Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state legislature and the governor can’t meddle in the affairs of the state schools chief—a blow to Gov. Scott Walker’s attempts to exert more control over K-12.
In a 4-3 ruling, the justices decided that the state superintendent doesn’t need the governor’s approval to write and enact education policy.
The ruling stems from a dispute in 2011, when lawmakers passed a measure requiring state agencies to get their administrative rules signed by the governor. In several states, legislators have tried in recent years to curtail the powers of the state board of education and the schools superintendent.
