Wisconsin DPI launches educator license revocation database

DPI launches license revocation database

The Wisconsin DPI has launched a new database in response to criticism over how the department handles educator misconduct investigations.

MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has launched a new database in response to criticism over how the department handles educator misconduct investigations.

The backstory:

In October, DPI admitted it will end an investigation if an educator voluntarily gives up their license. The department said that leads to a binding, lifetime ban on a person's ability to teach, and it gets reported to a national database.

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"The department does not cover up misconduct," State Superintendent Jill Underly said Tuesday.

Underly said the database, among other ideas, is aimed at ensuring student safety. She's faced recent scrutiny over how the department she oversees handles misconduct allegations.

State Superintendent Jill Underly announces launch of revoked license database

"Student’s safety is not political. It is a moral responsibility we all share," she said. "(The) focus remains on what it should be – protecting kids and not politics.

What they're saying:

The database lists all revoked licenses online. Following the announcement, Underly went before a Wisconsin Senate committee on education.

"Mentioned the department has one full-time and one part-time investigator, which he said isn’t enough staff to handle the 113 investigations that open each year," said State Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood).

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State lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle grilled Underly with questions after she no-showed a previous hearing.

Quinn: "We didn’t start this, it was a bomb on all of us," Quinn said. "How can we let parents know the public watching today – one and a half part-time people investigating is enough for the 800,000 plus kiddos we have in the state?"
Underly: "We could use more people. I just don’t know the number."

Aside from the database, Underly said DPI wants clearer state laws that address grooming. On Monday, state lawmakers introduced a bill that would make sexual grooming of a child a felony.