Are you ready? Because the new legislative session is almost here.
The 2026 Budget Session kicks off February 9, and the Wyoming Legislature will tackle a number of issues relevant to public education, including:
- Recalibration of school funding (including salaries and health insurance)
- Defunding public education through property tax cuts
- K3 Literacy
- Library materials
- Student discipline
At WEA, we know that your time is invaluable and that your schedules are already full. With that, we will continue our efforts to help you keep track of what’s happening at the legislature with easily accessible information. We’ve worked hard to develop levels of interaction and legislative information from the policy wonks to the casual observer.
- Legislative Updates: Whether you’re an educator, a parent or even a Wyoming resident who values our amazing public schools, we encourage you to sign up for WEA’s legislative updates if you haven’t already done so. These will be published at least weekly during the session (and as necessary otherwise) to keep you informed and to provide opportunities to engage with your elected officials and even testify on certain bills.
- Bill Tracker and Legislator Scorecard: The WEA uses BillTrack50 so that people can review proposed legislation, read a quick digest of the bill, and understand where the bill is in the legislative process. This system is also linked to our Legislator Scorecard, which lets people know how their elected officials are voting on education-related issues. These platforms are available on our Legislative Hub, and the bill tracker is now available as an app! To access this, download the BillTrack50 app from your mobile device. Tap the “Tracked Bills” tab, then select “Edit” and enter the access code ECWSJTB. You can name the document however you would like.
Recalibration: The Recalibration Committee will meet one more time before the 2026 Budget Session — on January 22 and 23 at Capitol Building in Cheyenne. Currently, proposals for recalibration include:
- Mandating districts use the state’s health insurance plan, robbing districts of choice
- This is a dangerous plan which will negatively impact teacher salaries.
- Pulling teacher salaries from the model
- In an ideal world, this plan would ensure dollars flow to teachers. However, the Wyoming legislature has a long history of not providing external cost adjustments as required by law. If that pattern continues, it would result in a cut (or loss of purchasing power) for teacher salaries. With the proposed insurance plan, this would negate any “raises” the legislature offers.
- Kicking the can down the road on issues such as elementary school counselors, student food and nutrition, and SROs in all schools
- These elements are vital to addressing many of the issues in our schools including student behavior. Ignoring them or waiting to “study” them is irresponsible and does nothing to provide our students with the high quality education to which they are constitutionally entitled.
Call to Action: Please consider attending the final recalibration meeting and let your voice be heard! We even have t-shirts that we would provide to you so that the committee can visibly see the tremendous support for Wyoming’s amazing public school system. To do so, sign up here. Keep in mind that, during the legislative session, there will be limited opportunities to testify on recalibration, so these dates may be your best opportunity. Reach out to Government Relations Director Tate Mullen if you have questions or concerns.
2026 Elections: Thousands of voters were purged from Wyoming’s voter roles recently. Please check with your county clerk and make sure you are registered to vote. Additionally, WEA will be working with locals during the year to organize “Get Out the Vote” efforts. Please consider contributing to WEA-PACE so that we can elect pro-public education candidates and oust the politicians hurting our public schools!
As always, we thank you for your continued support of public education and the efforts of the WEA.
In solidarity!