Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill that would have undone recent testing standards changes. Evers talks to reporters at a WisPolitics. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican bill Friday that would have undone recent changes to Wisconsin’s state testing standards — taking the state back to those used in 2019 and tying the standards to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Lawmakers introduced the bill after changes were approved by state Superintendent Jill Underly last year, who said the changes would better align tests with educational standards and were developed with the help of teachers and other stakeholders as a part of a standard process. However, lawmakers accused Underly of lowering standards for kids. Evers had criticized the process for the changes as well, saying that there should have been better communication between Underly and other stakeholders. 

Evers said in his veto message for AB 1 that while he has criticized the processes for the recent changes, he vetoed the bill because he objects to lawmakers “attempts to undermine the constitutional authority and independence of the state superintendent.” 

Evers noted that the state superintendent is responsible for supervising public schools under the Wisconsin State Constitution and the Legislature is overstepping, and lawmakers had opportunities to provide input to the review and revision. The bill, he said, would “essentially strip control over school scoring and standard metrics away” from the superintendent and give it to the Legislature.

Underly said in a statement that she commends the veto. She said the bill was “deeply flawed as it relied on the NAEP – a federal assessment that is currently being cut by the federal government and is not aligned to Wisconsin’s rigorous standards – to influence local school policies. Most importantly, it undermined the authority of the state superintendent as outlined in Wisconsin’s Constitution.” 

Lawmakers used the veto as an opportunity to criticize Evers and incumbent Superintendent Jill Underly — and to call on Wisconsinites to vote her out of office next week. Underly is running for her second term and faces education consultant and school choice advocate Brittany Kinser, who has cited the changes as a reason that she entered the race, on Tuesday. 

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said in a statement that Evers “failed” students by vetoing the legislation. 

“In January, the governor slammed State Superintendent Underly for lowering standards, but when he had a chance to fix it he chose politics over students,” LeMahieu said. “If 2025 is going to be the ‘Year of the Kid,’ Wisconsin voters will have to make changes at the Department of Public Instruction.”

Kinser said in a statement that “the decision to restore high standards now rests in the hands of Wisconsin voters” and she would “restore high standards” if elected.