Wisconsin Radio Network

Wisconsin News and Sports

You are here: Home / Archives for Education

Wisconsin joins suit over coronavirus relief funds for schools

By

Wisconsin is joining a lawsuit to keep private schools in the state from getting coronavirus stimulus money.

Attorney General Josh Kaul said Wisconsin’s share of the $13 billion in CARES money is at risk.

“The funds allocated to schools in the CARES Act provide vital support at a time when schools have had to make significant changes to the way they teach students,” Kaul said in a press release. “Instead of ignoring congressional intent and diverting funds away from public schools, Secretary DeVos should follow the law.”

Under a U.S. Department of Education rule issued by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, school districts are ordered to set aside a portion of their aid for private schools using a formula based on the total number of private school students in the district.

Kaul said spending government money on private schools hurts Wisconsin’s public schools.

Wisconsin DPI releases general school aids estimate

By

Most of Wisconsin’s K-12 public school districts are receiving additional money money from the state.

The Department of Public Instruction’s general school aid estimate for the next school year says, overall, schools will split about $5 billion.

That’s up 3.5 percent from the previous school year. Not every school will see more though: 114 of Wisconsin’s 421 school districts will see less money from DPI.

Thompson seeks input as UW System Interim President

By

Former Governor Tommy Thompson officially became interim head of the UW System on Wednesday. One of his first actions was to launch an online “listening post” for people to send him feedback.

“We are going to need your help,” Thompson says in a video announcing the site, which dubs him the UW System’s “Listener-in-Chief.”

Thompson plans to respond to the input in ongoing video responses called “Two Minutes with Tommy” that will post on social media and on the system’s website.

Thompson has tapped former Assembly Speaker Tom Loftus, a Democrat, and former secretary of the state Department of Administration Scott Neitzel, a Republican, to lead his transition into the job.

He’ll hold the post for at least a year, at which point the System will re-start its attempts to hire a permanent successor to former president Ray Cross. He’ll stay on in an advisory role for the next three months.

School board votes to remove police officers from Madison high schools

By

For years, activists demanded that the Madison Metropolitan School District remove police officers, known as School Resource Officers, from the district’s four main high schools.
The past month has seen protests over the issue, following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The Madison school board voted unanimously on Monday to terminate the district’s contract with the Madison Police Department for school resource officers, effective immediately.

Opponents of the SRO program say the presence of police in schools negatively impacts students of color and makes them feel unsafe.

Prior to Monday’s vote, board member Ananda Mirilli said the action sends the message that “the bodies of black and brown students will no longer be criminalized.”

“We are also saying that we don’t have all the answers. We are learning to do this anti-racism work alongside many other communities across the U.S., and we won’t stop until we actually get it right.”

Police and supporters say SROs have specific training that makes them better suited to dealing with issues that arise at schools.

Acting Police Chief Vic Wahl said in a statement that SROs “have played an instrumental role in maintaining a safe learning environment” in the high schools.

School board president Gloria Reyes, a former police officer, said the community was clearly telling the board to act now rather than in the future.

“The majority of my colleagues on the board have expressed their support for the removal of SROs. The Madison teachers’ union . . . have supported the removal. The mayor and other elected officials have expressed support to remove.”

Security plans for the district’s high schools have yet to be determined. Reyes announced during the meeting the creation of a safety and security committee to work on what those will look like going forward. The Madison City Council is expected to vote to terminate the contract next month as well.

 

DPI releases guidance on reopening K-12 schools

By

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on Monday issued Education Forward, a guidance document for Wisconsin district and school leaders to use as they plan for a safe, efficient, and equitable return to school for the 2020-21 school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

State School Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor said, “Education Forward is meant to provide information for educators and school officials as they make decisions regarding their school operations to keep all students and staff safe while learning.”

DPI specialists developed Education Forward in close collaboration with officials from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and education stakeholders throughout the state. The primary consideration of all involved was the health and safety of students and staff.

Education Forward provides health information, resources, and possible action steps aligned to not only close out the current school year, but also prepare for and implement provisions in the next school year. The document does not constitute a requirement for any district or school. Instead, the plan says the information should be used as a starting point to be modified in collaboration with all stakeholders.

The plan lays out various scheduling scenarios to maintain physical distancing, such as a four-day week – allowing for one day of deep cleaning. There is also a plan for a two-day rotation, under which all students report to a school, outdoor learning spaces or community-based organizations two full days a week for starters. Another plan spells out what is called an A/B weekly rotation, in which half the student population reports for classes four days a week, while the other half participates in virtual learning at home.

The two student groups would then alternate between in-person and virtual learning on a weekly basis. The 87-page document also lays out a phased approach, in which elementary students start back to school first, attending four full days a week, aimed primarily at reducing the student-teacher ratio. Secondary students engage in virtual learning to start out the year.

The document also includes specific considerations for special education students, English language-learning students, gifted and talented students, school libraries, and out-of-school programs.

Education Forward can be found in its entirety on the Department of Public Instruction website at www.dpi.wi.gov.

WDLB

Tommy Thompson will serve as UW System Interim President

By

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson has agreed to serve as University of Wisconsin System Interim President.

The Board of Regents announced Friday that Thompson, the state’s only governor to serve four terms, will assume the new leadership role effective July 1.

UW System President Ray Cross is retiring, and the only finalist for the position withdrew his name from consideration last week.

“The University of Wisconsin System is the state’s most valuable asset, and I will be its biggest advocate and its toughest evaluator,” Thompson said in the news release. “No other institution in the state can do more to improve lives, communities, and Wisconsin’s economy.”

University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents President Andrew S. Petersen said he asked Thompson to serve as interim president because of his legacy of bringing people together and finding common ground.

“Governor Thompson is a statesman who offers the kind of leadership the UW System needs right now,” Petersen said. “I have witnessed his collaborative yet direct leadership style. He is perfectly suited to serve as Interim President.”

The move was greeted enthusiastically by Republican leaders in the Wisconsin Legislature, which has budget oversight for the UW System.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tweeted that Thompson is “a great selection” for the interim post.  “I want to thank Governor Thompson for stepping up to serve our state again in this capacity.”

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald released the following statement:

“I could not be happier with the Board of Regents’ pick. Governor Thompson has always been one of the University of Wisconsin System’s strongest advocates. As we face unprecedented times, there is nobody better to step in and make sure Wisconsin’s prized universities continue to thrive.”

Calls for UW System finalist who withdrew from consideration to resign current job

By

The former finalist to take over the University of Wisconsin System is now facing calls for resignation from his current job in Alaska.

A faculty union at the University of Alaska is calling for UA System president Jim Johnsen to step down. Faculty officials say Johnsen he mishandled proposed cuts at his own schools and instead focused his efforts to find himself a job elsewhere.

Johnsen faced votes of no confidence in 2017 and 2019, and withdrew himself from the running for the UW position after staff and faculty in Wisconsin said they didn’t have a say in the process.

Evers distributes $80 million in CARES Act education relief

By

Governor Tony Evers will distribute more than $80 million, to help K-12 schools and higher education institutions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The emergency funding comes from more than three billion in federal dollars the state received under the CARES Act. Evers has discretion to assign $2 billion as he sees fit.

Just over $46.5 million will go to K-12 schools. Thirty-seven million dollars will go to colleges and universities. The UW System will receive $20 million, coming just as UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee announced plans to reopen for the fall.

 

UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee release fall plans

By

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee will bring students and employees back for the fall 2020 semester.

The UW System’s two largest campuses will require everyone to wear masks indoors, and outdoors when social distancing isn’t possible.

They will also open up dorm housing to thousands of students, provide testing through the universities and implement enhanced cleaning protocols.

Both universities anticipate the cost of putting in place all the coronavirus-related changes will be significant, but were unable to provide an estimate at this point.

Evers rejects UW System changes to federal Title IX policy as state joins lawsuit

By

The University of Wisconsin’s policy for sexual harassment and sexual assault is in limbo. Governor Tony Evers called the new policy too vague when rejecting it Monday.

In a letter sent to UW System President Ray Cross, Evers wrote he is not approving the system’s scope statement on the proposed changes to the federal Title IX policy, because the statement does not clearly describe what changes the Board of Regents are attempting to make.

Wisconsin is also joining a lawsuit to block new Trump administration rules to provide more protections for those who are accused of harassment or assault. Critics say it’s bad for accusers. Evers prefers the rules enacted during the Obama Administration.