetting of legislative proposals is often limited. There are exceptions, but often these late session bills aren’t necessarily meant to become law, but rather stake out positions for lawmakers to use in their reelection platforms.

It can also be a strange time and a good example of this was the vote in the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care on Assembly Bill 1016. This bill, authored by Rep. William Penterman (R-Columbus, pictured), would mandate that public and private voucher schools offer at least 3 hours of “physical activity” per week to all students during school hours with the argument that this will help combat childhood obesity. The bill had an amendment curiously championed by Rep. Daniel Riemer (D-Milwaukee, pictured) recommended unanimously by the committee that removed the requirement for the “physical activity” to be offered during school hours. Then things got interesting. read more…

Assembly to hold session on Feb. 15 and 20, Senate Education Committee will vote on proposals today

Capitol Rotunda ImageThe business before the end of session continues this week with the announcement of two Assembly floor sessions and a Senate Education Committee executive session. Education focused proposals will take up a large portion of the Assembly agenda in the coming days. The chamber is set to take up the legislative packages for the Task Forces on Human Trafficking, Childhood Obesity, and Truancy in K-12 Education. Also on the docket are several curricular mandates, teacher licensing pathway changes, a grant program for threat detection software, private choice/independent charter school funding and regulation, and school accountability issues including introducing bidding thresholds for schools.

Today in anticipation of the final Senate sessions, the Senate Education Committee will be voting on the proposals it heard testimony on last week in its public hearing. Read below to find more information on the bills receiving action this week. read more…

Capitol Watch: Both houses in floor session, Assembly education committee will vote on proposals

With the clock ticking on the legislative session, lawmakers in Madison will meet for a busy week as they hold votes on their final policy initiatives before adjourning. K-12 education issues will take a central focus this week, with the Senate voting tomorrow on 6 bills previously heard by the Senate Education Committee. The Assembly Education Committee will also be meeting tomorrow to vote on the bills the committee heard testimony on last week. It is expected that the Assembly will also be convening at the end of next week. This means the bills recommended for passage by the committee tomorrow, will likely form the bulk of the chambers remaining education-focused action.

Read below to see the bills set to see action this week. As always, please reach out to the Government Relations Team if you have any questions. read more…

Bill to temporarily fund OSS receives a public hearing in both chambers

This week, a bill that would fund the Office of School Safety (OSS) through Sept. 2025 received a public hearing in both the Senate and Assembly. AB 1050 / SB 955, authored by Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Cameron) and Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), would allow DOJ and the OSS to use revenue generated from concealed carry permits to fund the office. This came after efforts by Sen. Quinn & Rep. Novak to have the office funded in the 2023-25 state budget were unsuccessful. The WASB supports the services the OSS provides to our members and thanks these lawmakers for their efforts. We urge both houses of the legislature to approve this legislation before the end of this session and for Gov. Evers to sign it into law.

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Capitol Watch: Committees in both chambers will take action this week on over 30 bills affecting K-12 education

Starting today, lawmakers have kicked off a busy week in the Capitol that will see over 30 bills affecting K-12 education see committee action. In the Senate, the Committee on Education voted this morning on 9 bills and will also hold a public hearing tomorrow (Feb. 6). Also this week, the Committee on Health will hold a public hearing on two bills that would establish a childhood obesity prevention grant program, the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety will hold a hearing on a bill that would fund positions at the Office of School Safety, and the Committee on Transportation and Local Government will hold a hearing on SB 916, requiring school boards to designate an individual for a committee to consult on locally resettled refugees.

On the Assembly side, the Committee on Education will hold an executive session and a public hearing Wednesday morning (Feb. 7). Topics to be covered in the hearing include bills sponsored by the Task Force on Truancy in K-12 Education, bills decoupling private choice and independent charter schools from the public school funding formula, a bill that aims to impose public record law on the WIAA, and one that funds positions at the OSS. Additionally, the Assembly Committee on Children and Families will be holding a public hearing on AB 1035, which would require schools to use a community approach to 4K. More information on this bill can be found in the WASB’s previous blog post. Read below for a full run down of the week’s activities. read more…

Legislation up for hearings this week would mandate a community-based approach to 4K programs

Assembly Bill 1035/Senate Bill 973 are identical companion bills that require the community approach to four-year-old kindergarten. SB 973 is up for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Education on Tuesday, February 6 while AB 1035 will have a public hearing in the Assembly Committee on Children and Families on Wednesday, February 7. The WASB has significant concerns about the impact of this legislation on existing school-based 4k programs and the quality of all 4k programs. Below is the bill’s LRB analysis: read more…

Education stakeholders/DPI request adjustment to new reading law implementation timeline

2023 Wisconsin Act 20, signed into law in 2023, makes major changes and includes new requirements related to reading instruction in all Wisconsin school districts (see WASB resources on Act 20 implementation). It has recently come to our attention from multiple school administrators that there is strong concern and uncertainty in the timeline for acquisition of the statewide screener and whether there will be sufficient time for schools to implement it in time for the 2024-25 school year.

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Assembly Education Committee schedules hearing for Thursday, Feb. 1

This Thursday (Feb 1), the Assembly Committee on Education, chaired by Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay), will meet at the Capitol to hold a public hearing and an executive session. In the public hearing, the committee will hear testimony on a number of bills that would impact public school districts. Topics to be covered include human trafficking prevention instruction, student teaching requirements in teaching preparatory programs, and a funding bill related to the implementation of requirements in Act 20.

During the executive session the committee will vote on two bills that would require schools to teach cursive writing and would establish new standards for for civics education. read more…

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