>> The following program is A PBS
Wisconsin Original production
>> Partisans wait expectantly for a decision.
After a new liberal majority on the state,
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a lawsuit over
Wisconsin voting maps
and high tech intervention for young children learning how
to communicate after the isolation of a pandemic.
I'm Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on Here & Now ,
now the Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon rule on the
lawsuit over state voting maps.
We hear from a former state senator who voted for the maps
that cemented the Republican majority and his regrets.
The first of our year-end interviews
with legislative leaders
and Zac Schultz reports on the soaring numbers of children
with speech delays.
It's Here & Now for December 1st.
>> Funding for Here & Now is
provided by the focus fund for journalism
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
>> A case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court could upend
state district voting maps
and the new balance on the high court suggests the liberal
majority could find the maps unconstitutional.
Marissa IC has more,
>> What we have here today is a constitutional violation.
>> When the Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments
challenging the state's legislative voting maps,
it felt a little like Groundhog's Day.
>> The districts aren't contiguous
and they violate the separation of powers.
>> Plaintiffs say the case now
before the court makes different challenges not addressed
by the court in 2022.
The last time it ruled on the state's district maps.
The new arguments primarily centered around the continuity
of some districts says Marquette Law School research
fellow John Johnson
>> That have weird little island areas
that are disconnected from the rest of them.
>> These islands were caused
by towns being annexed from municipalities over time.
One party argued the result violates state constitutional
requirements because these districts are not
physically contiguous.
The other side says contiguity has a broader definition
and the lines as drawn have 50 years
of precedent behind them.
If the court were to find the maps unconstitutional,
an alternative would be needed.
>> I think if they choose the separation of powers complaint,
then they have to institute entirely new maps.
Well, certainly one problem argument.
If they only throughout the maps on the basis
of the contiguity challenge, then perhaps they would try
to come up with a new map that only solved that problem.
Because the continuity issue does not affect every district.
It affects about half the districts in the state.
>> Experts caution the justices not
to redraw the maps themselves, calling it a slippery slope.
>> If we are to find these maps unconstitutional
and we were to turn to a map, draw someone
to help draw the maps.
Do you have names of people that you would suggest
>> Justice Brian Hagedorn pushed both parties on
what true partisan fairness looks like for Wisconsin. What
>> Would be neutral?
What's the acceptable range of Republican
or democratic leaning assembly districts
or Senate districts that's within the permissible range?
The key question is, which maps are most likely
to support rather than fort majority rule.
>> Current maps have assembly Democrats holding 35 seats,
Republicans have 64.
There are many methods to draw maps
and Johnson says it is possible to calculate a range
of partisan fairness.
>> Mathematicians have really pioneered over the last few
years is using algorithms to generate
enormous ensembles.
You do that in Wisconsin
and you get, oh, in the neighborhood of 55, 56,
maybe 57 seats leaning Republican in a 50 50 year.
It's consequential because our technology allows us
to more precisely target certain kinds of voters.
In a fundamental way, gerrymandering works
because voters are, are
so polarized between the parties.
And I think that that means that
really any solution is going to leave a lot
of people deeply disappointed.
>> No matter how the court rules,
there's no guarantee this won't happen all over again.
>> Is there any end to this litigation?
>> We're making it up as we go along.
If the balance of power on the Supreme Court changed,
you could be right back here again.
>> If the maps are found unconstitutional,
new ones would be needed.
Prior to the 2024 elections reporting for here
and now, I'm Marissa Wojcik.
>> Following oral arguments, the court is expected
to issue its ruling no later than early 2024.
One former senator and Senate majority leader who voted
for the Republican maps
that passed in 2011 has been fighting against
that gerrymandered nearly ever since.
Former state Senator Dale Schultz joins us now.
Thanks very much for being here.
>> I'm delighted to be here Fred.
>> So if, if you think that the 2011 maps that cemented
Republican majorities were so offending in their
lopsided partisan favor, why did you vote
for them in the first place?
>> Well, it's a great question and I'm glad you asked it.
When I was briefed on what the plan was,
all I saw was my own district
and historically redistricting had meant maybe a percent
or a half percent difference in, in how the votes came out.
So it wasn't that shocking to, to me, when I saw my map,
it was shocking to me after the votes came in
and I realized that suddenly the
what was happening in the legislature did not reflect the
overall trend in the state.
And not by a little bit, but by a significant amount.
And as time went by, I learned
that we had the most gerrymandered maps in the state.
And I've always thought politicians ought
to compete on issues
and on principles, not on rigging elections.
And Democrats have done it, Republicans have done it,
it doesn't mean it's right.
>> So when you had that realization, what did you do then?
>> Well, I, I found a partner, which wasn't real hard to do
because Senator Tim Collin
and I had, you know, gone through Act 10 together, sort of
as the odd men out trying to figure out what we could do
to bring the state back together, bring the,
the political parties back to a point
where they could discuss things with one another.
So I went with to him
and we decided it was an issue that was important.
And then what happened next was kind of a surprise.
Two majority leaders couldn't even get a hearing on a bill
that was of longstanding in the neighboring state of Iowa.
And so we decided, you know what, we don't have
to operate entirely within the process.
And we took the matter directly to the people in Wisconsin
and made, I don't know, a hundred
or 150 speaking engagements around the state trying
to educate people and build support for the whole idea
of taking a look at this a second time.
>> But meanwhile here we are with this latest lawsuit brought
by Democrats before the newly liberal
majority Supreme Court.
You listened in on the oral arguments in this case.
Do you think the arguments against the current maps hold up
like, like the argued need for contiguous districts
or separation of powers?
>> Well first of all, I need to admit
that I'm not an attorney
and I don't even get to play one on
Wisconsin public television.
But I listened to the arguments.
I thought the court did a good job.
Regardless of your feelings for either side,
I thought the court acquitted itself well,
and I do think that the plaintiffs
made the case very well.
But I'm less concerned about the court than I'm
about the legislature.
You know, both Republicans
and Democrats don't have clean hands in this whole regard.
We've now had the governor say he is in favor
of an Iowa plan.
We've had Speaker Voss saying the same thing.
All that's really necessary to deal with this is for one
of those two gentlemen to pick up the phone
and call the other and say,
let's have a quiet discussion about
what both sides can live with.
Now that doesn't negate what the courts would and should do.
I, I don't think we should have
to suffer under these maps any longer.
But more importantly is let's not focus so much on the past
or even the present and start thinking about the future.
>> Why should the maps be drawn not by the legislature
or the courts in your mind?
>> Well, I, I think that the time has
shown in Iowa over 50 years
that this system works, that it's fair.
No legislator has ever put in a bill to repeal it
and the public is highly satisfied with it in Iowa.
Whereas in Wisconsin we've seen
a situation develop in the last few years
where no one is in favor of what we've done,
not even Republicans.
>> And just to back up a little bit, under the Iowa model,
it would be a nonpartisan commission.
>> Correct. Or a civil servant would work and
and develop the maps.
And I don't think more than once has,
have they ever had two votes?
And the reason that they haven't had two votes is every
legislator looks at their district
and they go, well, I'm in my district
and it looks pretty good to me, so I'm gonna vote
for it 'cause I could get worse.
>> One of the things that I think Justice Rebecca Bradley
brought up was this idea that it was undemocratic.
If you have, if you force everybody to go up
for reelection under new maps, including state senators
who are still in the midst of their terms.
>> Well, but that conveniently ignores the argument
that people have been operating under maps
that dilute the power of the voters
and they've had an unfair advantage.
Why should they be able to continue
that even two more years?
>> Why do you think taking the hyper-partisan out
of voting maps is good for the electorate?
>> Because I, I don't think when people are engaged in
that process now, given the new technology
and tools that are available to them,
that they're thinking about the voters first.
They're thinking about power
because this is really an exercise about power.
My friend Tim Cullen makes that point all the time.
It's not a Republican or a democratic issue.
And it seems every time we engage in this process,
the only real loser is the general public.
They ought to be picking their representatives.
It shouldn't happen the other way around.
>> So having lived this now for a decade
and been very immersed in it, what do you think is going
to be, be the outcome of this state high court ruling?
>> Well, I think that they probably will find
it unconstitutional.
I think there seems to be broad consensus on that.
It's not any great insight that I have.
I, I don't have any awareness of
what they may or may not do.
I think there's a broad consensus that
the public wants a fair set of maps,
but that's not the issues before the court.
But I think that the court has sufficient grounds to
do something and they could actually be joined
by two politicians who said, we're going
to take care of the future.
You take care of the immediate present
and we would be in a better place in
Wisconsin this next spring.
>> We leave it there. Dale Schultz, thanks very much. You
>> Bet.
Thank you. Happy holidays to you
and all the listeners. Thank
>> You.
As to the Supreme Court,
former Republican Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel
came out early announcing this week he is running
for the State Supreme Court against Liberal
Justice Ann Walsh.
Bradley Bradley's term is up in 2025.
She was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1995
and is the longest serving justice on the court.
She is part of the four three liberal majority
elected in 2015.
Schimel served one term as AG
and is currently a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge.
As a prosecutor,
Schimel had been outspoken against abortion.
He defended Republican drawn redistricting maps,
strongly supported voter id
and joined a multi-state lawsuit over the
Affordable Care Act.
>> So on August 1st of this year, the balance
of the supreme courtship, we all knew what we had
to tell us liberal the liberals.
Now in majority, they've been in the majority before
and we know the damage they've done in the past when they've
been in the majority, but this time it's different
as they see this is not your father's liberal
majority, it's different.
And Nick demonstrated that they intend to make big changes.
>> A lawsuit has been filed over the state's near total ban
on a collective bargaining for most public employees.
Act 10 was enacted under former Governor Scott Walker in
2011 prompting massive protests in
and around the state capitol.
On Thursday, seven unions representing teachers
and other public employees filed the lawsuit arguing Act 10
violates the Wisconsin Constitution's Equal Protection
guarantee because the law exempts police
and other public safety workers from its union limitations.
As of this afternoon, democratic state Senator Melissa
Agard is out
as minority leader, having announced she will not run
for reelection to the legislature.
To instead throw her hat in the ring
for Dane County executive just ahead of her announcement,
she sat down with senior political reporters, Zac Schultz,
to talk about the last year as leader.
>> Well, Senator Agard, thanks for your time today.
>> Thank you. >> So wrap up 2023 for me.
How do you view the year
as a whole from the Senate minority perspective?
>> Well, certainly every legislative session
that I have been in the building has a different feel
and a different flavor and this is no exception.
I think with the undertones of the redistricting lawsuit
that was gonna be coming before the Supreme Court,
it has created different relationships
here in the Capitol building.
But despite the fact that there is division,
I am really proud of the ability that we have had as
a legislator legislature to be able
to get some real good things done
for the people in Wisconsin,
whether it's the shared revenue bill
or more recently ensuring that the brewer is continue
to call Wisconsin home.
I think those are big wins,
but at the same point, knowing
what people across Wisconsin are really prioritizing the
issues that they would like the legislature
to be addressing, we're not getting that done.
Whether it's expanding healthcare.
So everyone in Wisconsin has access to quality,
affordable healthcare, ensuring
that our kids have safe places to go
by extending the childcare counts program,
legalizing cannabis, protecting reproductive health rights
and protecting our environment,
addressing our PFAS contaminations as well as lead laterals
and water contaminants across the state.
Those are just a few examples of the things
that people are concerned about at their kitchen tables.
I'm sure they were conversations
that people were having over the recent
Thanksgiving holidays.
So while we've been able to get some real good things done,
it's clear that the legislature still isn't addressing the
needs of the ordinary people in Wisconsin.
>> So one of the biggest things that happened this year
outside of the, the Capitol was the election
of Janet Pro se, which the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
How much has that changed the dynamic in terms
of people understanding the court is now a different
majority and the possibility of opening up redistricting
and changing the makeup of the legislature.
>> So we know in Wisconsin
that we are a gerrymandered state on top
of another gerrymandered.
Our state has been gerrymandered twice in a row
and many scientists
and mathematicians will point to Wisconsin as being
the most gerrymandered state in the nation,
both in the Assembly and the Senate.
That isn't good for clean government.
That is not what people in Wisconsin are asking for.
I am hopeful that
by having a more balanced court here in the state,
that we will have a more balanced legislature
and that the will of the people will in fact
become the law of the land.
>> Are you anticipating the possibility
that the entire Senate will be up next year?
>> I think it's a real possibility that the whole Senate,
all 33 seats will be up for election next year as well as
we already know all 99 members of, of the assembly.
So having 132 legislative seats up for reelection
in 2024 provides a real opportunity for a reset in the state
of Wisconsin and empowers the voters
who are ultimately our bosses to make real choices.
>> What do you think the impact
of the GOP convention in Milwaukee will be in the fall?
>> You know, I think it's great for our economy when we can
bring big groups like that into the state.
Whether it's the dairy forums that come here in Madison
or big entertainment or political caucuses.
You know, we were supposed to have the Democratic
caucus here in Wisconsin,
but we had unfortunately COVID
so it, it took a different look.
I think it's great when we can be front
and center with these debates
and have a front seat to
what it is that people are talking about.
>> But do you think that will give
Republicans a boost in the state?
>> Well, it may give Republicans a boost,
but what we've seen here in the Capitol building is a lot
of extremism from the Republicans in the legislature
to be more extreme.
Whether it's the threat of impeaching Justice Protasiewicz
before she even ruled on anything threats
to impeach Meghan Wolfe, who is ensured
that our elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure,
and fair attacks on trans rights attacks,
on reproductive freedoms, the inability to stand up
and protect our water quality and our environment.
Folks not willing to have conversations
about cannabis legalization.
That's what matters most to folks. Alright,
>> Senator Agard.
Thanks. Thank you. Schools
>> Across the state are dealing
with a dramatic increase in the number of kids
with speech delays.
It's especially prominent among our youngest students
who were just toddlers.
When the COVID-19 pandemic sent the world into lockdown here
and now Senior Political Reporters Act,
Schultz tells us what's behind the delays
and whether schools have the resources
to help the students speak up.
>> The children in this early Head Start classroom look
and sound like typical two to three year olds.
>> That's A good, but they were born
during the COVID-19 pandemic
and chances are some of them may be at risk
of developing a speech delay.
>> So we have actually seen a very big uprising in speech
and speech impairments and language impairments. And
>> Nichole Spooner is the director
of Comprehensive Services at Nextdoor Foundation,
a Head Start program in Milwaukee.
She says young children were severely
impacted by the lockdowns.
>> They were facing isolation, stress with their families,
trauma, things of that nature.
And so they're coming in now
with really some challenging behaviors,
speech delays, things of that nature.
I think we're up about 10% right now in children who
have speech delays diagnosed
>> Across the state.
It's the same story.
>> Say "S".
>> I've definitely seen an increase in the number
of referrals.
I would say it's not abnormal for me
to get at least one speech referral per day.
>> Max Long is the director
of Student Services at the Platteville School District.
He has four full-time speech language pathologists on staff,
and their caseloads are maxed out.
>> We often go back to the drawing board quite a bit
with our schedules when we get new students
and our caseloads to try to move things
around and make it work.
>> Once a student is diagnosed with a speech delay, federal
and state law mandates the district provide the services
they need, whether they have the funding or not. There's
>> Just too many kids for me to fit
>> In.
Megan Bolten has been at Platteville for 12 years
and says the issue isn't just that kids can't articulate,
some kids struggle to use speech to interact at all. There
>> Are definitely kids who will just hand you stuff
and expect that you know what they want to do with it
and not say anything to you.
Well, you know, early language skills are one
of the best predictors of academic social
vocational outcomes.
>> Rebecca Alper is a UW assistant professor
and a researcher at the Waisman Center
studying early language and literacy intervention. We're
>> Really just kind of trying to get a sense for
where the child's language levels are.
>> She says the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a lot
of existing health disparities along the lines of race,
income and access to services
and young children were no different.
>> It's very hard to focus on early language intervention
when you're experiencing housing insecurity,
food insecurity, all of those sorts of things.
>> Helper's team is studying how best to support caregivers
of young children since language development starts at birth
>> For do they have this word?
So like if they say Nana for banana,
we would still count it on this measure.
What would be the most supportive long-term is
to really help support early identification
and early intervention.
Because the earlier we can intervene,
the better the long-term prognosis are.
>> I have one for everybody. Peyton,
would you like to put a vest on
>> Back at next door?
In Milwaukee, they use a system called Lena
to help identify kids with possible speech delays.
>> These vests are going to record the amount of interactions
that we're having with each other.
It's gonna tell us how often we talk to each other
because talking is very important.
It's like a superhero this time. Yes,
>> Shakeda Caldwell is the lead teacher in this classroom
and convinces the kids to wear vests
that contain a small device that monitors
and counts interactions between kids and teachers.
>> But guess what it's gonna do?
It's gonna help you to talk more
and it's gonna help your teachers talk to you more
and we're gonna build lots of vocabulary together.
>> They are actually recording the frequency
of the interactions between the teachers and the children.
>> Tonya Hameister is the Director
of Education Services at Nextdoor.
She says, Lena is a coaching program.
When they download the data from the recorder,
it creates a chart to show the number of times a student
and teacher talk to each other.
That lets the teachers know which
students need more attention.
>> So if I have that child who scored lower
who wasn't having many interactions, then I will plan to,
okay, I'm gonna have a one-on-one with this child.
Maybe I'm gonna read more books with him.
I want him to name, I'm gonna ask him
what does he see in the book
so I can get those words out of him.
>> Hameister says, Lena started as a research program,
but now Nextdoor has adopted it
for all early Head Start classrooms
>> For our children.
We saw an increase, especially in the children that were not
as verbal, not as expressive.
We saw an increase,
a pretty significant increase in the amount of interactions.
>> Hameister says Nextdoor is fortunate enough to have a lot
of community support,
but she worries about schools that are dealing
with the budget crunch and a surge in speech referrals.
>> It's a challenge. It is a huge challenge.
We know a lot of our systems are resource depleted
and they're tired.
>> In the last state budget,
governor Tony Evers proposed using the budget surplus
to put an extra $1 billion into special education funding
that would've brought the state's contribution towards
special education costs to 60%.
A dramatic jump from the current 31%
Republicans in the legislature allotted an extra
$107 million statewide over the next two years,
just a 2% increase
and Platteville Max Long says the increase
isn't even a real increase.
>> They did not adjust for inflation.
When you look at those numbers, it's not necessarily
that we're getting slightly more,
we may be getting slightly less.
>> Megan Bohlken says Burnout in her industry is a real concern.
And while they're doing okay right now, next February,
they start screenings for the 4K students
where the next wave of speech delays is
waiting to be identified.
>> The thing that's making me a little overwhelmed is like
the number they keep coming, those referrals keep coming
as those kids are evaluated.
And if they qualify, getting them added onto my schedule,
that's when it's gonna start to be okay.
Now I feel like I'm drowning. Now what are we gonna do?
>> Reporting from Platteville.
I'm Zac Schultz For here and now
>> For more on this and other issues facing Wisconsin,
visit our website at pbswisconsin.org
and then click on the News tab.
That's our program for tonight
I'm Frederica Freyberg.
Have a good weekend.
>> Funding for Here & Now is
provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism
and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.