Date of enactment:
2023 Senate Bill 990 Date of publication*:
2023 WISCONSIN ACT
AN ACT to affect 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, section 27 (2) (a) (intro.) and 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, section 27 (2) (a)
3.; relating to: mandatory early literacy professional development and reading readiness assessments administered
in the 2024−25 school year.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, section 27 (2) (a)
(intro.) is amended to read:
[2023 Wisconsin Act 20] Section 27 (2) (a) (intro.)
Each school board and operator of a charter school shall
ensure that, by July 1, 2025, or for an individual hired
after January 1, 2025, but before July 1, 2025, by no later
than 6 months after the individual’s date of hire, each
individual who teaches a grade from kindergarten to 3 in
the school district or charter school, each individual
employed by the school board or charter school as a prin-
cipal of a school that offers grades kindergarten to 3, and
each individual employed by the school board or charter
school as a reading specialist has received professional
development training that is all any of the following:
SECTION 3. 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, section 27 (2) (a)
3. is created to read:
[2023 Wisconsin Act 20] Section 27 (2) (a) 3.
Offered after May 1, 2021, and before July 1, 2024, by
cooperative educational service agency 6, 8, or 9, and is
on science−based early reading instruction, as defined in
s. 118.015 (1c) (b).
SECTION 4m.0Nonstatutory provisions.
(1) FOUR−YEAR−OLD KINDERGARTEN; FUNDAMENTAL
SKILLS SCREENING REQUIREMENT. Notwithstanding s.
118.016 (2), as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, each
school board and the operator of each independent char-
ter school need assess the early literacy skills of each
pupil enrolled in 4−year−old kindergarten in the school
district or in the independent charter school only one time
during the 2024−25 school year using a fundamental
skills screening assessment selected by the department of
public instruction. The school board or operator of the
independent charter school shall ensure that any funda-
mental skills screening assessment administered during
the 2024−25 school year is administered after January 1,
2025, and no later than 45 days before the last day of the
school term.
(2) EARLY LITERACY ASSESSMENTS FOR 5−YEAR−OLD
KINDERGARTEN TO 3RD GRADE; UNIVERSAL SCREENINGS
AND DIAGNOSTIC SCREENINGS.
(a) Universal screenings.
1. Notwithstanding s. 118.016 (3) (a), as affected by
2023 Wisconsin Act 20, each school board and the opera-
tor of each independent charter school need screen each
pupil enrolled in 5−year−old kindergarten to 3rd grade in
the school district or independent charter school only 2
times during the 2024−25 school year using a universal
screening assessment selected by the department of pub-
lic instruction. The requirement for each school board
and operator of each independent charter school to
administer the first universal screening assessment under
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.” − 2 −2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Senate Bill 990
s. 118.016 (3) (a) 1., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act
20, does not apply during the 2024−25 school year.
2. During the 2024−25 school year, the deadline
under s. 118.016 (3) (a) 2., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin
Act 20, applies to the first universal screening assessment
required for that school year and the deadline under s.
118.016 (3) (a) 3., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20,
applies to the 2nd universal screening assessment
required for that school year.
(b) Diagnostic assessments.
1. The requirement for each school board and the
operator of each independent charter school to adminis-
ter a diagnostic assessment under s. 118.016 (3) (b) 1., as
affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, does not apply dur-
ing the 2024−25 school year. During the 2024−25 school
year, the requirement to assess a pupil using a diagnostic
assessment under s. 118.016 (3) (b) 3., as affected by
2023 Wisconsin Act 20, first applies to a request submit-
ted on January 1, 2025.
2. During the 2024−25 school year, for purposes of
s. 118.016 (3) (b) 2., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act
20, the first universal screening assessment required for
that school year is considered the assessment adminis-
tered under s. 118.016 (3) (a) 2., as affected by 2023 Wis-
consin Act 20, and, for purposes of s. 118.016 (3) (b) 2.,
as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, the 2nd universal
screening assessment required for that school year is con-
sidered the assessment administered under s. 118.016 (3)
(a) 3., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20.
(3) PERSONAL READING PLAN CREATION. Section
118.016 (5) (b) 1., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20,
does not apply during the 2024−25 school year. During
the 2024−25 school year, for purposes of s. 118.016 (5)
(b) 2., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20, the first uni-
versal screening assessment required in the 2024−25
school year is considered the assessment administered
under s. 118.016 (3) (a) 2., as affected by 2023 Wisconsin
Act 20, and the 2nd universal screening assessment
required in the 2024−25 school year is considered the
assessment administered under s. 118.016 (3) (a) 3., as
affected by 2023 Wisconsin Act 20.