Wisconsin Education NewsJune 16, 2026A daily update of education news and events that are taking place around Wisconsin. Act 42 Wireless Communication Device Policy Reporting As a reminder, 2025 Wisconsin Act 42 requires every school board to adopt a wireless communication device policy by July 1, 2026, and submit that policy to the DPI by Oct. 1, 2026. The law also requires districts to notify the DPI annually of any changes to their policy. To streamline reporting and reduce duplicative data collections, the DPI will collect the required Act 42 policy information through the annual Digital Learning Survey rather than through a separate submission process. The Digital Learning Survey will be released later this month. Completion of the survey will be required to satisfy the Act 42 reporting requirement. District leaders are encouraged to review their wireless communication device policies and be prepared to provide the required information when the survey becomes available. AWSA's Joe Schroeder will participate in Education Week's forum Thursday, June 18 AWSA Member's Son One of Two Wisconsin students earn spot among world’s best Braille readers MADISON — Two Wisconsin students have earned a place among the world’s top young Braille readers and will advance to the 2026 Braille Challenge Finals in Los Angeles, Calif., later this month after earning top scores among more than 2,000 competitors from around the world. Bo Bakke, a first-grade student at Evergreen Elementary School in the Holmen School District, and Mackenzie Karbash, a senior at Delavan-Darien High School, qualified for the finals after excelling in the regional Braille Challenge competition hosted by the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WCBVI) in February. Madison schools’ draft budget proposes 8.5% property tax increase The Madison school district would raise the property tax levy by 8.5% next year under its preliminary $609 million operating budget, which would include salary increases for veteran teachers, paid parental leave, more school safety staff and an expansion of community recreation facilities near West Towne Mall. Property taxes for the average Madison home, valued at roughly $500,000, would increase by $311 or about 6.4%. Last year, the district's property tax levy rose by 20.4% — the largest hike in more than three decades — following the passage of a facilities referendum and an operating referendum in 2024. LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) -- A new survey commissioned by the School District of La Crosse shows slim majority support for a $33 million referendum to fund a new community swimming pool, as the city's Northside Community Pool remains closed due to budget cuts. The survey, conducted by School Perceptions, collected 4,140 responses by its June 1, 2026 deadline, representing a 14.5% response rate with a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 1.5%. Madison school board moves closer to vote on new student cell phone policy MADISON, Wis. (WKOW) — The Madison Metropolitan School District reviewed a new cell phone policy for the fourth time during a special Board of Education meeting Monday night. Under the proposal, high school students must turn off and store their devices during class time. Principals would have discretion on whether devices are kept in classroom storage during class, and students could still access their phones during lunch or in between periods. Farm to School program highlights locally grown food The Wisconsin Farm to School Program wrapped up the school year with recent events that celebrated locally and regionally grown food in schools. Read about the events and learn how you can stay connected to the program throughout the summer months. MPSD School Board Approves Bid For Summer Construction Projects The Manitowoc Public School District’s Board of Education has approved bids for construction over the summer. MPSD is working with CG Schmidt on improvements at Riverview, Monroe, Stangle, Washington, and Wilson Schools. Cassellius Seeks to Hire 89 More MPS Teachers Milwaukee superintendent Brenda Cassellius is not simply trying to make sure that every classroom has a certified teacher; she wants to hire 89 more teachers to lower class sizes in a district with shortages of some 100 teachers year after year. Wisconsin and the nation face a teacher shortage. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction outlined the problem in an April 2026 workforce analysis report. It found that Wisconsin colleges and universities are training enough prospective teachers, but from the recent year analyzed, of 5,256 possible teachers, only 3,568 entered the profession. After eight years, only 52.6% are still teaching. For special education, the retention rate is worse at 43.2%. There were no numbers for MPS, but its retention rate has traditionally been even lower. Dept. of Public Instruction: Two Wisconsin students earn spot among world's best Braille readers MADISON — Two Wisconsin students have earned a place among the world’s top young Braille readers and will advance to the 2026 Braille Challenge Finals in Los Angeles, Calif., later this month after earning top scores among more than 2,000 competitors from around the world. Wisconsin schools added thousands of staff despite enrollment falling Wisconsin public schools are employing more staff despite serving about 80,000 fewer students than they did 16 years ago, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Since the 2010-11 school year, the number of students enrolled in the state's public schools has fallen more than 9% to about 792,000 students this school year. Meanwhile, the number of staff in schools increased 7%, and the number of public schools decreased about 3%, the Policy Forum reported. With state funding tied to student counts, enrollment declines put additional strain on district budgets. The Policy Forum warned "the cost pressures of increased staffing will grow" as districts seek to maintain their workforces with shrinking revenues. The DPI is pleased to announce that LearnProfessional, our new learning management system, is now available for all Wisconsin schools, libraries, and districts. LearnProfessional provides a centralized location for professional learning opportunities offered by the DPI. The platform features an easy-to-use course catalog, tools for tracking learner progress, reporting capabilities, and additional features to support professional development. PBS Wisconsin Education’s Field Notes on Climate series helps students in grades 6-12 explore how climate change affects their communities, while learning about how people are taking action to address it. In a recent episode—Improving watersheds with water quality testing—Wisconsin 2025 Teacher of the Year Brian Counselman takes students from Malcolm Shabazz City High School, in Madison, to Starkweather Creek to investigate local water quality issues firsthand. This spring, a sea of red packed a convention center in Baraboo, as nearly 900 students attended the Wisconsin Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) annual State Leadership Conference. State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly attended the event to express her support of the career and technical student organization and the critical role it plays in developing the whole student.
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