Charter School, W-2, Teacher Council Proposals Advance
Bills dealing with charter schools, a Professional Standards Council
for Teachers, collective bargaining, and welfare are making their way
through the last days of the legislative session.
Charter schools
The Assembly passed AB 631, which makes major changes to the state’s
charter school law. The bill removes the requirement that charter schools
be instrumentalities of the school district. It also loosens restrictions
on who can run charter schools.
“This proposal may appear to encourage opportunities in public
education, but in reality, it could lead to unintended consequences,”
said WEAC President Terry Craney. “AB 631 must be studied carefully
to prevent the creation of a system where entities that sponsor charter
schools are given so much authority that they fail to provide the minimum
programs that all children need and deserve.”
Craney said WEAC opposes the bill, which now moves to the Senate for
action.
“Setting high standards and accountability in a public school
system is easy work - maintaining those standards and accountability
is the difficult job,” Craney said. “Charter schools will
succeed as long as educators, parents, school boards and the entire
community work together to ensure that schools provide the best education
possible for our children.”
Professional Standards Council
A measure creating a Professional
Standards Council for Teachers has passed the Senate and is scheduled
for an Assembly committee hearing later this month.
The Assembly Education Committee will hear testimony on SB 364 February
24 in Madison. Craney urged WEAC members to contact their state Assembly
representatives and urge them to support the bill.
“Wisconsin’s grade in the recent Education Week ‘Quality
Counts’ report was based on the lack of several state policies
and programs, including a state council like the one in SB 364,”
Craney said. “This bill would go a long way toward improving Wisconsin’s
score as well as giving educators a voice in licensure issues. WEAC
initiated the drive for this bill more than two years ago.”
Technical college attendance
The Senate also approved a measure allowing participants in the Wisconsin
Works (W-2) program to count part of their technical college attendance
toward the program’s work requirement. The bill, which WEAC supports,
now goes to the Assembly. (Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel article.)
Collective bargaining
The Senate Education Committee last week heard testimony on a bill
implementing recommendations of the 1995 Council
on Municipal Collective Bargaining, but took no action.
Posted February 13, 1998