by Benjamin Yount
One western Wisconsin state representative says kids looking to get into gifted and talented programs in public schools across the state are out of luck for another year.
Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Town of Washington, on Thursday said Gov. Evers’ veto of his gifted and talented legislation puts a brick on progress for kids who want the most out of their education.
“We know from national testing that many students in our state can work up to four grades beyond their current placement level. This makes it so important that we provide the tools teachers and parents need to help their kids reach their maximum potential,” Petryk said. “This lack of support by the governor and by some Western Wisconsin legislators to help our students defies simple logic.”
Petryk’s gifted and talented legislation was among the dozens of proposals killed by Gov. Evers last month.
Evers said in his veto message that he opposed the idea because there wasn’t any money attached to the legislation.
“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this Legislature’s failure to increase investments in an already underfunded program while simultaneously adding new mandates without the sustainable, longterm funding necessary for implementation,” the governor wrote in his veto message.
Petryk’s plan would have had schools track, and the state’s Department of Public Instruction publish, data on the number of gifted and talented students in each school district, the amount of support those kids get, and whether schools are following Wisconsin’s gifted and talented regulations.
“In addition to helping parents access the information they need to help their students, this bill would have provided the resources needed to address the teacher shortage for these students,” Petryk added. “Every student should have the chance to maximize their talents in this state, but now they will need to wait until our next legislative session for an opportunity to get this needed bill signed into law.”
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Warren Petryk” by Warren Petryk.
