Koremenos denied a State Journal request for DOJ’s legal analysis, saying conversations between DOJ and DPI are protected under attorney-client privilege.

Evers said his agency is “always in litigation,” and is concerned the decision to not represent the agency may begin a trend.

Former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, said DOJ choosing not to represent a state agency in a lawsuit “happens occasionally, at most, but only when the AG either believes the agency’s action or challenged statute to be unconstitutional — that no case can be made in defense — or when there is a legitimate conflict of interest, which is very rare.”

St. Augustine School in Hartford and parents of students who attend the school are suing DPI and the Freiss Lake School District.

The parents, who are represented by conservative legal group Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, allege in their suit that the Freiss Lake School District and DPI are denying the parents’ First Amendment rights and are violating their right to exercise religion by not providing transportation for their children to school.

State law requires public school districts to provide transportation to private school students, but only to one school per religious denomination in an attendance area.