State Superintendent Jill Underly during her fifth State of Education address said the federal government is “the biggest schoolyard bully.”
Underly spoke on a variety of topics during the roughly 25-minute speech yesterday at the state Capitol, such as inclusion, mental health, and the achievement gap between Black and white students. But she particularly emphasized investing more in education.
Underly criticized the U.S. Department of Education for “threatening the very resources our schools depend on to serve their most vulnerable students” and criticized “attacks that are nothing more than political agendas and hatred.”
“We teach our students to stand up to bullies, but this year, the biggest schoolyard bully in our public schools is our own federal government,” Underly said.
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Wisconsin schools have faced cuts to federal programs under the Trump administration. Last week, the Department of Public Instruction announced the administration would cut funding for two grant programs aimed at helping deaf-blind children and those with disabilities.
Underly also said the state is in an unprecedented mental health crisis. She criticized politicians for “pushing policies that only deepen these challenges and drive suicide rates even higher,” particularly for transgender youth.
“The debates taking place in the public sphere, right here in this Capitol building, aren’t about sports. They’re about something much deeper: where kids are allowed to belong,” Underly said.
GOP lawmakers have routinely introduced legislation to bar transgender women and girls from playing on teams that match their gender identity.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, in a statement on Underly’s address criticized her for past changes to standards for state tests.
“The state of education in Wisconsin can be summed up in one word: unaccountable,” LeMahieu said. “DPI Superintendent Underly’s changing standards make it impossible for parents to track their student’s and school’s performance year-over-year. Parents, students and taxpayers deserve better.”
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Assembly Republicans helped secure the largest special education investment in state history, “yet Democrats continue to put their hand out for more.”
“While the governor has used his veto pen to burden property tax payers for the next 400 years to increase school funding, literacy rates are rapidly declining in Wisconsin,” Vos said in a statement. “Instead of addressing that issue, Dr. Underly is more concerned with changing the standardized test scoring so it’s nearly impossible to compare student achievement over time, hiding each student’s true proficiency level from their parents.”
Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a GOP bill last year that would have restored the standards used for the 2019-2020 school year.
Watch the address on WisconsinEye.
