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Capitol Update 3-25-26

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | March 25, 2026

Surplus Negotiations

The Legislature has adjourned its regular session for the year, meaning its primary remaining task is determining how to allocate the state surplus or return it to taxpayers. It remains unclear when lawmakers will return to take up any agreement that may be reached.

“Affordability” is a central theme heading into the midterm elections, and much of the discussion has centered on property tax relief and individual tax relief. Legislative leaders and Governor Evers remain engaged in negotiations over both the amount of the surplus to be allocated and the mechanisms that would be used to deliver relief. At this point, outside of tax relief, fulfilling the state’s commitment to the special education reimbursement from the last budget appears to be the only major spending item gaining traction on both sides of the negotiating table.

With no deadline for lawmakers to return, school and district leaders should continue emphasizing to policymakers the need to fill the gap in special education funding and provide meaningful property tax relief. If you need assistance crafting correspondence to your legislators, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Legislative Leadership Retirements 

The close of the 2025-27 regular legislative session also brought major retirement announcements from legislative leadership. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced on the final regular floor day that he will not seek reelection. He has been the longest-serving statehouse speaker in the country. In the Senate, Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu also announced his retirement shortly after what was widely viewed as a tumultuous final day of session. Other legislators who have announced they will not seek reelection include: Senators Nass, Hutton, and Wanggaard, and Representatives Petersen and Tittl.

End of the 2025–27 Legislative Session

The Senate concluded its final regular floor session last week. A handful of K-12-related bills advanced out of that house and are now headed to the Governor for consideration. The bills highlighted below are those most likely to be signed into law, though a few other proposals with bipartisan support still face an uncertain path forward. Other bills, including the bell-to-bell cellphone prohibition and most instructional mandate proposals, were not taken up by the Senate and therefore will not advance this session.

As bills are signed into law, additional updates will be provided, along with a more comprehensive end-of-session summary that members can use as a reference. If you have questions about these or any other proposals, please reach out.

AB 1004: Prohibiting education employers from entering into certain agreements related to information about alleged immoral conduct by an employee and civil immunity for information provided to a prospective employer.

This bill prohibits school boards, governing boards of charter schools, and governing bodies of private schools participating in a parental choice program or the Special Needs Scholarship Program (an education employer) from entering into any agreement that 1) has the effect of suppressing or destroying information related to immoral conduct by an employee, 2) affects the ability of the education employer or its employees to report immoral conduct, or 3) requires the education employer to expunge information about substantiated allegations or findings of immoral conduct from any documents maintained by the education employer. The bill also provides civil immunity to an educational employer that, upon request from a prospective employer, provides information about the conduct of a current or past employee, including information about immoral conduct. The civil immunity provided in the bill is in addition to the civil immunity under current law for employment references. Under current law, an employer who provides a reference to a prospective employer is presumed to be acting in good faith and is immune from civil liability that may result from providing the reference.

AB 530: Operation of drones over school property and providing a penalty

Current law prohibits the operation of a drone over a correctional institution without the express authorization of the Secretary of Corrections for a state facility or of the sheriff of the county for a county facility. A person who violates this prohibition is subject to a forfeiture of up to $5,000.

This bill prohibits the operation of a drone over a property owned by a public, private, or tribal school or on which a public, private, or tribal school is located with the following exceptions: 1) with the express authorization of the school board, governing body, or governing board with jurisdiction over the school; and 2) for limited purposes at the direction of the chief of a public protective services agency with jurisdiction over the territory on which the school property is located. The penalty for a violation of this prohibition is the same as for a violation of the restriction on operating a drone over a correctional institution.


AB 98: Pupils wearing traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event.

Wisconsin law contains some general protections for a pupil’s religious beliefs, ancestry, creed, race, and national origin. Specifically, schools must provide for the reasonable accommodation of a pupil’s sincerely held religious beliefs with regard to all examinations and other academic requirements. Additionally, no student may be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational, or other program or activity because of race, religion, national origin, ancestry or creed. However, current law does not explicitly address an American Indian student’s right to wear traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event.

This bill provides that school boards and charter schools may not prohibit a pupil who is a member of, a descendent of a member of, or eligible to be enrolled in, a federally recognized, whether currently or in the past, American Indian tribe or band from wearing traditional tribal regalia at a graduation ceremony or school-sponsored event. The bill defines “traditional tribal regalia” as a tribe’s traditional dress or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance, including tribal symbols, beads, and feathers.

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