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Capitol Update

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | February 29, 2024

Last week the Assembly adjourned for the remainder of the session after completing a week of floor sessions where the body acted on over 200 bills.  The Assembly voted on several bills that would impact our school communities including providing continuing funding for the Office of School Safety, various measures relating to licensing and educator preparation programs, and bills impacting timelines and the fiscal appropriation attached to Act 20 (literacy legislation).

Ultimately, AB 1069/SB 990, ended up being amended to eliminate the requirement to administer the first assessment of the new statewide reading screener in the 2024-25 school year.  The Assembly made an additional change regarding training providers.  The last-minute, late-night change by the Assembly means the Senate will need to concur on the changes when they meet for the last time in early March before the amended bill can be sent to the Governor for his signature. 

Below is a list of bills that have passed both houses and are awaiting the Governor’s signature and a list of bills that will need the Senate to sign off on them before they can be sent to the Governor at the end of the legislative session:

Awaiting action by the Governor:

SB-313 Fail to Stop for Bus (James, Jesse) Increased penalties for failing to stop for a school bus. Passed, (Voice Vote)

SB-742 Teacher Certification (Knodl, Daniel) An alternative teacher certification program for an initial license to teach. Passed, (Voice Vote)

Awaiting Action from the Senate:

AB-210 Wearing Tribal Regalia (Joint Legislative Council) Pupils wearing traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event. Passed, (Voice Vote)

AB-214 Teaching License (Joint Legislative Council) A lifetime license that authorizes an individual to teach an American Indian language in an American Indian language program and modifying rules promulgated by the Department of Public Instruction. Passed, (Voice Vote)

AB-542 Firearm Detection Software (Callahan, Calvin) Grants to schools to acquire proactive firearm detection software and making an appropriation. Passed, (Voice Vote)

AB-779 Apprenticeship Awards (Oldenburg, Loren) Apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship completion awards, career and technical education incentive grants and completion awards, technical preparation programs in school districts and technical colleges, creating an individual income tax credit for completing an apprenticeship program, rejection criteria for part-time open enrollment applications, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, and providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures. Passed, 62-35

AB-968 Threat Detection Grants (Callahan, Calvin) Appropriating money for grants to schools to acquire proactive threat detection equipment and software and making an appropriation. Passed, 90-7 

SB-990 Literacy Training (Stroebel, Duey) Mandatory early literacy professional development. Assembly Amendment 1 Added, Passed as Amended, (Voice Vote) Must return to Senate for concurrence on Amendment.

AB-1050 Office of School Safety (Novak, Todd) Position authorizations in the Office of School Safety and making an appropriation. Passed, 95-2

2024 Election Update Cycle:

As you know, the Governor recently signed legislation implanting new legislative maps for our state.  A new legislative/school districts map will be distributed as soon as it is available so members can be aware of who their new legislator(s) may be.  Below is an excerpt from The Wheeler Report with the most up to date information on the 2024 Fall Election:

From The Wheeler Report: “The following individuals have publicly announced they will either not seek re-election, or are running for a different office:

  1. SD-16: Melissa Agard – Running for Dane County Executive
  2. AD-09: Marisabel Cabrera – Running for Circuit Court Judge
  3. AD-11: Dora Drake – Running for SD-4
  4. AD-12: Lakeshia Myers – Running for SD-4
  5. AD-18: Evan Goyke – Running for Milwaukee County Attorney
  6. AD-44: Sue Conley – Not seeking re-election
  7. AD-46: Melissa Ratcliff – Running for Senate
  8. AD-47: Jimmy Anderson – Running for Senate
  9. AD-71: Katrina Shankland – Running for Congress
  10. AD-81: Dave Considine – Not seeking re-election
  11. AD-90: Kristina Shelton – Not seeking re-election

Please note, this list does not include any individuals who may have been paired in a district under the new maps.  This list only contains those individuals who have publicly stated they are not seeking re-election, or who have announced they are running for a different office. Filings of Non-Candidacy are due to the Wisconsin Elections Commission by 5 pm on May 24, 2024.”

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