Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance - Representing the Interests of Wisconsin Students

DPI Mental Health in Schools Webpage

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 6, 2017

I wanted to share with you DPI’s new Mental Health in Schools webpage which highlights the mental health provisions in the State Superintendent’s state budget request, and also includes a new video that tells a powerful story from the Hortonville Area School District. Please consider sharing the information and video widely.

The new page is part of the budget section of the DPI website.

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Evers to Face Humphries, Holtz

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 4, 2017

Incumbent State Superintendent Tony Evers will face two challengers in the February primary election for the office he currently holds — retired district administrator Lowell Holtz and John Humphries, a former administrator in the Dodgeville School District.

Evers and his challengers filed nomination papers with the Wisconsin Election Commission by the 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday. They will square off in the Feb. 21 primary and the top two vote-getters will advance to the April 4 spring election.

This is a very important election for SAA members. On December 22nd, the SAA asked the candidates for State Superintendent to respond in writing to several questions on current education issues impacting Wisconsin public schools and public school children. Our intention is to forward the candidate responses to the entire SAA membership as soon as they are received. We have asked the candidates to provide their written responses by this Friday, January 6, 2017.

Based on these survey responses and other factors the SAA will make a candidate endorsement in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Coverage here.

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DPI to Hold Hearing on Proposed PI 34 Revisions

By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 3, 2017

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will hold a public hearing public hearing on a proposed rule regarding the revision of PI 34 relating to permanent changes as a result of Emergency Rule 1623. The hearing will be held from 2:30 to 4:00 pm on January 30, 2017 at the DPI offices in Madison.

PI 34 contains the current administrative rules governing the licensure of school personnel. Emergency Rule 1623, which became effective on August 23, 2016, made several changes to the existing rule to make teacher licensing more amendable to school district staffing needs, which included the following:

• Creating the ability for Wisconsin educators who are age 55 or older to apply for a five-year, nonrenewable license without having to meet professional development requirements.

• Increasing the number of consecutive days that a short-term substitute can be in the same assignment.

• Expanding the renewal options for emergency licenses to include attempting to pass required tests for licensure for educators who have met all other requirements and submitting a plan to complete an approved program.

• Expanded the pathway for teachers to add additional licenses based on content tests.

The proposed rule seeks to make the changes created by Emergency Rule 1623 permanent and identifies additional changes to make teacher licensing more flexible.

Written comments on the proposed rules received no later than February 9, 2017, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing. See the proposed administrative rule here.

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