What to expect at Wisconsin Common Core public hearings

By Ryan Ekvall | Wisconsin Reporter

MADISON — After three years sitting on the sidelines, parents, educators and taxpayers will have their first opportunity to weigh in on Common Core State Standards in Wisconsin at a public hearing Thursday at the state Capitol.

After Gov. Scott Walker said last week that he wanted the Legislature to hold the public hearings as requested in the state budget, Assembly and Senate leadership each created special select committees on Common Core. Those committees scheduled four public hearings across the state.

While the Senate and Assembly assembled separate committees, the hearings will be held jointly. Here’s the schedule:

• At the Capitol in Madison from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday.
• Oct. 16 from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Fond du Lac City/County Building.
• Oct. 23 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire.
• Oct. 30 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau.

The quick turnaround from Walker’s statement to the first scheduled hearing means it’s still undetermined if experts will be available to testify Thursday.

An aide in the office of Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt’s, R-Fond du Lac, said state Superintendent Tony Evers, who pledged Wisconsin K-12 students onto Common Core in 2010, will either testify at the first hearing or send a Department of Public Instruction representative.

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