Bill would place new standards and ratings on public and voucher schools

Jason Stein:

All schools funded by state taxpayers -- including private voucher schools -- would be held to new standards and Milwaukee's public schools would still face state intervention, under long-expected legislation offered Wednesday by two key GOP lawmakers.

Work has been under way for two years on the measure, which would establish the first-ever rating for private voucher schools based on their student performance data. It comes a month and a half after lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker expanded Wisconsin's voucher program for private schools statewide.

The measure would not change the status of Milwaukee Public Schools, which under the state's current accountability system is the only district in Wisconsin so far to face corrective action.

The new standards were proposed Wednesday by the chairmen of the Senate and Assembly education committees, Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) and Rep. Steve Kestell (R-Elkhart Lake).

"We want parents to have the best information possible while at the same time making sure all of their choices are quality options," Kestell said in a statement.

The bill would cover all schools receiving tax dollars, from traditional public schools to public charter schools and voucher schools. Work on it began two years ago with a task force chaired by Walker and state schools Superintendent Tony Evers, an ally to Democrats, along with Olsen and Kestell.

But passage of the complex measure through the Republican-held Legislature is by no means guaranteed. Both Olsen and Kestell have sometimes taken more aggressive postures on overseeing vouchers than some other Republican colleagues, particularly those in the Assembly.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 15, 2013 12:25 AM
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