Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin

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Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
Seal of Wisconsin.svg
Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin
Details of Office
Branch: Executive
Type: nonpartisan
Selection: Statewide election
Term: 4 years
Authority: Constitutional
Established: 1848
Incumbent
Name: Tony Evers
Term ends: 2013

The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, is a constitutional office[1] within the executive branch of the Wisconsin state government, and acts as the executive head of the Department of Public Instruction. The superintendent is elected by the people of Wisconsin in a nonpartisan statewide ballot during the Spring primary of the same odd-numbered years that voters select members of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. The superintendent serves a term of office of four years. The incumbent is Tony Evers.[2] Superintendents have been elected in non-partisan elections since 1902; before that, superintendents were elected by party like other state executive officers.[3]

Duties

The superintendent's responsibilities include providing leadership for Wisconsin's public school districts; provide the public with information about school management, attendance, and performance; licensing the state's teachers; and receive and disburse federal aid for schools.[4]

In the case Thompson v. Craney, 199 Wis. 2d 674, 546 N.W.2d 123 (1996), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin declared that the Governor of Wisconsin could not reallocate or diminish the powers of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction by appointing a new Secretary of Education in charge of a Department of Education.[5][6]

See also

References