EXECUTIVE BRANCH: EDUCATION


  members); DAVID BARNARD, CHARLES BRENDEN, JAN COOMBI, JOYCE FEUSTEL, NORMAN
GILL,
  JAMES KREMS, Rum SCHMIDT, vacancy (citizen members).
Council on Suicide Prevention: 7 members (scheduled to expire 7/1/89).
Council on Teaching Incentives Program: number of members not fixed (all
appointed by State
  Superintendent of Public Instruction).
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 7841, Madison 53707; location: State Education
Building (GEF-3),
  125 South Webster Street, Madison.
Telephone: (608) 266-3390.
Toll-Free Number: Information on education and medical programs for handicapped
children
  Statewide: (800) 362-3020; Milwaukee: 342-3020; Madison: 266-8143.
Publications: Biennial Report, Education Forward (monthly August through
May), Directory of
  Wisconsin Public Schools (annual $3), Channel DLS (Division for Library
Services), curricu-
  lum publications, research studies.
Number of Employes: 731.47.
Total Budget 1985-87: $2,627,664,600.
Statutory Reference: Article X, Section 1, Wisconsin Constitution; Section
15.37, Statutes.
   History: The Department of Public Instruction is under the direction of
the state superintend-
ent, an office created by Article X, Section 1, of the Wisconsin Constitution
and originally estab-
lished on August 16, 1848. The constitution provides that "The supervision
of public instruction
shall be vested in a state superintendent and such other officers as the
legislature shall direct; and
their qualifications, powers, duties and compensations shall be prescribed
by law."
   The statutes of the Territory of Wisconsin adopted in 1838-39 provided
for the establishment
of common schools. Each town containing 10 families was to constitute a school
district, and the
voters of each such town were to elect 5 school inspectors whose duties were
to examine teachers,
visit the schools, and maintain the schoolhouses. There was no territorial
agency concerned with
education. The convention which produced the Constitution of 1846 provided
that the supervi-
sion of public instruction should be vested in a state superintendent and
such other officers as the
legislature might direct. The legislature was to provide for either the election
or the appointment
of the superintendent and to prescribe that office's powers and duties. Convention
debate cen-
tered on the need for the office  it was urged that there could be no uniform
system of education
without a superintendent  and on the method of selection. The election method
was finally
chosen by the convention.
   The School District Boundary Appeal Board was created by 1983 Wisconsin
Act 27. The
 Council on the Education of the Blind was named by Chapter 292, Laws of
197 1, evolving from
 the previously existing Council of the Blind. The Council on Library and
Network Development
 was created by Chapter 347, Laws of 1979, replacing the Council on Library
Development and
 the Council on Public Library Certificates and Standards. The Council on
Exceptional Educa-
 tion was created by Chapter 89, Laws of 1973. 1985 Wisconsin Act 29 created
the Councils on
 Business and Education Partnerships, Instructional Telecommunications, Suicide
Prevention,
 and Teaching Incentives Program.
   Organization: The superintendent of public instruction is elected in the
nonpartisan spring
 election for a term of 4 years. In addition to holding this constitutional
office, the superintendent
 serves as the head of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). A deputy
state superintendent
 is appointed to act for the state superintendent in the superintendent's
absence. There are 5
 assistant state superintendents each of whom is the administrator of a division
within the depart-
 ment. Various councils exist within the department to consult with and advise
the
 superintendent.
   Agency Responsibility: The department is charged with the responsibility
of providing direc-
 tion to and supervision of public elementary and secondary education in
Wisconsin. This re-
 sponsibility is implemented through programs and services designed to provide
professional su-
 pervision of and consultation to local school districts; to supplement local
tax resources with
 state funds so all pupils will have equal educational opportunities; to
ensure that handicapped
 children receive an education; to improve, through continuing research and
development, curric-
 ula and school operations; to provide proper guidance and counseling for
all pupils; to develop


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