Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB15 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	LRB-1095/1
2	2	SWB&FFK:skw
3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 15
5	5	February 7, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives TITTL, SORTWELL, ALLEN,
6	6	BINSFELD, GOEBEN, GREEN, GUNDRUM, MAGNAFICI, MURPHY, PENTERMAN,
7	7	SCHRAA, TUSLER, WICHGERS and BODDEN, cosponsored by Senators JACQUE,
8	8	QUINN and TOMCZYK. Referred to Committee on Education.
9	9	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
10	10	AN ACT to amend 119.04 (1); and to create 43.75 and 118.073 of the statutes;
11	11	relating to: pupil or minor access to harmful material in public libraries and
12	12	to harmful material or offensive material in public schools.
13	13	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
14	14	This bill requires public libraries and public schools, including charter schools,
15	15	to take steps to prevent pupils and minors from accessing harmful material on
16	16	computers. Under the bill, “harmful material” is defined as 1) any picture,
17	17	photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual
18	18	representation or image of a person or portion of the human body that depicts nudity,
19	19	sexually explicit conduct, sadomasochistic abuse, physical torture, or brutality and
20	20	that is harmful to children; or 2) any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter
21	21	however reproduced or recording that contains matter described in item 1, or explicit
22	22	and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexually
23	23	explicit conduct, sadomasochistic abuse, physical torture, or brutality and that,
24	24	taken as a whole, is harmful to children.
25	25	The bill requires any public library that provides a public access computer and
26	26	any school board or independent charter school to do at least one of the following with
27	27	respect to the public access computer or school computer to which pupils and minors
28	28	have access: 1) equip the computer with software that will limit a pupil's or minor's
29	29	ability to gain access to harmful material; 2) purchase Internet connectivity from an
30	30	Internet service provider that provides filter services to limit access to harmful
31	31	material; or 3) develop and implement a policy that establishes measures to keep
32	32	1
33	33	2
34	34	3 - 2 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-1095/1
35	35	SWB&FFK:skw
36	36	ASSEMBLY BILL 15
37	37	pupils and minors from gaining access to harmful material. Under the bill, a public
38	38	library or public school may allow a pupil or minor to access harmful material on the
39	39	Internet if the parent or guardian of the pupil or minor consents to that access.
40	40	Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the bill requires each school board and
41	41	operator of an independent charter school to adopt a policy that specifies criteria for
42	42	determining whether certain material is offensive material, which, under the bill,
43	43	means the material is offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with
44	44	respect to what is suitable for children. Under the bill, if a public school pupil will
45	45	view or otherwise have access to offensive material as part of classroom instruction,
46	46	the school must provide the parent or guardian of the pupil with an outline of the
47	47	curriculum and a summary of the instructional materials that contain the offensive
48	48	material, information regarding how the parent or guardian may inspect the
49	49	complete curriculum and instructional materials, and an explanation of the
50	50	exemption available to parents and guardians under the bill. The bill requires each
51	51	public school to make the complete curriculum and all instructional materials
52	52	available for inspection by parents or guardians upon request. Under the bill, no
53	53	pupil may be required to take any such instruction if the pupil's parent or guardian
54	54	files with the teacher or school principal a written request that the pupil be
55	55	exempted. Finally, the bill provides that no public school or public school employee
56	56	may show or provide to any pupil offensive material for which the school did not
57	57	follow the requirements under the bill regarding parental notice and opportunity to
58	58	exempt pupil participation.
59	59	For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
60	60	an appendix to this bill.
61	61	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
62	62	enact as follows:
63	63	SECTION 1. 43.75 of the statutes is created to read:
64	64	43.75 Responsibilities of public libraries with a public access
65	65	computer. (1) In this section:
66	66	(a) “Harmful material” has the meaning given in s. 948.11 (1) (ar).
67	67	(b) “Public access computer” means a computer that is all of the following:
68	68	1. Located in an elementary or secondary public school or public library.
69	69	2. Frequently or regularly used directly by a minor.
70	70	3. Connected to a computer communication system.
71	71	1
72	72	2
73	73	3
74	74	4
75	75	5
76	76	6
77	77	7
78	78	8 - 3 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
79	79	LRB-1095/1
80	80	SWB&FFK:skw
81	81	SECTION 1
82	82	ASSEMBLY BILL 15
83	83	(2) A public library that provides a public access computer shall ensure that
84	84	minors do not have access to harmful material on the Internet through use of the
85	85	public access computer by doing at least one of the following:
86	86	(a) Equipping each public access computer with software that will limit a
87	87	minor's ability to gain access to harmful material.
88	88	(b) Purchasing Internet connectivity for each public access computer from an
89	89	Internet service provider that provides filter services to limit access to harmful
90	90	material.
91	91	(c) Developing and implementing by January 1, 2024, a policy that establishes
92	92	measures to restrict minors from gaining computer access to harmful material.
93	93	(3) Notwithstanding sub. (2), a public library that provides a public access
94	94	computer may allow a minor to access harmful material on the Internet if the parent
95	95	or guardian of the minor consents to that access.
96	96	SECTION 2. 118.073 of the statutes is created to read:
97	97	118.073 Limiting pupil and minor access to harmful material. (1) In
98	98	this section:
99	99	(a) “Harmful material” has the meaning given in s. 948.11 (1) (ar).
100	100	(b) “Offensive material” means any of the following that a school board or
101	101	operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) determines is patently
102	102	offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to
103	103	what is suitable for children:
104	104	1. Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film or similar
105	105	visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body that depicts
106	106	nudity, as defined in s. 948.11 (1) (d), sexually explicit conduct, sadomasochistic
107	107	abuse, physical torture or brutality.
108	108	1
109	109	2
110	110	3
111	111	4
112	112	5
113	113	6
114	114	7
115	115	8
116	116	9
117	117	10
118	118	11
119	119	12
120	120	13
121	121	14
122	122	15
123	123	16
124	124	17
125	125	18
126	126	19
127	127	20
128	128	21
129	129	22
130	130	23
131	131	24
132	132	25 - 4 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-1095/1
133	133	SWB&FFK:skw
134	134	SECTION 2 ASSEMBLY BILL 15
135	135	2. Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter however reproduced or
136	136	recording that contains any matter enumerated in subd. 1., or explicit and detailed
137	137	verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, as defined in s. 948.11
138	138	(1) (f), sexually explicit conduct, sadomasochistic abuse, physical torture or brutality.
139	139	(2) (a) A school board or the operator of a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or
140	140	(2x) shall ensure that pupils and minors do not have access to harmful material on
141	141	the Internet by doing at least one of the following:
142	142	1. Equipping each computer to which a pupil or minor has access with software
143	143	that will limit the pupil's or minor's ability to gain access to harmful material.
144	144	2. Purchasing Internet connectivity for each computer to which a pupil or minor
145	145	has access from an Internet service provider that provides filter services to limit
146	146	access to harmful material.
147	147	3. Developing and implementing by January 1, 2024, a policy that establishes
148	148	measures to restrict pupils and minors from gaining computer access to harmful
149	149	material.
150	150	(b) Notwithstanding par. (a), a school board or the operator of a charter school
151	151	under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) may allow a pupil or minor to access harmful material on
152	152	the Internet if the parent or guardian of the pupil or minor consents to that access.
153	153	(3) Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, each school board and operator of a
154	154	charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) shall adopt a policy specifying criteria that
155	155	the school board or operator will use to determine whether an item described under
156	156	sub. (1) (b) 1. or 2. is an offensive material.
157	157	(4) Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, if a pupil will view or otherwise have
158	158	access to offensive material as part of classroom instruction in a public school,
159	159	including a charter school, the school board or the operator of the charter school
160	160	1
161	161	2
162	162	3
163	163	4
164	164	5
165	165	6
166	166	7
167	167	8
168	168	9
169	169	10
170	170	11
171	171	12
172	172	13
173	173	14
174	174	15
175	175	16
176	176	17
177	177	18
178	178	19
179	179	20
180	180	21
181	181	22
182	182	23
183	183	24
184	184	25 - 5 -2023 - 2024 Legislature
185	185	LRB-1095/1
186	186	SWB&FFK:skw
187	187	SECTION 2
188	188	ASSEMBLY BILL 15
189	189	under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) shall provide the parent or guardian of the pupil with an
190	190	outline of the curriculum and a summary of the instructional materials that contain
191	191	the offensive material, information regarding how the parent or guardian may
192	192	inspect the complete curriculum and instructional materials, and an explanation of
193	193	the exemption under sub. (5). The school board or operator shall make the complete
194	194	curriculum and all instructional materials available for inspection by a parent or
195	195	guardian upon request at any time, including prior to their use in the classroom.
196	196	(5) Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, no pupil may be required to take any
197	197	instruction subject to sub. (4) if the pupil's parent or guardian files with the teacher
198	198	or school principal a written request that the pupil be exempted.
199	199	(6) Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, no school board, operator of a charter
200	200	school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), or employee of a school board or operator may show
201	201	or provide to any pupil offensive material for which the school board or operator did
202	202	not follow the requirements under subs. (4) and (5).
203	203	SECTION 3. 119.04 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
204	204	119.04 (1) Subchapters IV, V, and VII of ch. 115, ch. 121, and ss. 66.0235 (3) (c),
205	205	66.0603 (1m) to (3), 115.01 (1) and (2), 115.28, 115.31, 115.33, 115.34, 115.343,
206	206	115.345, 115.363, 115.364, 115.365 (3), 115.366, 115.367, 115.38 (2), 115.415, 115.445,
207	207	118.001 to 118.04, 118.045, 118.06, 118.07, 118.075, to 118.076, 118.10, 118.12,
208	208	118.125 to 118.14, 118.145 (4), 118.15, 118.153, 118.16, 118.162, 118.163, 118.164,
209	209	118.18, 118.19, 118.196, 118.20, 118.223, 118.225, 118.24 (1), (2) (c) to (f), (6), (8), and
210	210	(10), 118.245, 118.25, 118.255, 118.258, 118.291, 118.292, 118.293, 118.2935, 118.30
211	211	to 118.43, 118.46, 118.50, 118.51, 118.52, 118.53, 118.55, 118.56, 120.12 (2m), (4m),
212	212	(5), and (15) to (27), 120.125, 120.13 (1), (2) (b) to (g), (3), (14), (17) to (19), (26), (34),
213	213	(35), (37), (37m), and (38), 120.137, 120.14, 120.20, 120.21 (3), and 120.25 are
214	214	1
215	215	2
216	216	3
217	217	4
218	218	5
219	219	6
220	220	7
221	221	8
222	222	9
223	223	10
224	224	11
225	225	12
226	226	13
227	227	14
228	228	15
229	229	16
230	230	17
231	231	18
232	232	19
233	233	20
234	234	21
235	235	22
236	236	23
237	237	24
238	238	25 - 6 -2023 - 2024 Legislature LRB-1095/1
239	239	SWB&FFK:skw
240	240	SECTION 3 ASSEMBLY BILL 15
241	241	applicable to a 1st class city school district and board but not, unless explicitly
242	242	provided in this chapter or in the terms of a contract, to the commissioner or to any
243	243	school transferred to an opportunity schools and partnership program.
244	244	SECTION 4.0Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication,
245	245	except as follows:
246	246	(1) The treatment of ss. 43.75 and 118.073 (2) takes effect on the first day of the
247	247	6th month beginning after publication.
248	248	(END)
249	249	1
250	250	2
251	251	3
252	252	4
253	253	5
254	254	6
255	255	7
256	256	8