(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly passed a pair of bills on Friday aimed at combatting issues with teachers in the state who have faced accusations of sexual misconduct.
Assembly Bill 1003 would require any teacher that voluntarily surrenders a teaching license due to an investigation to be informed that the surrender is permanent, that their name will be listed on the Department of Public Instruction’s website as having their license suspended permanently after an investigation into immoral conduct and the personnel records will be subject to open records requests.
Assembly Bill 1004 prevents schools from entering into confidentiality agreements related to investigations into immoral conduct.
Both bills passed the Assembly and were sent to the Senate.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, said that the first bill addresses that “voluntary surrender” is not in state statute and that it will now be clear that the term is a permanent revocation of a teaching license while the ban on confidentiality agreements is aimed at allowing problem teachers to move from one school district to another after immoral conduct.
“Together, these bills also address the misuse of confidentiality agreements—both at the DPI level and at the local school district level,” Nedweski said.
She cited an investigation from the Capital Times into 200 cases of sexual misconduct that DPI had hidden from the public eye.
“These ‘pass the trash’ policies simply move problematic staff from one school to another, putting more students at risk of being preyed upon,” Nedweski said.
She noted that 10 states – including Michigan, Iowa and Illinois – have bans in place on confidentiality agreements.
“Taken together, these bills close dangerous loopholes, prevent quiet exits, and put student safety first by ensuring accountability and transparency at every level of the system,” Nedweski said.
