Legislators Circulate Bill Requiring Testing of School Drinking Water for Lead
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 7, 2019
From WisPolitics.com …
With clean drinking water a hot topic in the state Capitol, four GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation to address lead-tainted water in schools, day care centers, group homes and summer camps.
The lawmakers have dubbed the package the Supporting Children’s Health by Ousting Outdated Lead Acts, or SCHOOL Acts.
One bill would require all schools that receive public funding to test for lead contamination in their drinking water. If the presence of lead was above allowable levels, the source of the water would have to be taken offline and an alternative source would have to be provided.
If remediation was necessary and schools couldn’t afford it in the current budget, districts could go to a referendum outside of a regularly scheduled election. The bill also would encourage loans from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands by using money from a largely federally funded program to buy down interest rates.
The second bill would require testing drinking water for lead as a condition to renew or continue licenses for day cares, group homes and summer camps. If unacceptable levels of lead are detected, the contaminated source would have to be taken offline, clean water provided and a remediation plan developed.
See the release here.
LRB-3539 Memo Lead Testing (Cowles, Rob) Lead testing of potable water sources in certain schools; providing loans for lead remediation in certain schools; and providing an exception to referendum restrictions for lead remediation. Deadline: Tuesday, August 20, 5 pm
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Marklien Proposes Tobacco-21 Legislation
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | August 5, 2019
From The Wheeler Report . . .
Sen. Howard Marklein is circulating a bill to raise the age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 in Wisconsin. The proposal, called T-21, has seen significant momentum across the United States in the past few years. According to Tobacco-21, “475+ cities and counties in 29 states” have taken action to raise the tobacco age to 21. Sen. Marklein’s proposal, LRB-2839, would raise the age for purchasing cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products from 18 to 21. The bill also prohibits the purchase of vapor products “by or on behalf of a person under the age of 21.” The bill does not grandfather in current 18, 19 or 20-year olds, and does not make exemptions for active military persons. While Sen. Marklein is the lead author of the proposal, the bill has bipartisan legislators on the bill in both the Senate and the Assembly. The companion bill is being circulated by Rep. John Spiros in the Assembly.
- LRB-2839 Memo Raising Tobacco Age (Marklein, Howard) Raising the legal age for sale, purchase, and possession of cigarettes and nicotine and tobacco products, providing a legal age for sale, purchase, and possession of vapor products, and providing a penalty. Deadline: Monday, August 12, Noon
Please note that the SAA has thrown its support behind the legislation.
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Strang, Patteson: New DPI Guidance on Special Ed Open Enrollment Actual Costs
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 30, 2019
From The Legal Side…
Strang, Patteson recently published this legal update regarding the DPI’s new guidance on actual costs for providing special education and related services to open enrolled students. The SAA regularly receives these updates and we believe this is valuable information for SAA members. We are distributing this update to SAA members with the permission of Strang, Patteson.
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Continuous Advocacy: Unmet Needs & Ongoing Challenges
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 11, 2019
Since Governor Evers signed the 2019-21 State Budget last week, several SAA members have shared with me that their legislators had reached out asking if the budget was “good” for their districts. The administrators went on to ask for advice on how to respond to their legislators.
Clearly, the legislators were looking for simple one- or two-word responses that they could use with the media and with their colleagues. My suggestion instead was to share with legislators what this budget means for the kids you serve – in other words, how this budget improves educational opportunities for your students. But, more importantly, you also need to share the unmet needs from this budget and the ongoing challenges that remain.
I think this is a clear example of how our responsibility to advocate on behalf of necessary resources for our students and needed evidence-based policy does not stop with the signing of the state budget. It is ongoing and continuous.
Therefore, my suggestion to all district administrators is this: engage your administrative teams and develop your district’s analysis of 1) what this budget means for the students you serve, and 2) the unmet needs from this budget and the ongoing challenges that remain. Then use this information to educate your legislators, your staff, your board and your community.
Wisconsin school children deserve that kind of continuous advocacy. Thanks for listening, and thanks for everything you do for the kids you serve.
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DPI Releases Estimated Impact of Evers’ Partial Veto
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | July 3, 2019
From the Department of Public Instruction . . .
On July 3, 2019, Governor Evers signed AB 56, the 2019-21 state biennial budget, into law as 2019 Act 9, with partial vetoes. The PDF document below summarizes action on the state budget for K-12 school funding, public libraries and lifelong learning, and the Department’s operations, from the Department’s budget request, Governor Evers’ budget proposal, the final budget as adopted by the Joint Committee on Finance and Legislature, and the final budget as signed with partial vetoes by Governor Evers.
Full Summary of K-12 Education provisions included in the final 2019-21 Biennial Budget
Partial Veto to the Per Pupil Aid Program: Governor Evers partially vetoed language in AB 56 pertaining to the Per Pupil Aid (PPA) program, under which school districts receive a flat dollar amount per revenue limit member (pupils), as specified in state law. The effect of the Governor’s partial veto is to increase the per member dollar amount that will go to all school districts, for both the 2019-20 and the 2020-21 school years. The estimated impact of Governor Evers’ veto, as compared to AB 56 as adopted by the Legislature, for each school district in the state, is shown in the PDF document directly below. This comparison does not reflect the impact of the partial veto to the Supplemental Per Pupil Aid program, a separate, new program created under the budget bill.
Estimated Impact of Partial Veto to Per Pupil Aid Program
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