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Capitol Update April 16, 2024

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | April 16, 2024

Start Date Rule Modifications: As you are aware DPI proposed changes to Clearinghouse Rule CR 24-026, the school start date rule.  The modifications recommended were intended to provide more flexibility for districts when setting their calendars so they can meet the needs of their district.  The public hearing held by DPI on the rule change included over 600 registrations with 90% being in favor of the additional flexibility offered to districts. 

Unfortunately, Governor Evers halted the advancement of the rule and did not approve the final rule submitted by DPI.  This was very unexpected, given that he previously approved the scope statement describing what the modifications were intended to be.  All proposed rules must be sent to the legislature for consideration by April 11th, the last official day of the general business period.  This delay means the legislature will not have the opportunity to review or debate the rule modifications until the new legislature is seated in January 2025. 

While this is disappointing it is important that the Governor hears our support for the change and how meaningful that flexibility would be for districts across the state.  SAA is encouraging school leaders to contact the Governor’s office with your support of the changes so that it can be advanced quickly in the new year.  You can contact the Governor’s office and express support for CR24-026 by utilizing the online comment form or calling at (608) 266-1212.

Referenda Passage Rate Report: The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently published a report on the Spring Passage rates for school referenda – you can read the full report below:

Wisconsin Policy Forum | School Referenda Passage Rates Remain Low (wispolicyforum.org)

2024 Redistricting: As we move towards the fall election cycle, candidates have begun circulating their nomination papers.  With the new maps there will be many changes throughout the state – it could mean changes in legislative representation for your district. As a reminder, only Senators in even numbered districts will face an election this fall.   The new maps are linked below, you can compare the 2022 version to the 2024 version for both the Senate and the Assembly.  Additional maps have been requested to reflect school district boundaries in addition to the legislative seats.   

 Wisconsin Legislative District Viewer

WMC School Funding Lawsuit: Wispolitics reported that Governor Evers veto increasing school funding is the subject of a new lawsuit –

Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce (WMC) Litigation filed a lawsuit Monday directly with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  The lawsuit is asking the justices to undo the partial veto, arguing it effectively forces local property taxpayers to pony up more money to fund schools. It further argues that the veto not only does an end-around legislators and local officials but also violates a 1990 amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that said governors “may not create a new word by rejecting individual letters in the words of the enrolled bill. Earlier this year Republican lawmakers passed a proposal for a statewide referendum that would block Wisconsin governors from using their line-item veto power to create, increase or authorize the creation or increase of a tax. This proposal requires a 2nd passage next year before it can be put to a statewide referendum. An update will be provided on the action the Supreme Court takes on this lawsuit.

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