Enacted Education-Related Bills Summary 2001 Legislative Session

2001 Legislative Session

Prepared by Policy and Budget Team
Department of Public Instruction
January, 2003

To view any of the following acts in its entirety, you can go to the listing on the Legislative web page by clicking here.

AB 144 and SB 55 — Governor’s Budget Bill (Act 16)

The act relates to state finances and appropriations, constituting the executive budget act of the 2001 legislature. A summary of 2001-03 biennial budget initiatives in Act 16 that relate to elementary and secondary education was prepared by the DPI Policy and Budget Team and can be accessed at http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/concomsum.html

AB 482 — Child Sex Offenders Working or Volunteering with Children (Act 97)

The act provides that the prohibition against a child sex offender working or volunteering with children also applies to a person who has been convicted of second degree sexual assault of a child, which is sexual assault of a child who has not attained the age of 16. The act also provides that a person convicted of second degree sexual assault of a child may be granted an exemption from the prohibition if he or she satisfies the same criteria that currently allow for exemption of a person convicted of repeated acts of sexual assault of a child. Finally, the prohibition does not immediately apply to a person convicted of second degree sexual assault of a child before this bill became law if the person has not been convicted of any other covered sex offense against children and if the person satisfies the first and second exemption criteria discussed above. Instead, the prohibition first applies 90 days after the date on which the person receives notice of the prohibition from a law enforcement agency.

AB 497 — Designating and Observing POW-MIA Recognition Day (Act 100)

The act designates the third Friday in September as "POW-MIA Recognition Day." The act requires the governor to issue annually a suitable proclamation for the observance of the day and to request that some portion of the day be used for solemn contemplation on the plight of individuals who are or have been U.S. prisoners of war or missing in action. Furthermore, the act requires schools to appropriately observe the day.

AB 509 — Program Revenue Lapse Related to Long-Term Vacancies (Act 25)

The act requires the Department of Administration (DOA) to identify positions in program revenue appropriations that have been vacant for the nine months preceding the effective date of the bill. From these appropriations in fiscal year 2001-02, DOA is to lapse $532,100. DOA is also to lapse the equivalent of 20% of the amount spent on state and national organizations from these appropriations. Also, the amount in the appropriation that funds National Guard tuition grants is increased by $1,534,300 in fiscal year 2001-02.

AB 512 — Revisor’s Correction Bill (Act 38)

The act repeals, consolidates, renumbers, amends and revises various provisions of the statutes for the purpose of correcting errors, supplying omissions, correcting and clarifying references, eliminating defects, anachronisms, conflicts, ambiguities and obsolete provisions, reconciling conflicts, and repelling unintended repeals. This revisor's correction bill is explained in the Notes provided by the revisor of statutes in the body of the bill. In accordance with a change in drafting style, serial commas are added throughout the bill. Also, "which" is replaced with "that" when grammatically correct.

AB 513 — Revisor’s Correction Bill (Act 30)

AB 553 — Changes in Unemployment Insurance Law (Act 35)

The act relates to various changes in the unemployment insurance law, appointment of temporary reserve appeal tribunals, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. Significant provisions include benefit rates changes, offset of social security benefits, search for work, charging of certain benefits paid after recall, rule making, tax changes, claimant eligibility reviews, deferral of first quarter contribution liability, and special assessments for information technology systems.

SB 38 — Speed Limits/Penalties at School Crossings (Act 47)

The act requires a motorist approaching an intersection marked with a "school crossing" sign to slow to 15 miles per hour or slower when any child or any school crossing guard is present. Current law requires a motorist approaching an intersection marked with a "school crossing" sign to slow to 15 miles per hour or slower when children are present.

SB 61 — Granting High School Diplomas Posthumously to Veterans (Act 98)

The act permits a school board to award a high school diploma posthumously to a veteran if the veteran dies before reaching the age of 65. Under current law, a school board may award a high school diploma to a veteran who is at least 65 years old, attended high school in the school district, left high school before graduation to join the armed forces during a war, and served on active duty under honorable conditions in the armed forces.

SB 116 — Notification to the Legislature of a Proposed Rule (Act 87)

Currently, if an agency submits a proposed rule after November 1 of an even-numbered year to the presiding officer of each house of the legislature, the rule will not be reviewed by the legislature until the first day of the next regular session (January). Act 87 changes the date on which a proposed rule may be submitted from November 1 to September 1 of an even-numbered year.

SB 118 — School Board Procedures, Apportionment and Election (Act 54)

The act provides that, if a school district contains, in whole or in part, a second or third class city, a petition for any of these changes must be signed by at least 500 electors only if one or more electors of the school district reside in that city.

Current law provides a procedure for changing the number of school board members in a common or unified school district. A petition must be filed with the school district clerk, who must incorporate in the notice of the annual meeting (in a common school district) or election (in a unified school district) a statement that at the meeting or election the question of changing the number of school board members will be voted upon. The petition must be signed by at least 100 electors who reside in the school district, except that in a school district that contains, in whole or in part, a second or third class city, the petition must be signed by at least 500 school district electors. There are similar procedures for establishing a plan of apportionment of school board members and for assigning a number to each seat on a school board.

SB 176 — Name Change for the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and Creating a Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Education Council (Act 57)

The act changes the name of the Wisconsin School for the Deaf to the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, specifies the duties of the Program, and creates a deaf and hard-of-hearing education council to advise the state superintendent of public instruction on issues relating to the education of children who are deaf or hearing impaired. The act also requires the legislative audit bureau to conduct a performance evaluation audit of the Program during the 2004-05 fiscal year.

The act authorizes the program to provide services at any location in the state and to operate regional satellite facilities throughout the state.

SB 178 -- Administering Drugs to Pupils in Compliance with Practitioner Instructions (Act 83)

Under current law, certain school employees and volunteers, school bus operators, and other individuals are immune from civil liability for administering prescription drugs to pupils if certain requirements are satisfied. For the immunity to apply, a pupil's parent or guardian must consent in writing to the administration of the prescription drug. In addition, the prescription drug must be administered in compliance with the written instructions of a practitioner. Current law defines "practitioner" as a physician, dentist, or podiatrist licensed in any state.

The act changes the definition of "practitioner" so that it also includes an optometrist, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse prescriber who is licensed in any state.

SB 179 — Crossing Gates on School Buses (Act 58)

Under current law, school buses must be painted yellow and black and must have the words "SCHOOL BUS" in black letters at least eight inches high written on the front and back of the bus. A school bus painted in this manner may not be operated unless it is equipped with flashing red signals and with a 360-degree flashing white strobe light. Current law also allows the department of transportation (DOT) to prescribe rules requiring additional equipment for school buses. These DOT rules currently require every school bus that is painted yellow and black to be equipped with a stop signal arm, and the rules also provide specifications for the stop signal arm. These rules also allow, but do not require, a school bus to be equipped with a safety control arm mounted on the right side of the bumper.

The act, effective May 1, 2004, requires any school bus that is painted yellow and black to be equipped, on the front, with a retractable crossing gate that, when in use, prevents children from crossing in front of the bus in such proximity that they are not visible to the bus driver. The act also requires DOT to prescribe rules for the specifications, installation, and operation of these crossing gates. Any person who operates a school bus that is not equipped with the required crossing gate may be required to forfeit not less than $10 nor more than $200.

SB 251 — Changes to the Worker’s Compensation Law (Act 37)

The act makes various changes relating to worker's compensation law, as administered by the department of workforce development (DWD) in the areas of extension of expiring provisions, liability for disability caused by unnecessary treatment, maximum compensation amounts, method of calculating compensation, vocational rehabilitation (offer of suitable employment), statute of limitations, hearings and procedures, payment of benefits, and program administration.

SB 302 — Name of Library Division and Definition of Minority Group (Act 48)

The act changes the name of the division for libraries and community learning in the department of public instruction to the division for libraries, technology, and community learning.

The act also modifies the definition of "minority group pupil" for the minority group pupil scholarship program and the special transfer program (commonly known as chapter 220). The act deletes "Spanish-surnamed American" and substitutes "Hispanic"; deletes "Oriental American" and substitutes "person of Asian or Pacific Island origin"; changes "Black American" to "Black or African American"; and adds "Alaskan native."

SB 360 — Investigations of Selling Tobacco Products to Minors (Act 75)

The act permits DHFS or another governmental regulatory authority, without first contracting with DHFS, to conduct unannounced investigations at retail outlets to enforce compliance with the statutory prohibitions against selling or giving cigarettes or tobacco products to minors, or a local ordinance that strictly conforms to the statutory prohibitions. The act requires that any investigation that is conducted comply with the current statutory requirements for investigations and any standards established by DHFS.

In addition, under the act a governmental regulatory authority may not conduct more than two investigations annually at a retail outlet unless one of the investigations reveals that the retailer violated the prohibition against selling or giving cigarettes or tobacco products to minors.

For questions about this information, contact Loretta L. Slauson (608) 267-9127

Last updated on 2/22/2008 1:02:23 PM