115.29 General powers. The state superintendent may:

(1) Designate representative. Designate the deputy state superintendent or another employee of the department as the state superintendent's representative on any body on which the state superintendent is required to serve, except the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

(2) Educational meetings. Attend such educational meetings and make such investigations as the state superintendent deems important and as will acquaint the state superintendent with the different systems of public schools in the United States.

(3) Auxiliary instructional employees. By order, establish classes of auxiliary instructional employees and authorize their employment in the instructional program of the elementary and high schools for specific purposes and their reimbursement from the instructional budget. Auxiliary instructional employees shall not be covered as teachers as defined in s. 40.02 (55) or under s. 118.21, 118.22 or 121.006 (2) but shall be eligible under the public employee trust fund as participating employees as defined in s. 40.02 (46), if it is made applicable, other than through s. 40.21 (3), to the school district employing them.

(4) High school graduation equivalency.

(a) Grant a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation to an individual if the individual has successfully completed the civics test required under s. 118.33 (1m) (a) and if, in the state superintendent's judgment, the individual has presented satisfactory evidence of having completed a recognized high school course of study or its equivalent. The state superintendent may establish the standards by which high school graduation equivalency is determined. Such standards may consist of evidence of high school courses completed in high schools recognized by the proper authorities as accredited, results of examinations given by or at the request of the state superintendent, successful completion of correspondence study courses given by acceptable correspondence study schools, a general educational development certificate of high school equivalency issued by an agency of the U.S. government, course credits received in schools meeting the approval of the state superintendent, or other standards established by the state superintendent.

(b) Promulgate rules establishing fees for issuing a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation or a general educational development certificate under par. (a). The rules may provide exemptions from the fees based on financial need.

(5) Teacher supply, information and analysis. Assist school boards, cooperative educational service agencies and county children with disabilities education boards to locate qualified professional school personnel, assist qualified professional school personnel to locate vacant positions and provide information and analysis of the professional school personnel supply.

(6) English language proficiency assessment system. Assist in the establishment of, and participate in, a consortium of state education agencies organized to obtain public and private funds to be used to purchase an English language proficiency assessment system.

(7) Teen pregnancy prevention. Apply for all federal funds allocated for providing instruction in any of the subjects identified in s. 118.019.

(8) Alternative data collection method; low-income pupils. Use an alternative data collection method established by the department to identify pupils who satisfy the income eligibility criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1).

History: 1971 c. 100 s. 23; 1971 c. 125, 211; 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 32, 301; 1981 c. 96; 1983 a. 27; 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 27, 111; 1997 a. 27, 35, 164; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25; 2009 a. 134; 2011 a. 216; 2015 a. 55.