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…

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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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…

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…

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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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…

The Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity, chaired by Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Fall Creek), has released their legislative package after an extensive statewide tour to hear from key stakeholders in the space. The package includes a number of proposals that would impact public K-12 education, including AB 1016, a mandate requiring schools to offer 3 hours of physical activity per week to K-8 students. The WASB opposes this bill and has serious concerns about the impact it will have on schools and their class schedules. Other bills in the package include, AB 1014 and AB 1015 which would establish and appropriate money for a grant program that awards grants to childhood obesity prevention programs, including those sponsored by public schools. The Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care will hold a public hearing on all of these bills on Wednesday, January 31st. Read below for more information on these bills. read more…

During a busy week in Madison, that included Governor Evers’ State of the State Address, legislators met to discuss a number of issues as the session begins to wind down. Top of the agenda was redistricting conversations, a proposed abortion referendum, and tax cuts. However in the background, action was taken on a couple pieces of legislation impacting K-12 education.

Also in the Capitol this week, the Assembly voted to pass AB 914, which allows schools to hold a stocked supply of bronchodilators (inhalers) for use in the case of a medical emergency. The bill does not mandate that schools hold this supply and provides some liability protections in the case of an injury or unforeseen circumstance. read more…