Wisconsin Superintendent Jill Underly was absent for a hearing before a legislative committee investigating a potential Open Meetings Law violation during DPI’s infamous water park retreat.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly skipped a Wednesday hearing before the Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency, dodging questions about her agency’s apparent violation of the state’s Open Meetings Law during a lavish $368,885 water park retreat.
The informal hearing examined DPI’s 2024 “standard-setting” workshop at Chula Vista Resort in the Wisconsin Dells, where hand-picked participants allegedly worked behind closed doors to lower proficiency standards on the Wisconsin Forward Exam. Critics, including the Institute for Reforming Government, argue the closed-door sessions at the resort constituted a governmental body meeting that required public notice and open access under Wisconsin law.
DPI spent the taxpayer funds on a four-day event that included lodging, meals and resort access for about 88 educators and staff. The agency delayed responding to public records requests for more than a year, releasing details only after pressure from conservative watchdogs. Participants were reportedly required to sign nondisclosure agreements, and no public agenda was posted.
Underly, who ultimately approved the lowered standards, was scheduled to testify alongside DPI General Counsel Jake Curtis. Her absence drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers concerned about transparency and accountability in state government.
Andrew Hoyer-Booth, DPI’s legislative liaison, testified in Underly’s place and struck a defiant tone.
“We want to ensure collective officials have a solid understanding of how agency and procedures support our mission to advance an equitable, transformative, and sustainable educational experience,” he said. “Unfortunately, this committee desire to discuss the standard setting and bench marking process for the Forward Exam is a distraction from that mission and has repetitive to numerous prior legislative hearings on the same topic.”
The Institute for Reforming Government filed a complaint with the Adams County District Attorney’s Office, noting that actions taken in violation of the Open Meetings Law could be voided. Lowering standards has drawn fire for masking student underperformance rather than addressing root causes in public schools.
DPI has defended the event as a “routine” part of assessment work and claimed it supports local tourism. Yet the pattern of evasion — from delayed records to skipped hearings — underscores a troubling lack of accountability at the agency responsible for educating the state’s children.
Committee members vowed to continue pressing for full disclosure, warning that repeated stonewalling erodes public trust in government.
