The Institute for Reforming Government has filed a complaint with the Adams County District Attorney’s Office alleging that the Department of Public Instruction violated Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law when it secretly met at the Chula Vista Resort to change state testing standards.
The Institute for Reforming Government filed a complaint Tuesday alleging the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) violated Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law during a closed-door meeting that led to lowered proficiency standards on the Wisconsin Forward Exam.
The complaint targets a summer 2024 workshop at the Chula Vista Resort in the Wisconsin Dells, where the Department of Public Instruction spent $368,885 in taxpayer funds. The multiday session was not publicly noticed, was closed to the public and required participants to sign nondisclosure agreements, according to records obtained by the Dairyland Sentinel after a yearlong delay.
Actions taken at meetings that violate the Open Meetings Law are voidable under state statute. If a court finds the Department of Public Instruction broke the law, it could strike down the newly adopted lower test score standards and require the agency to restart the process in an open, public forum.
The Adams County District Attorney has 20 days to decide whether to investigate and file charges. If the district attorney declines, the Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) said it will pursue the case itself.
“DPI cannot lower academic standards in secret and simply expect parents and students to accept the outcome,” IRG General Counsel Jake Curtis said in a statement. “Working groups created by DPI are not exempt from Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Laws. Taxpayers funded this process, but DPI shut them out. A state agency doesn’t get to spend public dollars, make consequential decisions, and then hide the process from public scrutiny.”
The Department of Public Instruction invited 88 education professionals to the session to review and adjust cut scores for the state’s standardized tests. It later adopted lower standards for proficiency in reading and math.
IRG has long maintained that the changes were designed to mask persistently low student performance in Wisconsin public schools. Its complaint does not seek damages but asks the court to invalidate the standards if violations are confirmed. The Department of Public Instruction did not immediately respond to the complaint.
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