TUE AM News: WI ranked 8th for child well-being, but racial disparities persist; Court decision offers relief for landlords, law firm says

June 9, 2026

— Wisconsin ranked eighth nationally for overall child well-being, but racial disparities in the state persist, according to a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report for 2024.

The charitable foundation’s report evaluates child well-being in states since 2019 based on several economic, education, health and family and community-related factors, such as the number of children in poverty, proficiency in math and reading for certain grade levels, child and teen deaths, and more.

According to an analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics and National Assessment of Educational Progress data in the KIDS COUNT report, 69% of fourth graders in Wisconsin weren’t proficient in reading in 2024 compared to 64% in 2019.

Black students had the highest percentage of non-proficient fourth-grade readers among racial groups at 92% in 2024, while non-Hispanic white students had the lowest non-proficient percentage at 62%.

Meanwhile, 63% of eighth graders weren’t proficient in math in 2024 compared to 59% in 2019. Black students had the highest percentage of non-proficiency, 93%, followed by American Indian or Alaskan Native students at 92%. The lowest non-proficiency percentage was 55% for non-Hispanic white students.

Antiracist policy center Kids Forward said while the state may rank near the top nationally for child well-being, Wisconsin continues to have some of the worst racial disparities in the country.

“Wisconsin is like a broken record with its legacy of failing Black children. Our state has been recognized for years as one of ‘The worst places for Black families to live’ – when is Wisconsin going to make the necessary investments to write a new headline?” Deputy Director Alia Stevenson said in a statement.

Department of Public Instruction spokesperson Chris Bucher said the state’s sixth-in-the-nation ranking in the education category reflects the hard work of students, families and schools, while noting the state has some of the largest opportunity gaps in the nation.

He said part of the work toward closing those gaps includes implementing the state’s new literacy law, developing statewide literacy and math plans and State Superintendent Jill Underly’s new Portrait of a Graduate initiative.

“While there is still work ahead, Wisconsin students continue to perform above the national average on many key measures, including (eighth) grade math achievement on the NAEP and record-high graduation rates,” Bucher said. “We remain committed to building on these strengths while ensuring every student has access to the opportunities, resources, and support they need to thrive.”

Other data in the report include:

The percentage of children in poverty went down to 12% in 2024 compared to 14% in 2019. Black children had the highest poverty rate at 38%, more than double the second-highest rate, 18% for Hispanic or Latino children. Non-Hispanic white children had the lowest poverty rate at 7%.
The percentage of children without health insurance stayed stable at 4% in 2024. The rate was highest for American Indian or Alaska Native children at 8%.
The percentage of children living in high-poverty areas went down from 7% to 5%. Black children were most likely to live in high-poverty areas, with 28% living in high-poverty neighborhoods where poverty rates for the total population are 30% or more. Non-Hispanic white children had the lowest percentage at just 1%.
Nine percent of high school students graduated on time in 2023-24, down from 10% in 2018-19. Twenty-eight percent of Black students didn’t graduate on time in 2023-24, the highest percentage among racial groups, compared to 5% of non-Hispanic white students, the lowest.

See a dashboard with state-by-state data.

— A recent state Supreme Court decision on the legal framework for residential leases provides relief for landlords, after an earlier ruling led to “severe consequences” for even minor lease defects.

That’s according to an overview of last week’s court opinion from the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision from 2024 that had established residential leases in the state fall under a law called the Wisconsin Consumer Act. For the last two years, this decision allowed many tenants to seek to void their leases and required landlords to pay out “significant amounts” as a result, according to the firm.

The appeals court’s ruling hinged on a landlord making a “simple misstep” of omitting a notice of domestic abuse protections in a lease, which led to the tenant recovering twice the amount of rent paid under the lease along with other damages. That occurred after the landlord attempted to evict the tenant.

In an earlier overview on the case, the firm said the appeals court’s decision “illustrates the detrimental impact a few sentences (or lack thereof) in a residential lease may have on a landlord.”

But the new opinion overturned that decision, determining the WCA doesn’t apply to typical residential leases with monthly rent payments, the firm says.

In addition, the court acknowledged the “technical violation” made by the domestic abuse notice omission but emphasized the tenant must show actual financial harm was caused by that violation to recover damages.

The firm says the new ruling “provides important clarity” for residential landlords and property managers in the state, confirming their relationships with tenants don’t fall under the more “punitive statutes” within the Wisconsin Consumer Act.

“Furthermore, technical lease defects (while they still render a lease void) do not automatically result in liability,” authors wrote. “Rather, a residential tenant must demonstrate financial loss related to the issue at hand in a dispute.”

Read the latest overview.

— Clarevia Ventures Founding Partner John Neis is sounding the alarm on draft federal rules that would require research awards to get approval from political appointees.

In a recent social media post, the founder of the health-focused investment firm in Madison warned the “threat to Federally funded research has not passed,” pointing to new draft rules from the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Under the proposed rules, political appointees at scientific agencies would need to sign off on research awards, to ensure “compliance with presidential priorities,” he wrote. Neis also noted the new rules would allow for grants to be terminated based on the discretion of the federal agency.

“It says scientific peer review of research proposals ‘remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion,’” he wrote. “Let that sink in. Our successful history of using peer review to determine scientific merit for funding is being replaced with political appointees’ discretion.”

As an example of the problems this would pose, Neis said the late U.S. Sen. Bill Proxmire in 1975 targeted USDA-funded research into screwworm fly reproduction with his “Golden Fleece Award,” seeking to spotlight what he viewed as wasted taxpayer dollars.

“The scientists doing this work were mapping biological mating habits, leading directly to a sterile-male release technique that eradicated the pest and saved the global cattle industry billions,” Neis wrote. “He didn’t understand the importance of the work. Scientists did.”

He’s calling for those who share his concerns to issue comments on the draft rules during a 45-day listening period, as well as contacting members of Congress directly.

“They aren’t required to listen, but when the response is overwhelming it gets political attention and there is a history of them backing down,” he wrote.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— Some farm fieldwork and crop growth is trending ahead of the average pace in June, according to the latest USDA report.

The agency’s National Agricultural Statistics Service yesterday issued a crop progress report covering the week ending Sunday.

It shows the state’s corn crop was 81% emerged, matching the five-year average, while soybeans were 79% emerged, beating the average of 72% for this point in the year. Oats were 88% emerged, just above the average rate of 87%.

Meanwhile, winter wheat fields were 53% headed, in line with the average. And the first cutting of alfalfa hay was 70% finished, above the average of 63%.

At least some of this progress was enabled by a dry start to last week, as low levels of precipitation allowed farmers to “wrap up planting and make good progress” harvesting their alfalfa before the “much-needed” rainfall seen later in the week.

See the report.

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