Wisconsin 2021-2022 Regular Session Status: To Executive 34 R cosponsors

AB 995 — Relating to: a parental opt-out from face covering requirements in school buildings and on school grounds and requiring school boards to offer pupils a full-time, in-person option. (FE)

Last action — Failed to pass notwithstanding the objections of the Governor pursuant to Joint Rule 82

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2021-2022 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

24 added · 53 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of Assembly Bill 995 includes a new section that allows parents to opt their children out of wearing face coverings in school buildings. It mandates that each school board must provide a full-time, in-person learning option for all students. This change is significant as it places the decision of face covering requirements in the hands of parents, potentially affecting public health measures in schools and ensuring that all students have access to traditional classroom instruction.

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- 2022 LEGISLATURE LRB-6089/1 KRP:cjs/amn/cdc ASSEMBLY BILL 995 February 15, 2022 - Introduced by Representatives V OS, STEINEKE, ETERSEN , VORPAGEL , DUCHOW , JAMES, BORN , KNODL , CABRAL-GUEVARA , ZIMMERMAN , M ACCO, STEFFEN, KITCHENS, RANEL , NOVAK, GUNDRUM , USLER, THIESFELDT, K UGLITSCH, RAMTHUN , RANDTJEN , SUMMERFIELD , ALLMAN , KATSMA, TITTL, D ITTRIC, J.
Date of enactment:
RODRIGUEZ, O LDENBURG , VANDERM EER , MAGNAFICI, EDMING , PRONSCHINSKE , SNYDER , BROOKS, S CHRAA, SWEARINGEN , W ITTKE, M OSES, CALLAHAN , ROZAR, KOWRONSKI , ORTWELL , KRUG, SPIRO, TAUCHEN , LUMER , W ICHGERS, M URPHY, LOUDENBECK , BEHNKE and N EYLON, cosponsored by Senators KAPENGA , ACQUE, JAGLER, TAFSHOLT, TROEBEL , ESTIN, EM AHIEU and BERNIER.
Assembly Bill 995 Date of publication*:
Referred to Committee on Education.
WISCONSIN ACT A N A CT to create 118.072 and 120.12 (15m) of the statutes;
A N A CT to create 118.072 and 120.12 (15m) of the statutes;
a parental opt-out from face covering requirements in school buildings and on school grounds and requiring school boards to offer pupils a full-time, in-person option.
a parental opt−out from face covering requirements in school buildings and on school grounds and requiring school boards to offer pupils a full−time, in− person option.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau Under this bill, no school board or school district employee may require a pupil to wear a face covering while in school buildings or on school grounds if the pupil's parent notifies the school board or employee that the parent elects to opt out of the requirement on behalf of the pupil.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in S ECTION 2.
The bill also requires a school board to offer a full-time, in-person option to all pupils enrolled in the school district.
120.12 (15m) of the statutes is created to senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
read:
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
S ECTION 1.
118.072 Face coverings;
120.12 (15m) I N−PERSON INSTRUCTION.
parental opt-out.
(a) In each 118.072 Face coverings;
No school board or school district employee may require a pupil to wear a face covering while in school - 2022 Legislature - 2 - LRB-6089/1 KRP:cjs/amn/cdc ASSEMBLY BILL 995 S ECTION 1 buildings or on school grounds if the pupil's parent notifies the school board or employee that the parent elects to opt out of the requirement on behalf of the pupil.
parental opt−out.
The school board or employee may not require the parent to provide a reason for the parent's election or to provide any evidence regarding any fact related to the pupil's health or education status.
No school year, offer a full−time, in−person option to all school board or school district employee may require a pupils enrolled in the school district.
A pupil may not, as a result of such an election, be disciplined or otherwise treated differently from a pupil whose parent has not made such an election.
In this paragraph, pupil to wear a face covering while in school buildings or “full−time, in−person option” means an option under which a pupil receives instruction from a school district on school grounds if the pupil’s parent notifies the school board or employee that the parent elects to opt out of the employee who is physically present in the same school requirement on behalf of the pupil.
S ECTION 2.
The school board or building as the pupil and in real time for at least the num- employee may not require the parent to provide a reason ber of hours of direct pupil instruction required under s.
120.12 (15m) of the statutes is created to read:
for the parent’s election or to provide any evidence 121.02 (1) (f).
120.12 (15m) IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION.(a) In each school year, offer a full-time, in-person option to all pupils enrolled in the school district.
In this paragraph, “full−time, in−person regarding any fact related to the pupil’s health or educa- option” does not include the act of proctoring remote tion status.
In this paragraph, “full-time, in-person option” means an option under which a pupil receives instruction from a school district employee who is physically present in the same school building as the pupil and in real time for at least the number of hours of direct pupil instruction required under s.
A pupil may not, as a result of such an elec- online learning in a classroom.
121.02 (1) (f).
tion, be disciplined or otherwise treated differently from (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a virtual charter a pupil whose parent has not made such an election.
In this paragraph, “full-time, in-person option” does not include the act of proctoring remote online learning in a classroom.
school, as defined in s.
(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a virtual charter school, as defined in s.
(END)
* Section 991.11ISCONSINSTATUTES:
Effective date of acts.
“Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”
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Action History

  1. Failed to pass notwithstanding the objections of the Governor pursuant to Joint Rule 82

  2. Placed on calendar 5-17-2022 pursuant to Joint Rule 82 (2)(a)

  3. Report vetoed by the Governor on 4-8-2022

  4. Presented to the Governor on 4-4-2022 by directive of the Speaker

  5. Report correctly enrolled on 3-10-2022

  6. Received from Senate concurred in

  7. Ordered immediately messaged

  8. Read a third time and concurred in, Ayes 19, Noes 11

  9. Rules suspended

  10. Ordered to a third reading

  11. Read a second time

  12. Senator Darling added as a cosponsor

  13. Placed on calendar 3-8-2022 pursuant to Senate Rule 18(1)

  14. Available for scheduling

  15. Report concurrence recommended by Committee on Education, Ayes 4, Noes 3

  16. Executive action taken

  17. Public hearing held

  18. Read first time and referred to committee on Education

  19. Received from Assembly

  20. Ordered immediately messaged

  21. Read a third time and passed, Ayes 60, Noes 32, Paired 2

  22. Rules suspended

  23. Ordered to a third reading

  24. Read a second time

  25. Fiscal estimate received

  26. Placed on calendar 2-22-2022 by Committee on Rules

  27. Referred to committee on Rules

  28. Report passage recommended by Committee on Education, Ayes 8, Noes 5

  29. Executive action taken

  30. Public hearing held

  31. Read first time and referred to Committee on Education

  32. Introduced by Representatives Vos, Steineke, Petersen, Vorpagel, Duchow, James, Born, Knodl, Cabral-Guevara, Zimmerman, Macco, Steffen, Kitchens, Tranel, Novak, Gundrum, Tusler, Thiesfeldt, Kuglitsch, Ramthun, Brandtjen, Summerfield, Dallman, Katsma, Tittl, Dittrich, J. Rodriguez, Oldenburg, VanderMeer, Magnafici, Edming, Pronschinske, Snyder, Brooks, Schraa, Swearingen, Wittke, Moses, Callahan, Rozar, Skowronski, Sortwell, Krug, Spiros, Tauchen, Plumer, Wichgers, Murphy, Loudenbeck, Behnke and Neylon; cosponsored by Senators Kapenga, Jacque, Jagler, Stafsholt, Stroebel, Testin, LeMahieu and Bernier

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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51 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 81 not signed on · 24 voted No

Sponsors (51)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (81)

81 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 81 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

CONCURRENCE

Passed 19 Yea · 11 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6303
Republican 13000
Democrat 0800
Total 191103
% of votes cast 58%33%0%9%
How each member voted (33)
Member Party Vote
BERNIER — Not Voting
ERPENBACH — Not Voting
STROEBEL — Yea
COWLES — Yea
KOOYENGA — Yea
DARLING — Yea
PETROWSKI — Yea
ROTH — Yea
AGARD — Nay
BEWLEY — Nay
RINGHAND — Nay
BALLWEG — Not Voting
Carpenter, Tim Democrat Nay
Johnson, LaTonya Democrat Nay
Larson, Chris Democrat Nay
Pfaff, Brad Democrat Nay
Roys, Kelda Democrat Nay
Smith, Jeff Democrat Nay
Taylor, Sequanna Democrat Nay
Wirch, Robert Democrat Nay
Bradley, Julian Republican Yea
Felzkowski, Mary Republican Yea
Feyen, Dan Republican Yea
Jacque, André Republican Yea
Jagler, John Republican Yea
Kapenga, Chris Republican Yea
LeMahieu, Devin Republican Yea
Marklein, Howard Republican Yea
Nass, Steve Republican Yea
Stafsholt, Rob Republican Yea
Testin, Patrick Republican Yea
Wanggaard, Van Republican Yea
Wimberger, Eric Republican Yea

Official roll call →

PASSAGE

Passed 60 Yea · 32 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 37100
Democrat 01600
Unaffiliated 231500
Total 603200
% of votes cast 65%35%0%0%
How each member voted (92)
Member Party Vote
BALDEH — Nay
BRANDTJEN — Yea
BROSTOFF — Nay
CABRAL-GUEVA — Yea
CONLEY — Nay
CONSIDINE — Nay
EDMING — Yea
GOYKE — Nay
HEBL — Nay
HINTZ — Nay
HORLACHER — Yea
KATSMA — Yea
KERKMAN — Yea
KUGLITSCH — Yea
LOUDENBECK — Yea
MACCO — Yea
MAGNAFICI — Yea
MILROY — Nay
MOORE OMOKUN — Nay
MYERS — Nay
OHNSTAD — Nay
OLDENBURG — Yea
PETRYK — Yea
PLUMER — Yea
POPE — Nay
RAMTHUN — Yea
RIEMER — Nay
ROZAR — Yea
SANFELIPPO — Yea
SCHRAA — Yea
SHELTON — Nay
SKOWRONSKI — Yea
STEINEKE — Yea
TAUCHEN — Yea
THIESFELDT — Yea
VORPAGEL — Yea
VRUWINK — Nay
SPEAKER — Yea
Anderson, Clinton Democrat Nay
Andraca, Deb Democrat Nay
Billings, Jill Democrat Nay
Doyle, Steve Democrat Nay
Drake, Dora Democrat Nay
Emerson, Jodi Democrat Nay
Haywood, Kalan Democrat Nay
Hesselbein, Dianne Democrat Nay
Hong, Francesca Democrat Nay
McGuire, Tip Democrat Nay
Neubauer, Greta Democrat Nay
Sinicki, Christine Democrat Nay
Snodgrass, Lee Democrat Nay
Spreitzer, Mark Democrat Nay
Subeck, Lisa Democrat Nay
Vining, Robyn Democrat Nay
Allen, Scott Republican Yea
Armstrong, David Republican Yea
August, Tyler Republican Yea
Behnke, Elijah Republican Yea
Born, Mark Republican Yea
Brooks, Robert Republican Yea
Callahan, Calvin Republican Yea
Dallman, Alex Republican Yea
Dittrich, Barbara Republican Yea
Duchow, Cindi Republican Yea
Gundrum, Rick Republican Yea
James, Jesse Republican Yea
Kitchens, Joel Republican Yea
Knodl, Daniel Republican Yea
Krug, Scott Republican Yea
Kurtz, Tony Republican Yea
Moses, Clint Republican Yea
Murphy, David Republican Yea
Mursau, Jeffrey Republican Yea
Neylon, Adam Republican Yea
Novak, Todd Republican Yea
Petersen, Kevin Republican Yea
Pronschinske, Treig Republican Yea
Rodriguez, Jessie Republican Yea
Rodriguez, Jessie Republican Nay
Snyder, Patrick Republican Yea
Sortwell, Shae Republican Yea
Spiros, John Republican Yea
Steffen, David Republican Yea
Summerfield, Rob Republican Yea
Swearingen, Rob Republican Yea
Tittl, Paul Republican Yea
Tranel, Travis Republican Yea
Tusler, Ron Republican Yea
VanderMeer, Nancy Republican Yea
Wichgers, Chuck Republican Yea
Wittke, Robert Republican Yea
Zimmerman, Shannon Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors AB 995?
AB 995 is sponsored by Neylon, Adam (Republican), Behnke, Elijah (Republican), Loudenbeck, Murphy, David (Republican), Wichgers, Chuck (Republican), Plumer, Tauchen, Spiros, John (Republican), Krug, Scott (Republican), Sortwell, Shae (Republican), Skowronski, Rozar, Callahan, Calvin (Republican), Moses, Clint (Republican), Wittke, Robert (Republican), Swearingen, Rob (Republican), Schraa, Brooks, Robert (Republican), Snyder, Patrick (Republican), Pronschinske, Treig (Republican), Edming, Magnafici, VanderMeer, Nancy (Republican), Oldenburg, Dittrich, Barbara (Republican), Tittl, Paul (Republican), Katsma, Dallman, Alex (Republican), Summerfield, Rob (Republican), Brandtjen, Ramthun, Kuglitsch, Thiesfeldt, Tusler, Ron (Republican), Gundrum, Rick (Republican), Novak, Todd (Republican), Tranel, Travis (Republican), Kitchens, Joel (Republican), Steffen, David (Republican), Macco, Zimmerman, Shannon (Republican), Cabral-Guevara, Rachael (Republican), Knodl, Daniel (Republican), Born, Mark (Republican), James, Jesse (Republican), Duchow, Cindi (Republican), Vorpagel, Petersen, Kevin (Republican), Steineke, Vos, Robin (Republican), and Rodriguez, Jessie (Republican).
What is the current status of AB 995?
This bill died with 2021-2022 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 995?
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