Capitol Update
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | September 6, 2023
Office of School Safety Update:
This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the Office of School Safety (OSS) will continue to remain operational through the end of 2024 due to a one time transfer of $1,340,000 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to support the operations and programs of the office. The original request to permanently fund in the biennial budget was unfilled by the Joint Finance Committee. This commitment in ARPA dollars will extend the operations OSS including the Speak Up, Speak Out 24-hour tipline, critical incident response teams, and threat assessment consultation. The full release from DOJ can be found here.
2023 Speaker’s Task Force Membership Announcement:
Following the announcement of the Speaker’s Task Forces, membership was recently announced. The membership of the Task Forces are listed below:
Speaker’s Task Force on Truancy:
Chair: Rep. Amy Binsfeld (R-Sheboygan)
Vice Chair: Rep. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee)
Members:
Rep. Chanz Green (R – Grandview)
Rep. Scott Krug (R – Nekoosa)
Rep. Paul Melotik (R- Grafton)
Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R – Pleasant Prairie)
Rep. Patrick Snyder (R – Schofield)
Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D – Oregon)
Rep. Kristina Shelton (D – Green Bay)
Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity
Chair: Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Fall Creek)
Vice Chair: Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa)
Members:
Rep. Elijah Behnke (R – Oconto)
Rep. William Penterman (R – Columbus)
Rep. Donna Rozar (R – Marshfield)
Rep. Peter Schmidt (R – Bonduel)
Rep. Alex Joers (D – Middleton)
Rep. Melissa Ratcliff (D – Cottage Grove)
Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking:
Chair: Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac)
Vice Chair: Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire)
Members:
Rep. Ty Bodden (R – Hilbert)
Rep. Barbara Dittrich (R – Oconomowoc)
Rep. Joy Goeben (R – Hobart)
Rep. Rick Gundrum (R – Slinger)
Rep. Scott Johnson (R – Jefferson)
Rep. Jeffrey Mursau (R – Crivitz)
Rep. Jon Plumer (R – Lodi)
Rep. David Steffen (R – Green Bay)
Rep. Paul Tittl (R – Manitowoc)
Rep. Jill Billings (D – LaCrosse)
Rep. Sue Conley (D – Janesville)
Rep. Darrin Madison (D – Milwaukee)
Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D – Madison)
Speaker’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence
Chair: Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Neenah)
Vice Chair: Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska)
Members:
Rep. David Armstrong (R – Rice Lake)
Rep. Calvin Callahan (R – Tomahawk)
Rep. Dave Maxey (R – New Berlin)
Rep. Tom Michalski (R – Elm Grove)
Rep. Adam Neylon (R – Pewaukee)
Rep. Angie Sapik (R – Lake Nebagamon)
Rep. John Spiros (R – Marshfield)
Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R – River Falls)
Rep. Clinton Anderson (D – Beloit)
Rep. Samba Baldeh (D – Madison)
Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D – Kenosha)
Rep. Lori Palmeri (D – Oshkosh)
Topics: Legislative Action, SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Legislative Alert
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 24, 2023
Today, Speaker Vos announced the formation of four bipartisan task forces:
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Truancy in K-12 Education
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence;
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity; and
- The Speaker’s Task Force on Human Trafficking.
According to the release, the members of the task force on truancy in K-12 Education will examine the relationship between truancy and student academic success, evaluate the current practices to hold parents and schools accountable for student attendance and increase awareness and resources, ensure every child has access to quality education and a promising future. Representative Amy Binsfeld (R-Sheboygan), chair, and Representative Dora Drake (D[1]Milwaukee), vice-chair, will lead the task force on truancy. The task forces will meet around the state to obtain input and create recommendations on each issue. The full release can be found here.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently released a report on student absenteeism which can be found here. Additional information will be provided as the task forces begin to plan their meetings around the state.
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Cosponsorship Deadline Today at 5:00pm – Repeal of Act 141 Penalties
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 9, 2023
The deadline for legislators to sign on as cosponsors of LRB-3997/1 is 5:00 p.m. today. This important proposal would eliminate the penalties created in 2017 Act 141 related to a failed referendum. If you can please contact your legislator today and ask them to cosponsor LRB 3997/1 and express the importance of this proposal moving forward quickly due to the fiscal timelines in which districts are required to set their levy.
Find your state legislators here. Please reach out if you have questions.
Background:
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified 28 districts in which the voters rejected an operating referendum during the time period that could affect their eligibility for the low revenue adjustment in the 2023-25 biennium. With the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under 2023 Act 19 and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment amount under 2023 Act 11, though, only 19 districts which have base revenue per pupil of less than $10,675 to start the 2023-24 revenue limit calculation would be impacted. This bill would eliminate this provision. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo further describing this impact can be found here. The 19 districts in that category are marked in Attachment 1 in this Legislative fiscal bureau memo with a double asterisk. Attachment 2 shows the estimated amount of revenue limit authority that would be generated under the low revenue adjustment for those 19 districts in the biennium.
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Capitol Updates
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 4, 2023
2017 Act 141 Repeal
Yesterday, Senator Pat Testin and Representative Chanz Green circulated a proposal for co-sponsorship to repeal the referendum penalties created in 2017 Act 141. Please contact your legislators and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor LRB-3997/1 and express the importance of this proposal moving forward quickly due to the fiscal timelines in which districts are required to set their levy.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau identified 28 districts in which the voters rejected an operating referendum during the time period that could affect their eligibility for the low revenue adjustment in the 2023-25 biennium. With the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under 2023 Act 19 and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment amount under 2023 Act 11, though, only 19 districts which have base revenue per pupil of less than $10,675 to start the 2023-24 revenue limit calculation would be impacted. This bill would eliminate this provision. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo further describing this impact can be found here. The 19 districts in that category are marked in Attachment 1 in this Legislative fiscal bureau memo with a double asterisk. Attachment 2 shows the estimated amount of revenue limit authority that would be generated under the low revenue adjustment for those 19 districts in the biennium.
Find your state legislators here. Please reach out if you have questions.
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Upcoming Education Hearing & Legislative Fiscal Bureau Budget Summary
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 14, 2023
The Assembly Committee on Education has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, July 20th. Please let me know if you have any comments on the bills listed below – please don’t hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts with me.
The notice for the hearing can be found here.
Assembly Bill 163: Relating to: supplying anti-choking devices in schools.
Assembly Bill 108: Relating to: the definition of “strip search” for the purpose of the prohibition against strip-searching a pupil.
Assembly Bill 293: Relating to: defining critical mapping data for school safety plans.
Assembly Bill 138: Relating to: issuing a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation or a general educational development certificate.
FROM THE WHEELER REPORT: SCHOOL FUNDING EFFECTS OF BUDGET
A new memo was released today by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau titled Estimated Effects of K-12 Funding for School Districts Under Act 11 and 19. The memo begins highlighting “It is not possible to project with certainty which districts would be eligible for the low revenue adjustment amount in the 2023-25 biennium under these provisions because that depends, in part, on future enrollment changes in individual districts, levy decisions of local school boards, and other factors in the revenue limit calculation. Data on revenue per pupil and the three-year enrollment average for 2022-23, however, can be used to provide some indication of which districts might be eligible for the low revenue adjustment amount.”
Act 19 (the budget) provided a per pupil adjustment under revenue limits at $325 in 2023-24 and an additional $325 in 2024-25. Act 11 (the per pupil and school choice changes) increased the low revenue adjustments under revenue limits from $10,000 per pupil in 2022-23 to $11,000 per pupil in 2023-24 and each year after. (Attachment 1 provides a district by district listing of possible changes.)
The memo explains the possible impacts for declining enrollment districts which could be impacted by an interaction between the current law base revenue hold harmless adjustment and the per pupil and low revenue adjustments. There are 28 districts with failed operating referendum which will impact their eligibility for low revenue adjustments in the 2023-25 biennium. However, given the $325 revenue limit per pupil adjustment under the budget, and the $11,000 low revenue adjustment under Act 11, there are only 19 districts with base revenue per pupil of less than $10,665 to start 2023-24.
The memo next addressed the changes to the special education aid. The budget increased special education funding to provide an estimated reimbursement rate of 33.3% of eligible costs, and provides funding in 2023-24 and 2024-25 for the estimated costs. (The estimated changes are in the Attachment.)
Finally, the memo addressed the changes for school-based mental health services grants. The budget provides a one-time increase of $15 million GPR in each year of the biennium for school-based mental health services grants and changes the program to require DPI to distribute the funding on a per pupil basis to all eligible entities. The funding would provide payments of approximately $31 per pupil in 2023-24 and 2024-25, and $12 per pupil in future years. (The estimated changes are in the Attachment.)
The memo only addresses the next budget cycle worth of school funding and does not address the Governor’s veto providing per pupil changes in the future.
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