Supreme Court strikes down Gov. Walker’s Act 21

Steve Doyle weighs in on decision

The state school superintendent is happy, and Wisconsin’s governor, well, he isn’t saying much.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of Superintendent Tony Evers on Wednesday, striking down a law signed by Gov. Scott Walker, which would give his office some veto power over the superintendent’s actions. 

That law, Act 21, was signed a short time after Act 10 was passed in 2011. 

Five years later, the Wisconsin Supreme Court says Act 21 is unconstitutional. The vote was 4-to-3, but local Assemblyman Steve Doyle says it follows a previous ruling aimed at keeping politics out of the state superintendent’s office.

“About 20 years ago the Supreme Court had issued a ruling that said the office and the responsibilities of the superintendent stay under the superintendent and don’t get put under the governor,” Doyle said. “So this really just respected what was a unanimous decion in the courts 20 years ago.”

Doyle remembers fellow Democrats calling Act 21 a “power grab” by Walker, with majority Republicans saying the law would make state government more efficient.

The courts decision Wednesday could be seen as something out of the ordinary from a conservative-leaning court, but Doyle, who was just elected to the Assembly in 2011, doesn’t think so.

“What the Supreme Court said was, ‘No, under our constitution you cannot do that,'” Doyle explained. “In fact, we’ve had a long history in Wisconsin that, it doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, you need to keep your nose out of public education.

“A lot of people were surprised thinking the Supreme Court was going to be more beholden to the Republican governor. I’m glad they exercised some independence. I think that bodes well.”

A Walker aide says the governor is interested in “challenging the status quo,” if he thinks it hurts education in Wisconsin.