Governor Walker Calls on Legislature to Repeal Common Core

Late this afternoon, Governor Walker issued a press release calling for the repeal of the Common Core State Standards. In his release, Walker asks that the legislature pass a bill to repeal the standards at the start of the 2015-16 session.

The Standards were the topic of much debate during the 2013-14 legislative session, but Republican legislators were not able to reach a consensus on legislation before adjourning for the session. Senate Bill 619 and a substitute amendment to Assembly Bill 617 would have created a Model Academic Standards Board charged with creating new state standards in English, science, math and social studies to replace the Common Core State Standards.  The board would have been comprised of members chosen by the Governor, state superintendent of public instruction and the majority and minority leaders in both houses of the legislature.  The Assembly version was scheduled to be voted on in committee in February but the vote was postponed, and the Senate version received a  public hearing in March but was never voted out of committee. 

It is not clear if Walker wants to the legislature to act on a proposal similar to SB 619/AB 617 or create an entirely new bill. 

Several states, including Indiana, South Carolina and Oklahoma, have already passed bills repealing the Common Core State Standards.

The full release is issued below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 17, 2014

Contact: Laurel Patrick, (608) 267-7303

Governor Scott Walker Calls on the State Legislature to Pass Legislation to Repeal Common Core

Madison – Governor Scott Walker released the following statement calling for the Wisconsin State Legislature to repeal Common Core:

Today, I call on the members of the State Legislature to pass a bill in early January to repeal Common Core and replace it with standards set by people in Wisconsin.

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Panel Discusses Importance of Broadband Access for Education at PSC Symposium

The Public Service Commission held a Broadband Planning Symposium last week to discuss the future of broadband expansion.The importance of libraries and school districts in providing access to internet services was highlighted throughout the symposium.  During a presentation on focus groups held by the UW Extension on broadband access, a key observation highlighted by Extension staff was that libraries in rural and urban Wisconsin appear to be undergoing a fundamental transformation in how they do business—they are becoming default broadband hubs and online training centers for their individual communities.  Libraries and school districts play a large role in providing broadband access, but many are experiencing funding cuts which make it harder to maintain or expand current services. Extension staff said adequate support for the state's public library system will be important as Wisconsin works to increase broadband access. 

Several area educators spoke about the importance of broadband for the future of education.

John Pederson of WiscNet gave an excellent overview of the current level of connectivity in schools and the importance of getting schools to one gigabyte.  He said that currently 40% of school districts hit the maximum capacity on WiscNet every day and that in 2010 the FCC found that 80% of school districts report having inadequate broadband connections.

Educators on the panel highlighted the importance of providing digital content to meet the needs of their students, but noted the challenges of providing one-to-one devices when students cannot access the internet at home. Melissa Emler of the Shullsburg School District and Don Childs of the Antigo School District discussed the challenges of providing high-speed internet in schools. Emler said that her biggest challenge as an administrator is the cost of infrastructure. Childs also highlighted the difficulty of getting broadband internet into rural schools where there are often no providers within reach of the school.

John Tanner of the Oregon School District said that every year his district doubles the speed of their internet—and they are still not able to meet the needs of their students. He also discussed the importance of technology for student retention, saying that students are most likely to drop out when they don’t feel like the coursework is relevant to them. Tanner said that increased use of technology in the classroom is important since it will allow students to customize their education.

The panel consisted of the following educators:

Broadband Technology: Shaping the Future of Education - Panel overview by Kurt Kiefer, DPI

Panel 1 moderated by John Pederson, Wiscnet

Greg Barniskis, South Central Library Service                                    

 Don Childs, Antigo School District

Diane Doersch, Green Bay Area Public Schools                              

 Melissa Emler, Shullsburg School District

Jamie Lane, ERVING

Michelle Nickels, CESA 9

Renee Nolan, Fond du Lac School District

Jon Tanner, Oregon School District

You can watch the education panel here and video from the rest of the conference, including keynote addresses by Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and UW System President Ray Cross, is available here.

On a related note, the Public Service Commission announced the recipients of this year's broadband expansion grants, which were created in the 2013-15 state budget.  You can view the full list of recipients here. 

FCC Approves Increased Wi Fi Funding

The FCC voted 3-2  on Friday to approve a five-year plan to increase Wi-Fi access and update the federal E-Rate program, which will result in an additional $2 billion being dedicated to increasing Wi-Fi in American classrooms and libraries over the next two years alone.

After the first two years, the FCC will reduce the amount of funding for non-broadband services, such as pagers and voice services, and re-invest that money into Wi-Fi—the plan also creates a new Wi-Fi bucket within the new category two (formerly priority two). 

The FCC estimates that these changes will result in an additional 10 million students receiving access to Wi-Fi in their classrooms this year alone. And, according to the FCC's estimates, this increased funding will result in 3,238 additional Wisconsin schools and libraries receiving Wi-Fi funding over the next five years. 

The FCC’s two Republican members objected to the plan due to its potential to increase phone bills and decrease funding for other E-rate services.  They also raised concerns about the proposal’s method of determining funding allocations in the first two years by using a per-pupil and per-square footage formula.

In response to the two members concerns, Chairman Wheeler assured the Commission that this is just the beginning of modernizing the E-Rate program and that Wi-Fi funding was the focus of this proposal due to its ability to increase access in the current fiscal year.

The Washington Post: A watershed moment for technology in education

FCC Blog: Answers to Common Questions about the E-Rate Modernization Proposal to Get Wi-Fi in ALL Schools and Libraries

FCC plan would provide Internet service to 3,200 state schools, libraries

 

By Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel

July 2, 2014 10:01 a.m.

More than 3,200 Wisconsin schools and libraries could get wireless Internet service under a proposal to fund Wi-Fi access over the next five years, the Federal Communications Commission says.

The boost in Wi-Fi would cover nearly 851,000 students in the state, the FCC said in a proposal to spend $2 billion nationwide to get high-speed Internet to all classrooms and libraries by 2019.

Money for the E-Rate program comes from a fee that's charged on consumers' phone bills and is placed in what is called the Universal Service Fund. Last year, the government spent $8.2 billion from the fund, which has been used to subsidize phone and Internet service in rural states.

E-Rate, established in 1996, is the federal government's largest educational technology program.

Most schools and libraries lack robust Wi-Fi, according to the FCC.

"Despite the increasing need for wireless connectivity to support the latest digital learning tools like tablets and interactive textbooks, the E-Rate program currently provides limited support for Wi-Fi," the FCC said in its proposal, which is to be voted on by the agency's board July 11.

Nationwide, the proposal would increase funding for Wi-Fi 75% for rural schools and 60% for urban schools, allowing an additional 44 million students and 6,000 libraries to have access to the service.

This story will be updated throughout the day as details about the proposal become available.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/fcc-plan-would-provide-internet-service-to-3200-state-schools-libraries-b99303559z1-265542171.html

Get to know the candidates for Secretary of State and State Treasurer!

The Government Accountability Board has issued their official candidate list for the 2014 Primary and General Election. 

The following offices are up for election in November 2014:

•             The Governor and Lieutenant Governor

•             Every State Representative

•             State Senators from odd-numbered districts

•             The State Treasurer, Attorney General and Secretary of State

•             Every member of the U.S. House of Representatives 

Many of these races will have primaries, which will be held on Tuesday, August 12. 

While every race is important, WEMTA is especially interested in the Secretary of State and State Treasurer races due to the important roles they play on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands and recent efforts to abolish the positions. 

Secretary of State

Incumbent Secretary of State Doug La Follette (D) is being challenged by State Representative Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) and Republican Julian Bradley. Bies appears to favor abolishing the position but says he will "facilitate whichever way the legislature wants to go," which he believes will ultimately result in the office's elimination. While Bradley wants to keep and restore the duties of the office and says he would like to also move oversight of the Government Accountability Board to the Secretary of State's Office. 

Bies and Bradley will face off in the August 12 Republican Primary, the winner of which will challenge Secretary of State Doug La Follette on November 4. To learn more about both Republican candidates, you can view their interviews with Wisconsin Eye below (La Follette does not have a candidate interview available at this time): 

State Treasurer 

Incumbent State Treasurer Kurt Schuller is not seeking re-election. As a result, the race to fill the vacant seat will have both Republican and Democratic primaries on August 12. 

Democrats David Sartori and Dave Leeper will square off in the August 12 primary, as will Republicans Matt Adamczyk and Randall Melchert. A third-party candidate, Andrew Zuelke of the Constitution Party is also running for the office, but he does not appear to have a campaign website at this time. 

Sartori and Leeper both support maintaining the Office of the State Treasurer. Leeper is also campaigning to create a state bank, something that Sartori does not support. 

Adamczyk and Melchert disagree on the issue of eliminating the Office of the State Treasurer. The focus of Adamczyk's campaign is to eliminate the Office, which he describes as a prime example of government waste. Adamczyk promises to "work tirelessly to actually get the office eliminated."  Melchert, however, believes that the position should be kept due to its ability to return money to taxpayers through the unclaimed property program and promote financial transparency within state government. Melchert would also like the management of the EdVest program to be returned to the Office of the State Treasurer. 

You can view their interviews with Wisconsin Eye below: 

Rural Schools Task Force Releases Final Report, Recommendations

The Rural Schools Task Force, chaired by Representative Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander),  released its final report and recommendations Tuesday afternoon.

“I would like to thank the members of the task force for their hard work and dedication,” said Rep. Swearingen in a statement released by his office. “I have high hopes that the end result will produce positive legislation that will prove beneficial to rural Wisconsin.”

One of the task force’s charges was to “maximize opportunities to incorporate advanced technology” in rural school districts.  WEMTA provided testimony to the task force on December 17 in Madison, and several recommendations related to technology are included in the final report. They are:

Create a New Version of the TEACH Program: The chairman recommends that the Legislature enact legislation that establishes a new TEACH II grant program that incorporates the following elements:

Statewide broadband access that would provide broadband circuits to all school buildings in a district;

Block grants to rural districts for technology-based purposes, such as upgrading networks, purchasing hardware, and paying for online course content;

State-led digital learning program that would provide funding for a digital learning program of online and blended learning services for public, charter, and private schools;

Professional development provided on a statewide basis for professional development related to digital learning resources and classroom management to all districts.

Provide Grants or Other Funding to Encourage Virtual Options for Public Schools: The task force recommends that the Legislature consider offering grants or other aids to provide assistance and incentives for school districts to implement virtual learning options.

Exempt One-Time Technology Costs from the Revenue Limits: The task force recommends that the Legislature consider exempting one-time technology costs from the revenue limits, which means that a school district could raise additional funds for purchasing technology without having to obtain approval from voters in a referendum. The task force recommends the exemption be limited to purchases like netbooks or software.

Encourage Internet Providers to Extend High-Speed Internet: The task force recommends that the Legislature explore incentives to encourage Internet providers to extend service to rural areas that do not have current access to high-speed Internet.

Allow Flexibility in Teacher Licensing: The task force recommends greater flexibility in teacher licensure,  specifically in areas of shortage, such as technology and vocational education; to “allow individuals who have extensive experience or competency in a subject area to receive a license without obtaining a traditional education degree.” 

Common School Fund Check Presentation Part Two

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, State Treasurer Kurt Schuller, Secretary of State Doug LaFollette and DPI Assistant State Superintendent for Libraries and Technology Kurt Kiefer.

Today the three members of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands officially presented the $30,200,000 check for library aid to the Department of Public Instruction.  The Common School Fund is the main source of funding for school libraries.  The distribution per student is approximately $24.95, which is 24 cents higher than last year.

The Department of Public Instruction released this statement which includes disbursement amounts by school district.