Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, plans to reintroduce legislation to align fall start dates for Wisconsin’s state universities with those of K-12 schools.
Under current state law, fall classes for the University of Wisconsin System must begin after Sept. 1, barring a few exceptions. Roys told The Daily Cardinal that it’s just a “one word difference in statute” to make Wisconsin's state universities fall start dates consistent with K-12 schools in the state, which generally can’t begin classes until Sept. 1.
“This is the kind of detail that politicians really should not be dictating there. There isn't a valid public policy reason for it to be after Sept. 1 versus on Sept. 1,” Roys said.
Last year, Roys introduced a bill proposing UW System classes be allowed to start on or after the first day of September each year. While the Senate bill and a similar bill introduced in the Assembly failed to pass, Roys said she hopes Democrats and Republicans will work together this year to make a “no-brainer” change.
“There is no reason to oppose this bill other than trying to poke a finger in the eye of higher ed,” Roys said. “That being said, the Legislature is kind of a fickle place, and the only bills that have been getting any attention are these very extreme far-right wing bills. We’ll see how the session shapes up.”
Administrators at UW-Madison have said current state law makes it “challenging” to schedule the fall semester with a finite number of instructional dates that fall after Sept. 1 and before Christmas Eve. In 2021, final exams for the fall semester were scheduled through Dec. 23, making it hard for students to travel home for the holidays.
“It just causes a cascade of complications that are ridiculous for no reasonable governmental purpose,” Roys said.
And while the bill wouldn’t necessarily guarantee an earlier start, Roys said it would allow the university to have more flexibility in its calendar to better accommodate a fall break and prevent final exams from extending right up to the holidays.
Under rules and laws set by the UW System Board of Regents, Faculty Senate and state and federal government, UW-Madison faculty are granted the authority to establish the university’s academic calendar, according to the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She has interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @annakleiber03.
