Wisconsin DPI has ‘backlog’ of educator misconduct cases, seeks aid
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction faces a backlog of 150 license misconduct investigations and is asking state lawmakers to double its team dedicated to reviewing and gathering evidence.
The request follows a Cap Times report last fallthat revealed the department has investigated hundreds of educators following allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming, and the department dedicated scant resources to conducting those probes.
Department spokesperson Chris Bucher said last year the agency had one full-time and one part-time investigator, and he called those staffing levels inadequate to handle the 113 investigations conducted each year, on average.
Lawmakers later questioned State Superintendent Jill Underly about the staffing levels and why the department she leads hadn’t previously requested more funding or positions specifically for licensing investigations. Lawmakers called Underly and other top education officials to testify following the Cap Times report.
At one hearing, Underly told lawmakers the Department of Public Instruction would welcome additional resources to move faster through investigations but she didn’t know how many more investigators would be helpful.
Department officials are now asking lawmakers for two more full-time paralegal positions dedicated to license investigations in the 2027-2029 state budget. The positions would cost $350,000 over the two years.
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Notes and links on Jill Underly and the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI.
