The Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 to pass a K-12
education spending plan Monday night which includes $639 million in new funding
for K-12 schools. Lawmakers also voted to expand eligibility for the
statewide school choice program as part of the plan and approve a new one-to-one device grant program for 9th graders.
Republican legislators on the Committee heralded the plan as
the largest increase to K-12 education funding in state history while
Democratic members of the Committee argued that the increase was not adequate
to make up for past funding cuts.
You can view the full plan approved by the Committee
here.
The Committee is
close to wrapping up work on the state budget and will meet to take up
transportation funding on September 5. Once the budget is approved by the Joint
Finance Committee, it must be voted on by both houses of the Legislature and
signed into law by Governor Walker.
WEMTA is interested in many of the items approved by JFC, including:
Per Pupil Aid Funding Increase: The Committee
approved the Governor’s recommended per pupil funding increases, though the
total funding amount is slightly lower than what the Governor proposed due to
re-estimated enrollment projections. Per pupil aid payments will increase from
$250 per student to $450 per student in 2017-18 and $654 per student in
2018-19. However, not all of the increased funding provided in the second year
would be ongoing. The payment would be set at $630 per pupil in the 2019-20
budget year. The Committee also deleted Governor Walker’s proposal to tie the
new per pupil funding to Act 10 compliance. Instead, the Committee’s plan
requires schools to report annually on their employee health care costs.
Personal Electronic Computing Device Grants: The
Committee adopted Speaker Vos’s proposal to create a new one-to-one device
grant program. The motion provides $9.2 million in funding beginning in 2018-19
to fund grants for personal electronic computing devices. Eligible entities
include: school boards, charter schools, private schools or a tribal school. Grants would equal $125 per ninth grade student. Applicants
would need to demonstrate that they will provide equal matching funds. Grants
could be used for the following: purchasing personal electronic computing
devices; purchasing software for the devices; purchasing curriculum that
includes content that may be accessed on the devices; or training professional staff on how to effectively incorporate personal
electronic devices into a classroom and into high school curriculum. The grant
program would end in the 2022-23 school year.
Information Technology Education (IT Academy): The
Committee voted to provides $875,000 in funding in each year of the budget to
contract with a single provider of information technology education for public
school students in grades 6-12, technical college students and library
patrons. The program would be
required to provide instruction on information technology skills and
competencies in areas requested by employers and allow participating students
and educators to secure broad-based industry recognized information technology
certifications. Programs would be required to operate in 225 sites, including
16 public libraries. The selected provider would need to demonstrate that they
have successfully offered an information technology instructional program in
schools in Wisconsin and developed an instructional program that includes all
of the following: research-based and skill-development-based information
technology curriculum; online access to the curriculum; instructional software
for classroom and student use; coding curriculum and material that are aligned
to the computer science advanced placement exam; certifications of skills and
competencies in a broad base of information technology-related skill areas;
professional development and co-teaching for faculty including but not limited
to computer science; deployment and program support; methods for students to
earn college credit; a demonstrated track record with schools in Wisconsin.Microsoft has previously provided services like this.
Public Library System Aid: The Committee voted to
delete the current law requirement that DPI include in its biennial budget
submission a request for public library system aid equal to 13% of the prior
year operating expenditures from local and county sources. The Committee voted earlier this summer to increase aid to the public library system by $1.5
million.
Library Service Contracts: No motion was required on
the Governor’s proposal to provide an additional $10,300 over the budget
biennium to fully fund the Library Service Contracts. Since the Committee’s
motion is silent on this item, the Governor’s proposal is considered approved.
Wisconsin Reading Corps: The Committee voted to
provide $1 million over two years for the Wisconsin Reading Corps to provide
on-on-one tutoring. The motion requires private matching funds of $250,000 per
year.
Teacher Licensure Rulemaking Process: The Committee
voted to require DPI to submit a rule to the Legislature by January 1, 2018
which simplifies the teacher licensure system as much as practicable. This
could include: simplifying the grade levels licensees can teach and creating
broad field subject licenses; enabling school districts to increase the number
of teachers by offering internships and residency opportunities; simplifying
out-of-state licensure reciprocity; expanding pathways for existing licenses.
Online Teacher Reciprocity: The Committee voted to
allow individuals who are located in another state but teach online courses
through virtual charter schools or public schools located in Wisconsin to be
considered appropriately licensed in Wisconsin as long as they hold a license
or permit to teach in their state of residence.
Alternative Teacher Preparation Program: The
Committee voted to require DPI to grant an initial teaching license to an
individual who meets the following requirements: has a bachelor’s degree; has
successfully completed an alternative teacher certification program operated by
an alternative preparation program provider that is a non-profit organization
and operates in at least five states, and that requires the candidate to pass a
subject area exam and the Professional Teaching Knowledge exam; and
successfully completes a background check.
Teacher Development Program: The Committee voted to
modify the Governor’s recommendation by specifying that private schools or
independent charter schools could apply for a grant under the program. An
eligible teacher development program could be developed in partnership with any
educator preparation program approved by DPI and headquartered in Wisconsin. The
Committee’s motion also deletes the requirement that an individual hold a
bachelor’s degree to enter a teacher development program.
Eliminate Expiration Dates for Teaching and Administrator
Licenses: The Committee voted to modify the Governor’s proposal to grant
lifetime teacher licenses. Instead, the Committee voted to require a
provisional three-year license for new educators, administrators and pupil
services professionals. A lifetime license would be granted after the
completion of six semesters of successful experience as certified by the individual's school board. DPI would still be required to conduct background checks on
behalf of MPS, independent charter schools and other school districts.
Virtual Charter School Funding Study: The Committee
voted to require DPI to prepare a report comparing the amount paid by the state
for pupils attending a virtual charter school through the open enrollment
program to the actual educational costs of pupils attending those virtual
charter schools. DPI must submit the report to the Joint Finance Committee by
January 1, 2019.
Statewide Private School Choice Program—Expanded
Eligibility: The Committee voted to increase the income eligibility limit
for the statewide school choice program from 185% of the Federal Poverty Level
to 220% of the Federal Poverty Level. It is estimated that this change will
result in an additional 550 students gaining eligibility.
Independent Charter School Authorizers: The
Committee voted to expand who can authorize charter schools in Wisconsin. The
motion specifies that the Director of the Office of Educational Opportunity
(OEO), any UW Chancellor, and any technical college district board can contract
with someone to operate an independent charter schools. The motion also
eliminates the current law limit on the districts in which the OEO Director can
authorize a charter school.
Rural School Teacher Talent Pilot Program: The
Committee’s motion provides $500,000 annually for a new rural school teacher
talent program that will provide grants to CESAs to coordinate with
universities and colleges to provide practicums, student-teacher placement, and
internships for undergraduate college students in rural school districts.
Shared Services Aid Program: The Committee’s motion
provides $2 million in 2018-19 for a pilot program that would provide funding
for school districts that share certain administrative positions, including
district administrators, human resource directors, IT coordinators, business
managers or other non-faculty administrative positions.
Whole Grade Sharing/Consolidation Aid: The
Committee’s motion creates two new aid programs that provide additional per
pupil funding to schools that enter into a whole grade sharing program or
consolidate.
Scheduling of School District Referenda: The
Committee’s motion would limit school district referenda to regularly-scheduled
election days (spring primary or election or partisan primary or general
election) or the 2nd Tuesday of November in odd-numbered years.
School districts would be limited to holding two referenda per year.
Sparsity Aid: The Committee rejected the Governor’s
proposal to increase sparsity aid payments from $300 to $400 per pupil.This change would
have resulted in about $9 million in additional funding in each year of the budget.Sparsity payments are made to small, rural school districts with less than 745
students and a population density of less than 10 students per square mile.
Instead, the Committee’s motion says that any district that qualified for
sparsity aid in one year but does not qualify the following year will receive
50% of its prior year award in the year in which they become ineligible for
sparsity aid.
Low Revenue Adjustment Under Revenue Limits: The
motion increases the revenue limit for low-spending schools from $9,100 per
student to $9,300 per student in 2017-18, $9,400 per student in 2018-19 and an
additional $100 per year through 2022-23 when revenue limits would be set at
$9,800 per pupil.
