Evers Urges Republicans to Release $50 Million in Reading Overhaul

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – Governor Tony Evers urged Republican lawmakers to release the money allocated to overhaul how Wisconsin kids learn to read. 

According to the 2023 Forward exam, 58% of third through eighth graders in WIsconsin are not proficient in English language arts. 

Reading reform was supposed to be on the way for Wisconsin kids. In 2023, lawmakers passed Act 20, which would overhaul the state’s reading curriculum. It had bipartisan support. 

It shifts the methodology to what’s commonly referred to as the “science of reading”. Those methods are based in science and backed by research. It includes $50 million in funding for the new curriculum and materials, and hiring literacy coaches. 

Some schools started the shift for students in 4K through third grade in the fall. They’re doing it without the money they were expecting. 

The Joint Finance Committee hasn’t released the $50 million included in the bill. The Committee has been at odds with Superintendent Jill Underly over whether the new curriculum needs their approval. They sued Evers and the Department of Public Instruction over Evers’ veto of an appropriations bill. 

“The legislature need not wait until I introduce my budget to get to work,” Evers said in his State of the State address Wednesday night. “Republicans can start today by releasing the 50 million dollars we approved by bipartisan support nearly two years ago. These funds are already approved. They are available now, and they should not still be sitting in Madison.”

If the $50 million for the new reading methods isn’t released by June 30, it’ll go into the state surplus. The surplus is already massive at $4 billion.