GOP Divided Over School Accountability Bill
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 7, 2015
Assembly leaders will introduce the Assembly school accountability bill this morning. Jason Stein from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has just put out this article highlighting the fact that the GOP Senate and Assembly are divided over the provisions of the bill. More to follow.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
School Accountability Bill Likely Up First
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 6, 2015
From WisPolitics:
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald say school accountability legislation will likely be the first bill to hit the floor in their houses this session.
Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he has been speaking with Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke about the issue and Walker has also asked them to work together.
Vos wasn’t prepared to get into details of the latest draft. But he expects the Assembly to be on the floor the week of Jan. 20 and plans for the legislation to be AB 1.
Debate over school accountability legislation bogged down last session over what tests to require and possible sanctions for failing schools. Vos has put Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, in charge of the Assembly bill, while Sen. Paul Farrow, R-Pewaukee, has been leading the Senate effort.
Vos said a draft bill could be out in the next several days.
The SAA will keep the membership informed of new developments on this issue.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Pocan Requests Review of Milwaukee Voucher Program
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 5, 2015
?As reported by Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to scrutinize the impact and outcomes of Milwaukee’s voucher schools compared with Milwaukee Public Schools in areas such as academic achievement, special-education services and accountability practices.
Not surprisingly, voucher proponents oppose the review which led Rep. Pocan to push back.
“No one should be afraid of data on this,” Pocan said. “If the data comes out and says (voucher schools) are doing terrific, we should know. Or if it comes out and says they’re not, we should know that, too.”
The SAA couldn’t agree more. Let’s find out where the evidence takes us.
See the article here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Here Come the Education “Fireworks”
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | January 5, 2015
?Milwaukee Journal Sentinel education columnist Alan Borsuk has penned a new column about the education “fireworks” soon to be ignited. Borsuk is always interesting reading.
See the column here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Wisconsin Government Revenue Not Out of Line
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 23, 2014
Despite claims that Wisconsin is a high-tax state, it is actually close to average in many measures of revenue and spending among the states, according to a Wisconsin Budget Project analysis of new figures from the Census Bureau.
Read more here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »