This week, the Institute for Reforming Government issued a plan to cut your family's taxes by $1,700 by eliminating our state's personal income tax. The proposal is based on a study by UW-Madison Professor of Economics Noah Williams and would make our state the 10th in the nation without an income tax.

In the last budget, Republicans balanced the budget and delivered the largest tax cut in Wisconsin's history. That's on top of the $12 billion in saving from reforms like Act 10. I am interested in making our state more competitive in attracting businesses, jobs, and workers. States with no income taxes are among the fastest-growing in the nation. I am very interested in hearing your thoughts about this plan, please let me know!

As always, if you have any concerns or ideas on how to improve our great state, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 608-266-5830 or by email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov.

This week, the Assembly Committee on Education held a public hearing on an important bill I authored which will help better train future educators to teach the art of reading. Senate Bill 589 allows for the passage of the most up-to-date version of the FORt to be accepted to qualify for a teacher license.

To qualify for a Provisional Educator License in Wisconsin for grades kindergarten to five, teachers must pass the Foundations of Reading test (FORt). Current law specifically identifies the 2012 version of the FORt. Effective August 2022, the administrator of the FORt examination will no longer offer the 2012 version of the examination.

We must move quickly on the bill so prospective teachers know obtaining a license will not be jeopardized next year. Currently, over 20 states require a test that fully measures the candidate’s knowledge of the science of reading. Eight of these states specifically use the FORt. We must make sure our educators demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the science of reading instruction.

As Wisconsin continues to see low proficiency scores in reading, now is not the time to go backward by getting rid of the test.

As a former teacher, I am extremely concerned about the significant drop in reading and English scores.

As I told the MacIver Institute, our state is facing an educational crisis. We have a reading and learning crisis and the only solution coming from Governor Evers and DPI is to study it more. I’m sick of studies. The shelves at DPI are stacked with studies. It’s time for action.

Sadly, every bold initiative we have proposed over the last couple of years has been met with strong opposition to protect the status quo. Our kids deserve better and I’m not giving up on them.

The Department of Public Instruction's 2020-21 School Report Cards show the need for reforming education.

Many Wisconsin school districts slipped in the 2020-21 school year compared to 2018-19, according to report card data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. The department changed the methodology for report cards this year, allowing schools to meet expectations with lower scores.

Click on the picture to see how your school district is performing.

Thank you to all who have requested a 2021-2022 Wisconsin Blue Book. We have fulfilled all requests we received before this week and are in the process of processing a few remaining requests.

If you have not yet requested a Blue Book but would live to receive one, please click the picture and we will mail you one at no cost.

If you requested a Blue Book more than two weeks ago and it has not yet arrived, please reach out via email at Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov and provide your name and shipping address. More recent requests should arrive in the coming days.

Thank you for your patience.

Hunger Task Force is conducting a virtual food drive. Click on the video for more information on how you can help people in need this month.