The Return of TABOR — After over a year of planning, Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and GOP legislative leaders unveiled the "son of TABOR" at a Capitol news conference. The most recent version of TABOR, Assembly Joint Resolution 77 , (dubbed the "Taxpayers Protection Amendment" by proponents), a 12-page document that attempts to control all levels of government revenues and spending, would be devastating to education.

In an analysis by UW economist Andrew Reschovsky, the professor said that had TABOR been in effect for 20 years, the state could not be supporting K-12 education with over $5 billion. "It's inconceivable that you can do that without hitting (them)," he maintained.

The Constitutional amendment would allow government revenues to grow by the rate of inflation coupled with a growth factor. For schools, this would be pupil enrollment growth.

The Madison Board of Education went on record two years ago unanimously opposing using the Constitution for state fiscal policy. The proposed amendment uses convoluted language, making it difficult to easily assess the impact. The following is a one-sentence illustration of the awkward language from page 7, lines 9-24 of the bill:

(b) Subject to subs. (3), (4), and (6) to (8), for calendar years beginning in 2010, for calendar year entities, and for fiscal years beginning in 2011, for fiscal year entities, the state or a local governmental unit may not, in any calendar year or in any fiscal year, as applicable, collect more in revenue than the maximum amount that it was permitted to collect in the previous calendar year, for calendar year entities, or in the previous fiscal year, for fiscal year entities, under this subsection, increased by the percentage that is the average of the annual percentage increases, if any, in the consumer price index for Milwaukee-Racine, or its successor index, for each of the 3 calendar years preceding the previous calendar year, for calendar year entities, or for each of the 3 fiscal years preceding the previous fiscal year, for fiscal year entities, but not to exceed the annual percentage increase, if any, in state personal income from the 3rd calendar year preceding the current calendar year, for calendar year entities, or preceding the end of the current fiscal year, for fiscal year entities, to the 2nd calendar year preceding the current calendar year, for calendar year entities, or preceding the end of the current fiscal year, for fiscal year entities, plus the applicable percentage increase under par. (a) 1., 2., or 3.

At a news conference in February, GOP legislative leaders said they plan to vote on the bill in late April or early May. Madison Schools has joined with a broad-based coalition opposing TABOR, or legislation of its ilk. The coalition represents K-16 education, labor, local government, the religious community, Wisconsin AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) private non-profit groups and others.

Autism scholarships questioned — A small group of parents advocated for Assembly Bill 700, which allows for a scholarship of up to $15,000 to provide services for children with autism, but ran into skeptical questions from lawmakers and pointed opposition from other parents.

Madison parent Beth Swedeen, who has a 13-year old daughter with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum, told Senate Education committee members, "As a parent who has worked hard for full inclusion of children with disabilities, not just for my own child, but across the City of Madison and the State of Wisconsin, I can't tell you how disturbing AB 700 is to me.

"As someone who has seen both the incredible richness of inclusive experiences, and the desperate isolation children can experience when meaningful inclusion does not exist, I have great concerns about a bill that would pull further resources away from our public schools in an effort to move backward toward new segregated programs for children with autism.

"Segregating children who already have social and communication problems with other children who experience the same challenges is not a recipe for creating rich personal relationships, meaningful peer interactions, or real-world life experiences."

DPI Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor identified areas in the bill that may conflict with federal law, including transportation, and oversight of the program by the local school district. Jeff Spitzer-Resnick, representing the Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, a parent advocacy group said, "This bill really isn't about public education, it's about Medical Assistance."

The committee took no action on the bill.