Congratulations to several area schools that are being recognized as some of the best in our state by Niche.com. Whitefish Bay Schools (#3), Mequon-Thiensville (#4), Hamilton Schools (#13), Grafton (#18), Menomonee Falls (#19), and Germantown (#26) all made the top 30.

Education continues to be a big topic in Madison. Five days ago, Governor Evers vetoed a bill that would reform the Milwaukee Public School District (MPS) and make the district more accountable. This week, against the opinion of the Milwaukee Health Department, MPS reinstated its mask mandate for kids.

This is the latest example of the district's bureaucrats not listening. It's clear that real reform will only happen if parents demand it. You can read more about my reaction to the governor's veto of the MPS bill and another important bill to protect the rights of parents below.

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.

If the Governor had bothered to read the bills we sent to him, he would see that we were giving him the power to be part of the solution for smaller, more accountable, community school districts for Milwaukee. Teachers are reporting discrimination, and employees are reporting retaliation by MPS. The district is also not supporting teachers who are being attacked in their classrooms. I’m not surprised by the governor’s action. In an election year, he can’t afford to face the failure he refused to address as DPI Secretary and now as governor. This bill would allow the governor to be directly involved in creating school districts that can’t hide behind a wall of bureaucracy and ignore failing test scores.

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.

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.

The governor recently tweeted "Whether a child is born in Milwaukee or Marshfield, whether their parents are rich or not - they should have the opportunity they need to succeed." Unfortunately for parents and kids in Wisconsin, the governor didn't live up to that campaign promise. He also vetoed a bill I co-sponsored, Assembly Bill 970, which would let every parent in Wisconsin decide the best option for their kids by expanding the school choice program statewide.

I will not give up. I will push for these bills again next session.