The Wisconsin Statutes establish standards of ethical conduct for all of local public officials, including school board members, school district administrators, and others leading Wisconsin counties, cities, villages, towns, and sewerage and other special districts. This Legal Update will review the legal obligations found in Wisconsin’s Code of Ethics for Local Public Officials (Code). The…
Under Wisconsin Statute sections 115.31(6m) and 73.0301(2)(b), the Department of Public Instruction (“DPI”) is required to revoke a teaching license if the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (“DOR”) certifies to the DPI that an individual teaching license holder (“teacher”) is liable for delinquent taxes. The process by which this type of license revocation may occur, however, is not clearly articulated in a readily accessible manner. Neither the Wisconsin Statutes nor…
The 2022 spring election resulted in a number of elections decided by only a few votes. Consequently, it is expected that many school districts will be asked to conduct a recount of ballots, which is the exclusive remedy to test in court the right of a candidate to hold office based on the number of…
On March 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous Decision in Houston Community College System v. Wilson, 595 U.S. ___ (2022) – Addressing whether the Houston Community College System Board of Trustees (the “Board”) violated Trustee David Wilson’s (“Wilson”) First Amendment rights by censuring him. The Houston Community College System is a…
The Public School Student Regular Open Enrollment application period for the 2022-23 school year opened on February 7, 2022, and will remain open until 4:00 PM on April 29, 2022. Open enrollment affords parents/guardians an opportunity to apply for their children to attend public school in a nonresident district tuition free. Under the open enrollment…
The U.S Supreme Court recently granted a petition for certiorari to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding employee free speech in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 142 S.Ct. 857 (Jan. 14, 2022). This case raises several first amendment constitutional questions regarding the intersection of employees’ rights to free speech and free exercise…
Wisconsin Winters and Workers Compensation – not a great combination. Unfortunately, Winter in Wisconsin involves potentially treacherous conditions and injuries, such as slip and fall injuries. Typically, when employees are injured in the course of their employment, the Workers Compensation insurance carrier handles the claims, including the medical expenses as well as income replacement in…
This legal update provides a refresher regarding the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”). The EPA is a federal law that applies to most employers. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in the payment of wages for equal work, “the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar…
As we experience yet another wave of concern regarding COVID-19, coupled with the concurrent flu and cold seasons in Wisconsin, some governmental bodies have again chosen to meet virtually in certain circumstances. Given this reality, a quick reminder of the Wisconsin Open Meetings law and the guidance from Wisconsin Attorney General on the issue is…
When school districts enter into a Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) Organization Security and Confidentiality Agreement (Confidentiality Agreement) with the Department of Health Services (DHS), authorized users are afforded certain rights and responsibilities. This article focuses on the rights of school districts in accessing and using student COVID-19 vaccination data located on the WIR. In addition,…