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, the official text

2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-6253/1
FFK:wlj

2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 1004
February 3, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives Nedweski, Behnke, Dittrich, Gundrum, Murphy, O'Connor, Piwowarczyk, Wichgers and Goeben, cosponsored by Senators James and Jacque. Referred to Committee on Education.

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.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill prohibits school boards, governing boards of charter schools, and governing bodies of private schools participating in a parental choice program or the Special Needs Scholarship Program (an education employer) from entering into any agreement that 1) has the effect of suppressing or destroying information related to immoral conduct by an employee, 2) affects the ability of the education employer or its employees to report immoral conduct, or 3) requires the education employer to expunge information about substantiated allegations or findings of immoral conduct from any documents maintained by the education employer. The bill also provides civil immunity to an education employer that, upon request from a prospective employer, provides information about the conduct of a current or past employee, including information about immoral conduct. The civil immunity provided in the bill is in addition to the civil immunity under current law for employment references. Under current law, an employer who provides a reference to a prospective employer is presumed to be acting in good faith and is immune from civil liability that may result from providing the reference.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. 118.227 of the statutes is created to read:
118.227 Prohibited agreements and references; immoral conduct. (1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Education employer” means a school board, the governing board of a charter school, or governing body of a private school participating in a program under s. 115.7915, 118.60, or 119.23.
(b) “Immoral conduct” has the meaning given in s. 115.31 (1) (c).
(2) Prohibited agreements. Beginning on the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], an education employer may not enter into an agreement, including an agreement for resignation or termination and a severance agreement, or other contract, or take any action that does any of the following:
(a) Has the effect of suppressing or destroying information relating to an investigation of alleged immoral conduct by a current or former employee.
(b) Affects the ability of the education employer or any of its employees to report suspected immoral conduct.
(c) Requires the education employer to expunge information about allegations or findings of immoral conduct from any documents maintained by the education employer, unless after investigation the allegations are found to be false or not substantiated.
(3) References; immunity. An education employer who provides information
about the conduct of a current or former employee, including information about allegations of immoral conduct, about a current or former employee, in response to a request for information from a prospective employer is immune from all civil liability that may result from providing the requested information. The immunity from civil liability provided under this subsection is in addition to and not in lieu of that provided under s. 895.487.
(end)