Senate schedules hearing on school accountability bill

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A Wisconsin state Senate committee has scheduled a public hearing on a school accountability bill that would not impose sanctions on failing public schools.

The measure also would not assign letter grades to schools or allow for private schools in the taxpayer-funded voucher program to choose from multiple tests to measure student performance.

Those are all major differences from the Assembly version of the bill.

Both proposals are sponsored by Republicans.

The Assembly version is being reworked following a 12-hour hearing that saw widespread opposition to forcing public schools deemed to be failing to close and reopen as independent charter schools.

The Senate bill doesn't have that requirement. The hearing before the Senate Education Reform Committee is set for Tuesday in the Capitol.