The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s latest coverage of our lawsuit challenging State Superintendent Tony Evers rulemaking and policy authority.
GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel has said he should represent Evers and that he agrees with Walker on the case and would largely capitulate to those bringing the lawsuit. Evers contends he deserves an attorney who represents his own views and wants to use a lawyer in his Department of Public Instruction.
The court will hold a second round of arguments on a later date on the merits of the case, which center on how much authority Evers has to write administrative rules that have the force of state law.
The lawsuit essentially revives a case that Evers’ allies won in 2016 after a years-long legal fight.
In 2011, Walker approved a law that required state officials to get his sign-off before advancing administrative rules.
In 2017, Walker signed a new, similar law. Evers did not follow that law in the way that he wrote new rules, saying he didn’t need to because of the past court rulings.
Soon afterward, a group of teachers and local school board members represented by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty asked the Supreme Court to take up anew whether Evers had to follow the law on writing state rules.
Under Friday’s ruling, the high court agreed to decide that case.