Here's some good news. After years of struggling with homelessness, the City of Milwaukee is being recognized for having the lowest per capita unsheltered population of any community in the nation. I applaud the efforts made to reduce homelessness in the city. I have worked for several years to help get people off the streets and into stable housing. You can read more about that here.

Congratulations to several area communities that made Niche.com's 2022 list of Best Places to Buy a Home in Wisconsin. In the top 50 are Thiensville (9), Fox Point (11), Whitefish Bay (13), Sussex (15), Lannon (19), Mequon (28), Germantown (34), Richfield (40), and Menomonee Falls (47). I may be biased, but I am not surprised that so many of our communities are on this list.

Finally, I'd like to wish all of you a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover!

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.

Governor Evers continues to turn a blind eye to threats to election integrity. On Friday afternoon, the governor vetoed two common-sense reforms

Senate Bill 938, which I authored with Representative Dan Knodl, originated with a concern raised by the Mequon City Clerk. During a recent local election, someone tried to register to vote when they were asked if they were a citizen, they said “no,” and were turned away. The clerk is concerned that a less honest person would have received a ballot due to a lack of verification procedures. Senate Bill 938 requires non-resident driver’s licenses to indicate “Not Valid for Voting Purposes.” It also will confirm the citizenship of people on the voter registration list.

It’s clear the governor didn’t even bother to read this bill and wants to lump any election reform as a conspiracy theory. He claims that "there is no evidence of non-residents voting in Wisconsin." That’s not true. I authored this bill because local officials informed me that someone did try to vote illegally and another person was successful in illegally voting in Mequon. This bill only makes it harder to cheat.

Senate Bill 943 helps make sure major changes in election law are approved by the Legislature. During the 2020 election, the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) made several changes to the way the state handles elections without approval from the Legislature. Senate Bill 943 will improve the legislative review process of WEC guidance and promote full transparency and accountability. This is a simple change that will improve how we handle elections.

It’s the job of the Legislature to write laws. Unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats shouldn’t be allowed to change laws on a whim or interrupt our elections. As we have seen, this creates confusion and different rules for different parts of the state. That’s not fair to the voters of Wisconsin.

Governor Evers continues to protect systems over parents. Last Friday afternoon, the Governor vetoed three bills that are part of the Empowering Parents Agenda and another that will improve reading scores. The bills increase transparency and accountability while giving parents real options for their children's education and improving test scores. I am disappointed the Governor is trying to hide information from parents.

The Governor thinks he knows better than the parents of Wisconsin, and he’s absolutely wrong about that. These bills terrify bureaucrats like the governor because they give parents options and information.

The Governor vetoed needed reforms to protect parental rights:

Assembly Bill 965 School Accountability Reports – Establishes uniform standards for school accountability reports. Our state’s educational accountability system relies heavily on the state school and district report cards. This bill improves the accountability reports to provide a clear assessment of student success.

Assembly Bill 967 & Assembly Bill 968 High-Performing Charter Replication and Creation of Statewide Charter Board – Charter schools are public schools that operate with less red tape. These bills will streamline replication for the highest performing charter schools in our state and will increase opportunities for more students and families statewide.

The governor also vetoed an important change that will improve the way the state teaches reading.

Assembly Bill 446 Reading Assessments - This bill will screen children on their reading abilities earlier and more often, notify parents of concerns, and create a clear direction to get kids back on track to succeed. The bill is based on successful models in other states, including Mississippi, which dramatically increased reading levels after passing similar legislation. Spotting reading problems sooner dramatically increases the chance that a child will succeed in school and life. A previous version of this bill was vetoed by Governor Evers. This version is funded with federal dollars.

Sixty-four percent of 4th graders are not proficient in reading. Our state ranks dead-last in reading achievement among black students. Hispanic students dropped from 1st in the nation to 28th while white students fell from 6th to 27th. Despite historic funding for public education, less than one-third of students are proficient in English or math.

Those results should outrage our "education governor." Sadly, they don’t. These vetoes make it crystal clear whom the governor listens to, and it isn’t parents.

Bills that will protect the rights of parents and reform the failing Milwaukee Public School system are headed to the governor. Both bills are also part of the Empowering Parents Agenda that I authored in this session.

This is a great chance for the governor to separate himself from the bureaucrats and establishment. Both of these bills are important to reforming and improving the way the state handles education.

Assembly Bill 963 Parental Bill of Rights - Establishes several parental rights relating to decisions regarding a child's religion, medical care, records, and education, and creates a cause of action for the violation of these rights. Allows a parent to bring a suit if those rights are violated.

Assembly Bill 966 Milwaukee Public School Reform – Establishes a new commission made up of elected officials with a vested interest in the community, including the Mayor of Milwaukee, the Governor, and the State Superintendent to restructure MPS. They will be tasked with developing smaller community districts that are more manageable and accountable to parents and their communities.

Recent news stories are proving that MPS needs to change. Teachers are reporting discrimination and employees report retaliation by MPS and not supporting teachers who are being attacked in their classrooms. This bill will create school districts that can’t hide behind a wall of bureaucracy and ignore failing test scores.

On Monday, I had the honor of attending a Childcare and the Workforce Business Forum at Waukesha Technical College. The event was organized by the Waukesha County Business Alliance, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, Wisconsin Economic Development Association, and the Waukesha County Technical College.

I'd like to thank everyone who took part in this informative event!