Wisconsin Senate Bill SB1000

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/12/26
• Refer: 2/12/26
• Report Pass: 3/6/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to create 118.227 of the statutes; Relating to: prohibiting education employers from entering into certain agreements related to information about alleged immoral conduct by an employee and civil immunity for information provided to a prospective employer.

Summary

SB1000 would create a new section of Wisconsin statutes, s. 118.227, governing certain agreements and employment references used by education employers. It would prohibit school boards, charter school governing boards, and private schools participating in choice or special needs scholarship programs from entering into agreements that suppress or destroy information about alleged immoral conduct by an employee, limit the ability of employees or the employer to report suspected immoral conduct, or require expungement of substantiated allegations or findings from employer records. The bill defines “immoral conduct” by reference to existing law. The bill also would grant civil immunity to an education employer that, when asked by a prospective employer, provides information about a current or former employee’s conduct, including allegations of immoral conduct. This immunity would be in addition to existing statutory immunity for employment references, and is intended to reduce legal risk for schools that disclose relevant personnel information during hiring processes.

Impact

SB1000 would add new statutory restrictions on confidentiality, severance, resignation, and other employment-related agreements used by education employers, while preserving records of substantiated immoral-conduct findings unless allegations are found false or unsubstantiated. It would also expand civil immunity protections for schools and other covered education employers that provide reference information to prospective employers, potentially affecting personnel practices, recordkeeping, and hiring disclosures in public, charter, and participating private schools.

Sentiment

The available record suggests the bill was introduced as a policy response to concerns about concealment of employee misconduct in educational settings, with sponsors framing it as a transparency and child-safety measure. There is no committee transcript or recorded vote information in the provided materials, and the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1. Based on the text alone, the measure appears designed to protect schools that share information and to prevent nondisclosure agreements from hiding misconduct, indicating generally pro-disclosure sentiment among supporters.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the balance between transparency and employee privacy or due-process protections. Opponents could object that the bill restricts settlement or severance agreements, limits the ability to resolve personnel matters confidentially, and may expose employees to broader disclosure of allegations, not just substantiated findings. Supporters, by contrast, would likely emphasize preventing schools from using agreements to suppress reports of misconduct and ensuring prospective employers receive relevant information about prior conduct.