Governor Doyle Vetoes Five Bills That Would Have Hurt Education

Governor Doyle on Tuesday (April 18, 2005) vetoed five bills that would have been bad for schools, children and educators. Over the last few weeks, WEAC members have been encouraging the governor to veto these bills.

The five bills are:

• Days of instruction: Assembly Bill 84 would have repealed the requirement that schools have 180 days of instruction each year. Under this bill, class periods would likely have been lengthened by a minute or two to maintain the number of instructional hours but schools could have reduced the number of instructional days. This means that at least one, perhaps two, units or chapters of instruction could have been lost or eliminated. Also, this bill would likely have resulted in a loss of work hours for education support professionals. "I am vetoing Assembly Bill 84 because I object to creating the opportunity for school districts to reduce the number of days students are actively involved in learning," Doyle said in his veto message. "Lengthening the school day by as little as 10 minutes – equivalent to less than two minutes per class period – would allow school districts to take five full days off the school calendar. I do not believe the extra ten minutes a day will lead to the same amount of learning as an additional week of school. In addition, shorter school years may be impractical for working families, who would face financial and logistical challenges with respect to child care and after-school supervision. Finally, by eliminating the requirement that schools report the number of school days taught in each year, that information would not be readily available to parents and citizens."
• Charter schools: Assembly Bill 730 would have allowed any University of Wisconsin System school to operate or contract for the operation of a charter school. This would have relinquished control of public schools to a government entity too far removed from taxpayer accountability. It also would have increased the state's cost of funding independent charter schools and would have resulted in a statewide property tax increase for local taxpayers. Also, this bill would have increased the number of schools and pupils in the non-instrumentality independent charter school program, meaning less state aid for all 426 school districts. "I am vetoing AB 730 because I object to the lack of accountability measures for the new charter schools that would be established under the bill," Doyle said in his veto message. "While charter schools can be a good option for many families, this bill doesn’t ensure that the new charter schools would be high-quality."
• SAGE: Senate Bill 68 would have allowed schools to make the SAGE class size reduction program optional in grades 2 and 3 and divert the SAGE money to supplement special education costs. The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program is a proven success in helping needy children in early grades. This bill would have weakened SAGE by increasing class sizes and pitting low-income needy students in the SAGE program against special education students. "As governor, I have been forced to use my veto pen on more than one occasion to defend the SAGE small-class-size program against attacks by the Legislature, and I will do so again today," Doyle said in his veto message. "This bill lets schools take small class size funding without actually reducing class sizes. That makes no sense. Every parent and every teacher knows that one of the best things you can do for a child’s education is to put them in a classroom with fewer students. Moreover, research shows that the positive outcomes associated with reduced class sizes are sustained only if class sizes remain reduced over consecutive years, in kindergarten through third grade. This bill is a cynical attack on the SAGE program that would result in more students being packed into larger classes in the early grades – a critical stage in their education."
• Common School Fund: Assembly Bill 152 would have reduced the amount of money that counties provide to the Common School Fund from the collection of fines and forfeitures. Currently, about 90% of those funds are turned over to the Common School Fund, which invests the money and uses earnings to help fund school districts and school libraries. This bill would have required counties to turn over just 70% to 80% of fines and forfeitures to the fund, potentially resulting in a loss of money for schools. "I cannot support the reduction of this program, which is critical to Wisconsin school children, with no guarantee that the funds retained by the counties would actually be used to increase collections efforts," the governor said in his veto message.
• Virtual Charter Schools: Assembly Bill 1060 - designed to make it easier for school districts to start virtual charter schools - would have lowered the bar for the teaching profession by defining teaching merely as "assigning grades or credits for the pupils." This bill would have opened the door for allowing non-certified teachers and reversed Wisconsin's strong tradition of having highly qualified teachers. Wisconsin has always required a licensed teacher in its public schools, and research has clearly shown that a qualified teacher is a key to student achievement. "I am vetoing Assembly Bill 1060 because I object to allowing a lower standard for teachers and instructional staff in virtual charter schools than what the law requires for teachers and instructional staff in our public schools, including non-virtual charter schools," Doyle said in his veto message. "The effect of modifying the definition of 'teaching' and 'instructional staff' under this bill is that for virtual charter schools, only those persons who have responsibility for assigning grades or credits to pupils would be required to obtain a teaching license or permit from DPI. Actual pupil instruction could be delivered by persons without a state-issued license or permit. Education is my top priority as governor, and I strongly believe we need higher standards in our schools. Unfortunately, this bill does just the opposite, lowering the bar on the people entrusted to educate our kids. When it comes to education, I’m a pretty basic guy, and I simply believe that teaching should be done by professional, certified teachers. We shouldn’t have a lower standard for students in virtual schools than we have for students in regular schools."

Updated April 19, 2006