Catch up, part 3: police-friendly education, reentry help, and more

​By Gretchen Schuldt

Senate Bill 125/Assembly Bill 119 – Teaching police interaction etiquette the way police want it

Law enforcement would help develop a model school curriculum on how students should properly interact with law enforcement, which school districts then would be required to teach unless they specifically opted out, under a bill introduced by Republicans.

The bill would require the Department of Public Instruction, in consultation with law enforcement, to "promulgate rules to develop a model curriculum for pupils in grades 5 to 12 to instruct pupils on how to interact with law enforcement with mutual cooperation and respect."

The bill does not provide funding to school districts to cover the costs of developing the curriculum. It does require that the lessons include the role and responsibilities of law enforcement officials in providing for public safety, the responsibilities of an individual to comply with directives from law enforcement officials, and the legal rights of an individual in interactions with law enforcement officials.

It also would require school boards and charter school operators to teach the curriculum in at least two grades in fifth through eighth grades and two grades from ninth through 12th grades. School districts and charter schools could opt out. A charter school governing body could elect not to include the language in its operating contract. School boards would be required to adopt a resolution specifically opting out of the curriculum.

Legislative sponsors of this bill are listed in the table at the end of this post.

Senate Bill 169/Assembly Bill 180 – Employment hotline

This bill would require the Department of Workforce Development to establish and staff a hotline to assist employers who want to hire people with criminal records, according to notes attached to the bill that were provided by the Joint Legislative Council. DWD would provide information and assistance relating to available incentives and programs for hiring people with records, including those on certain work-release programs. The bill was introduced by the Legislative Council on behalf of its Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment.

Senate Bill 170/Assembly Bill 181 – Earned release expansion

More incarcerated people could be eligible for the earned release program under this bill. It would make eligible some inmates who complete an employment readiness training program, defined as an "education, job training, employment, or other equivalent evidence-based program intended to lead to employment and reduce recidivism."

Under the earned release program, incarcerated people can serve larger portions of their sentences under community supervision, instead of remaining incarcerated. The law now limits eligibility to incarcerated people who complete a substance abuse program.

There are, unsurprisingly, many conditions attached to the proposal.

To qualify, a person's conviction cannot be for a violent crime and an individual cannot be released from incarceration before serving at least two-thirds of the prison portion of a bifurcated sentence.

Like the substance abuse earned release program, the employment readiness version would require the sentencing court to find the individual qualified for the program. The earned release training program, however, would allow inmates, with DOC's approval, to later petition the court for eligibility.

The bill was introduced by the Legislative Council on behalf of its Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment.

​Senate Bill 171/Assembly Bill 182 – Housing help for the formerly incarcerated

Landlords would gain a degree of immunity from lawsuits and would be eligible for state funding of repairs for damage caused by recently released inmates who hold a certificate of rental readiness issued by the Department of Corrections, under this bill.

DOC would be required to include rental readiness training in its prelease programming.

The bill authorizes the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to run a bond program to fund repairs for damage to rental property caused by a certificate holder. Coverage would be limited to a single lease period, not to exceed one year, and only during the first two years after a person's release. 

Landlords who lease to certificate holders would be immune from civil liability (lawsuits) "for the death of or injury to any individual or any damages caused by intentional acts or omissions of the tenant who holds the certification of rental readiness," according to the proposed bill.

The bill was introduced by the Legislative Council on behalf of its Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment.

​Senate Bill 172/Assembly Bill 183 – Community reentry centers

The Department of Corrections would be required to contract with at least one nonprofit organization to establish a community reentry center for people reentering the community from prison, according to the bill. The center or centers would provide assistance and services as listed below, according to the bill. 

1. Health: assistance in identifying and accessing appropriate health care services and mental health services based on the individual's needs.

2. Identification: assistance in obtaining identification documents such as the individual's birth certificate, social security card, state identification card, or driver's license, if eligible, including any necessary forms and instructions.

3. Financial: assistance in creating a bank account, including obtaining a debit card at the time of the individual's initial contact with the community reentry center.

4. Housing: assistance in obtaining access to emergency housing options for homeless individuals and contacting landlords that rent to formerly incarcerated individuals.

5. Employment: assistance in creating a resume, electronically submitting the resume where needed, and contacting relevant employment agencies to secure employment.

6. Education: assistance in identifying whether and how to proceed with the next level of education or vocational training the individual may want or need.

7. Supervision: a secured office space for department supervision agents to meet with individuals on community supervision.

The bill does not fund any centers.

The bill was introduced by the Legislative Council on behalf of its Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment.

Senate Bill 191/Assembly Bill 202 – Occupational licenses and criminal records

The state agency that helps determine whether individuals are qualified for occupational licenses would be allowed to overlook certain arrests and convictions when investigating whether a person's criminal record is substantially related to the work covered by the requested credentials.

The Department of Safety and Professional Services is allowed to refuse or revoke credentials if a person's crimes are substantially related to the licensed activity covered by the license.

Under the bill, DSPS, while investigating, could overlook: 

• a first conviction, which occurred more than five years before the credential application date, for a violation of a law or ordinance related to operating while intoxicated;
• a violation of a law or local ordinance for underage purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol; and
• a minor, nonviolent ordinance violation, as determined by DSPS.

The bill also would allow employers, without a DSPS investigation, to tell the agency that a person does not have arrests or convictions substantially related to the licensed activity. DSPS would have 30 days to accept or reject the employer's determination. DSPS would be immune from any lawsuits arising out of harms caused by its acceptance of the determination.

The bill was introduced by the Legislative Council on behalf of its Study Committee on Occupational Licenses.

Senate Bill 230/Assembly Bill 237 – Psych evaluation: Another pre-release requirement

This bill requires incarcerated people to undergo a psychological evaluation before being released on parole or discretionary extended supervision.

The authority considering whether to grant the release would be required to consider the report in its deliberations.

The bill also would require the Department of Corrections to send notice to victims at least 30 days before an incarcerated person's release on parole and supervision. It specifies that victims are allowed to make oral statements and use visual aids at court hearings related to a person's eligibility for parole or discretionary extended supervision. 

The bill grants law enforcement the power to notify the public of an individual's release into the community if the sheriff or police chief believes that is necessary to protect the safety of the public.

Legislative sponsors of this bill are listed in the table below.

Bill sponsors