Education

Education

Promote equal educational opportunity for students in elementary, secondary, & higher education.
Position In Brief: 

Promote educational equity and access to educational opportunities for each child through non-discriminatory policies and an equitable state aids formula while retaining substantial program and personnel responsibilities in the local district.  
(K-12; Wisconsin Technical College System; UW-System)

Position History: 

For League history on this issue, PDF icon click here.

Elementary and Secondary Education

Promote educational equity and access to educational opportunities for each child through non discriminatory policies and an equitable state aids formula while retaining substantial program and personnel responsibilities in the local district.

Support of a system of state elementary and secondary education which includes:

  • Recognition and protection of civil rights for students and employees, e.g. Freedom of Speech, Due Process, Rights to Privacy.
  • Recognition and respect for the role of the Department of Public Instruction as the education authority for teacher licensure and development and implementation of curriculum.

An educational aids formula which primarily equalizes funds raised at similar taxing rates and, secondarily, equalizes spending per student, with the following qualifications:

  • a system of financing which ensures that a child's opportunity for a good education is not limited by the fiscal ability of the local district and that the state will assume a significant amount of educational financing.
  • a system of financing which promotes equality in educational opportunity with emphasis on instructional costs and adjusted funding for students with special educational needs.

Reorganization of school districts into K-12 systems.

Substantial control of school programs and personnel by the local school district.

Charter school authority given only to K-12 public school districts to maintain Wisconsin’s commitment to local control of K-12 public education.

A system of school choice within the public school system, but which does not include any tax dollars being given to private or religious schools.

A requirement of all institutions or organizations that receive public funds for K-12 education to meet the same requirements as public schools, including:

  • accounting for the use of public funds;
  • meeting performance standards for their students;
  • meeting the same state standards for all school employees.

Wisconsin Technical College System

Philosophy

The Wisconsin Technical College System [WTCS] is an integral part of the educational system in Wisconsin. It should continue to provide education for both employment and life-long learning. The State WTCS Board is the appropriate level for developing, maintaining and supervising WTCS programs that receive state aid. Each technical college WTCS district board is the appropriate level for developing, maintaining and supervising programs that do not receive state aid.

Funding

The Wisconsin Technical College System should be financed through the present combination of sources (district property tax, state general revenue, federal aid, tuition fees, other sources). Leagues favor a shift to more reliance on tuition, private sector and state aids, and less reliance on the property tax if changes in funding are to occur.

There should be adequate financial support for vocational education in Wisconsin at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

Governance

State Wisconsin Technical College System board members should be appointed under a distribution formula that will ensure broad representation. It should include representatives of the following: employers, employees, farmers, women, geographic area representatives, minorities, Department of Labor and Human Relations, University of Wisconsin Regents (ex officio), and the Department of Education (ex officio).

District WTCS boards should be appointed by a committee made up of either county board chairs or school board presidents, depending on the boundaries of the WTCS district. A distributional formula should be used that includes representatives of the following: employers, employees, farmers, women, geographic area representatives, minorities and school administrators.

Relationship with the Secondary System

There should be increased cooperation between the secondary schools and WTCS systems to provide improved vocational education opportunities for secondary students. Forms of cooperation could include: contracts with local school districts, shared facilities and instructors, flexible scheduling, credits toward high school graduation, and granting of advanced standing when a student later enters a regular WTCS program.

Relationship with the University of Wisconsin System

The WTCS system should offer the college parallel program in districts that do not have a two-year UW center. Associate degree credits should continue to be transferable at the discretion of the receiving institution. The two systems should continue to coordinate efforts to serve the needs of a varied student clientele without unnecessary duplication.

University of Wisconsin System

In principle, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin believes that:

Every Wisconsin resident should have access to quality public higher education that teaches critical thinking, knowledge acquisition and communication skills and engenders lifelong learning. Academic freedom, the relentless seeking of truth, shared governance, and the Wisconsin Idea (education should influence people’s lives beyond the classroom), are the hallmarks of the University of Wisconsin System and the key to quality higher education.

Funding of the University of Wisconsin System* (UWS) is a good investment for the state. The University of Wisconsin System plays a significant role in Wisconsin’s economy, according to a 2018 Economic Impact Study prepared by NorthStar Analytics. This 2018 economic impact study identifies the following annual impact areas (based on 2016-17 fiscal year data):

  • Total economic impact on the Wisconsin economy was $24 billion
  • Number of jobs generated and supported: 167,000
  • Local and state taxes generated: $1.1 billion
  • There is a 23:1 return on investment for every dollar invested by the state.

As such, public policy should be supportive of the UWS and its ability to sustain its value to the state and its residents. We support public policy, including legislation, in the following areas:

Finance

We support sufficient state revenue for higher education so that:

  • It is affordable through both reasonable tuition and accessible financial aid.
  • The System can attract and retain high quality faculty and staff.
  • The System can finance safe and state-of-the-art buildings, technology, equipment, and campus grounds.

We support financial decisions being made primarily at the System and campus level.

Funding goals should include:

  • Tuition levels based on instructional costs, with consideration to keeping education affordable and making financial aid available;
  • Maintaining UWS faculty and academic staff salaries at levels which attract and retain superior teachers and assure diversity.
  • Increased funding for instruction following stated guidelines and providing sufficient instruction to enable graduation within four years;
  • County funding of UW center facilities.

UW System student tuition and faculty/staff salaries should be maintained at levels that attract superior individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Admissions

Admission policies of the UWS should reflect the belief that every Wisconsin citizen should have access to a university education based on demonstrated academic ability.
We support admission policies that provide high quality educational opportunities for all students in a diverse learning environment.

We support the right and responsibility of the faculty at individual UW institutions to develop, implement, and oversee institution-specific admission policies that adhere to the broad guidelines and criteria established by the Wisconsin State Legislature and the Board of Regents.

Role of the Legislature 

We support legislation that provides adequate state funding for the University of Wisconsin System (UWS). We support timely approval of appointees to the UWS Board of Regents.

We support legislation that clearly recognizes the primary responsibility of the Board of Regents to enact policies and promulgate rules for governing the UWS. The legislature’s role does not extend to controlling or influencing the spectrum of knowledge or research.

Shared Governance 

We support the important concept and practice of shared governance at both the system and campus level. Internal governance of the institutions should be made at the campus level and must adhere to the principles of sharing governance with faculty, staff, and students. For example, shared governance issues include decisions regarding tenure, research, and curriculum.

Academic Freedom

We support academic freedom, free speech, and the relentless seeking of truth as  essential to a university.

Research and Technology Transfer 

We support decisions regarding the conduct of types of research and technology development belonging at the campus level. The legislature should not make decisions that impede the ability of the university to conduct leading edge research or the potential for transferring knowledge to the world through technology transfer, patenting/licensing, and commercialization. The topics and findings of research and tech transfer are driven by the mission of seeking truth and knowledge, and applying that knowledge to improve the world, and therefore should not be influenced by personal beliefs or political ideology.

Student Voting Rights

We support the League’s voting rights positions.

We support policies and practices that support and facilitate students’ ability to vote legally in elections. Examples include:

  • University student IDs should be accepted as identification for voting.
  • Students should not be required to re-register to vote each time they move within university housing.
  • Students should be provided accessible and convenient opportunities to register and to vote, along with effective communications about those opportunities.
Issues: 
League to which this content belongs: 
Wisconsin