Assembly Bill 638
Student financial protection at certain private postsecondary schools. (FE)
Topics: Colleges and universities, Safety and Professional Services, Department of
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. The last day for votes this session was Mar 19, 2026. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Nov 7, 2025
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2026: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities. The committee's chair at the time was Dave Murphy. Chairs decide which bills get a hearing. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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The same bill was also filed in the Senate as SB 631. That version died when the session ended.
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill increases a student protection fee imposed on private for-profit colleges and requires these colleges to maintain a reserve account for students who suffer loss or damage in certain circumstances, including fraud or school closure.
Under current law, before a private for-profit postsecondary institution (proprietary school) may operate in this state, it must obtain approval from the Department of Safety and Professional Services. The approval must be renewed annually. DSPS establishes fees for approving proprietary schools, including a “student protection fee” in an amount set by rule. DSPS must discontinue annually collecting student protection fees while the balance in the fund holding the fees exceeds $1,000,000. DSPS may expend the revenue from student protection fees to indemnify students, parents, or sponsors for losses resulting from a school closure and for preserving student records of schools that discontinue operations.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill sets the student protection fee at a rate of $3 per $1,000 of adjusted gross annual school revenue and increases, from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000, the fund balance threshold at which DSPS must stop annually collecting student protection fees.
The bill also prohibits DSPS from approving a proprietary school, whether upon initial application or renewal, unless the school maintains a reserve account to provide indemnification to any student who suffers loss or damage as a result of 1) fraud or any false representation by the school or a person acting on behalf of the school or 2) the school’s failure to perform its contractual obligations to the student, including the school’s closure. With an exception for a new school, the balance of the reserve account may not be less than 25 percent of the amount of the school’s highest annual revenue in the preceding five-year period.
Who's behind it
18 representatives are its . All 18 are Democrats.
7 more lawmakers .
See all 25 names Hide the names
Authors (18)
- Margaret Arney · Democrat, Assembly
- Mike Bare · Democrat, Assembly
- Ryan Clancy · Democrat, Assembly
- Ben DeSmidt · Democrat, Assembly
- Joan Fitzgerald · Democrat, Assembly
- Francesca Hong · Democrat, Assembly
- Tara Johnson · Democrat, Assembly
- Karen Kirsch · Democrat, Assembly
- Darrin Madison · Democrat, Assembly
- Maureen McCarville · Democrat, Assembly
- Vinnie Miresse · Democrat, Assembly
- Supreme Moore Omokunde · Democrat, Assembly
- Amaad Rivera-Wagner · Democrat, Assembly
- Joe Sheehan · Democrat, Assembly
- Angela Stroud · Democrat, Assembly
- Shelia Stubbs · Democrat, Assembly
- Sequanna Taylor · Democrat, Assembly
- Angelito Tenorio · Democrat, Assembly
Signed on in support (7)
- Tim Carpenter · Democrat, Senate
- Dianne Hesselbein · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Christian Phelps · Democrat, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Robyn Vining · Democrat, Assembly
- Bob Wirch · Democrat, Senate
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 23, 2026
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 9, 2026
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Nov 17, 2025 to Dec 17, 2025
3 more representatives signed on in support.
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Nov 7, 2025
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities.
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Nov 7, 2025
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Nov 7, 2025 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Tenorio, Clancy, DeSmidt, Arney, Bare, Fitzgerald, Hong, Kirsch, Madison, McCarville, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Rivera-Wagner, Sheehan, Stroud, Stubbs, Johnson and Taylor; cosponsored by Senators Larson, Carpenter, Hesselbein and Wirch
- Nov 7, 2025 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Colleges and Universities
- Nov 17, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Phelps added as a coauthor
- Nov 21, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Subeck added as a coauthor
- Dec 17, 2025 · Assembly
Representative Vining added as a coauthor
- Feb 9, 2026 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Mar 23, 2026 · Assembly
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate