DELAFIELD — More than a year after first seeking public records related to changes to Wisconsin’s Forward Exam benchmarks, Dairyland Sentinel is escalating its effort to obtain documents from the Department of Public Instruction.
On Jan. 22, the Institute for Reforming Government (IRG), acting on behalf of Dairyland Sentinel, sent a formal demand letter to DPI following what it described as nearly one year without resolution of a public records request submitted on Jan. 21, 2025.
The original request sought records connected to DPI’s decision to revise Forward Exam achievement benchmarks and terminology. DPI previously stated that “nearly 100 experts from across the state” were consulted in recommending the updated benchmarks.
The Jan. 21, 2025 request by Dairyland Sentinel publisher Brian Fraley asked to inspect or obtain records relating to the panel of experts, including their identities, how they were selected, when and where meetings occurred, agendas, minutes, recordings, whether nondisclosure agreements were used, and the costs associated with the process.
Dairyland followed up on its request on Feb. 6, 2025. DPI acknowledged the request but there has been no further correspondence regarding the request.
“The public shouldn’t have to engage legal representation to get DPI to comply with the law,” said Fraley, “but I’m certainly happy the team at IRG is willing to engage in this fight.”
In the demand letter, IRG cited Wisconsin’s public records law, which requires that responses be provided “as soon as practicable and without delay.”
“Transparency delayed is transparency denied,” said Jacob J. Curtis, IRG General Counsel and Director of the Center for Investigative Oversight. “Wisconsin law is clear: records must be provided ‘as soon as practicable and without delay.’ Keeping the public in the dark for a year is not just a bureaucratic failure, it is a violation of the law. We are hopeful that DPI will choose transparency over litigation.”
The letter states that “compliance at some unspecified future time is not authorized by the public records law,” adding that “the records custodian has two choices: comply or deny.”
IRG also referenced statutory enforcement options available when access to records is delayed or withheld, including seeking a court order through a mandamus action or requesting intervention from a district attorney or the attorney general.
The letter states that IRG “expects prompt disclosure of responsive records to Dairyland’s requests; otherwise, it will be forced to exercise its enforcement rights under Chapter 19.”
It further notes that if a mandamus action becomes necessary and the requester prevails, Wisconsin law provides that “attorney fees, damages of not less than $100.00, and other actual costs shall be awarded to a requester.”
The correspondence concludes, “We trust you will respond promptly to this matter.”
The Forward Exam benchmark changes, which took effect beginning with the 2023–24 school year, altered performance labels and cut scores used in statewide testing. DPI replaced prior terms with updated descriptors as part of the revised assessment framework.
The ongoing records dispute centers on the advice and process used to develop those changes and the documentation underlying DPI’s decision-making.
