Walker, Republicans Plan To Pass School Reform Measure

Republicans in the state Legislature said that they will move quickly on a school accountability bill in the coming weeks.

Gov. Scott Walker has said that a school accountability bill is one of his top priorities when the Legislature comes back into session early next year.

“Right off the bat, the first package we are going to lay in their camp is ultimately going to be about school reform. It’s on making sure that we have accountability for the use of all public funds — be it a public or private school — so that we’ve got the same objective information available for parents and members of the public,” Walker said.

Lawmakers couldn’t come to an agreement last year over how to punish underperforming schools and how to test private schools.

Republican state Sen. Paul Farrow will head a newly created committee on school reform. He said he wants to create a special board that would evaluate Wisconsin’s current school report cards and determine penalties for schools that aren’t meeting expectations