LRB-3706/1
FFK:all
2017 - 2018 LEGISLATURE
June 8, 2017 - Introduced by Representatives Kitchens, Fields,
Ballweg, Bernier,
Felzkowski, Gannon, Horlacher, Jagler, Kleefisch, Murphy, Mursau,
Novak, Ripp, Rohrkaste, Thiesfeldt, Young and Zepnick, cosponsored by
Senators Olsen, L. Taylor, Darling, Stroebel, Wanggaard and Vukmir.
Referred to Committee on Education.
AB383,2,14
1An Act to repeal 118.60 (2) (a) 2m., 118.60 (2) (ag) 3., 118.60 (3) (ar) 3. a. and am.,
2118.60 (6m) (b) 1. and 2., 118.60 (6m) (b) 4., 118.60 (7) (a), 118.60 (7) (ao), 118.60
3(7) (d) 2., 118.60 (10) (a) 4., 119.23 (2) (ag) 3., 119.23 (6m) (b) 1. and 2., 119.23
4(6m) (b) 4., 119.23 (7) (a), 119.23 (7) (ao), 119.23 (7) (d) 2. and 119.23 (10) (a) 4.;
5to renumber 115.7915 (4) (a) 1.;
to renumber and amend 115.7915 (4) (a) 2.,
6115.7915 (4) (b), 118.60 (2) (a) 3g. and 119.23 (2) (a) 3g.;
to consolidate,
7renumber and amend 118.60 (3) (ar) 3. (intro.) and b.;
to amend 20.255 (1)
8(j), 115.77 (1m) (bg), 115.7915 (2) (c), 115.7915 (2) (f), 115.7915 (2) (h), 115.7915
9(3) (c), 115.7915 (5) (b), 115.7915 (6) (e), 115.7915 (8) (a) 1., 118.225 (intro.),
10118.30 (1s) (intro.), 118.30 (1s) (d), 118.30 (1t) (intro.), 118.30 (1t) (d), 118.30 (2)
11(c), 118.56 (1), 118.60 (1) (ab), 118.60 (2) (a) 1. a., 118.60 (2) (a) 1. b., 118.60 (2)
12(a) 2. (intro.), 118.60 (2) (a) 2. a., 118.60 (2) (a) 2. c., 118.60 (2) (a) 8., 118.60 (2)
13(ag) 2. a., 118.60 (3) (a) (intro.), 118.60 (3) (a) 1m., 118.60 (3) (ar) 1., 118.60 (3)
14(ar) 2., 118.60 (3) (ar) 4., 118.60 (3) (c), 118.60 (4) (a), 118.60 (6m) (b) (intro.),
1118.60 (6m) (c), 118.60 (7) (am) 2m. a., 118.60 (7) (an) 1., 118.60 (7) (d) (intro.),
2118.60 (7) (em) 1., 118.60 (10) (a) 1., 118.60 (10) (a) 5., 118.60 (10) (a) 6., 119.23
3(1) (ab) 1., 119.23 (2) (a) 1. b., 119.23 (2) (a) 1. d., 119.23 (2) (a) 3., 119.23 (2) (a)
48., 119.23 (2) (ag) 2. a., 119.23 (3) (a) (intro.), 119.23 (3) (a) 1., 119.23 (4) (a),
5119.23 (6m) (b) (intro.), 119.23 (6m) (c), 119.23 (7) (am) 2m. a., 119.23 (7) (an)
61., 119.23 (7) (em) 1., 119.23 (10) (a) 1., 119.23 (10) (a) 5., 119.23 (10) (a) 6., 121.90
7(1) (f) (intro.) and 121.91 (4) (n) 1.; and
to create 115.7915 (6) (j), 118.60 (2) (a)
81. d., 118.60 (2) (a) 2. e., 118.60 (2) (a) 2. f., 118.60 (3) (ar) (intro.), 118.60 (3) (ar)
96., 118.60 (3m) (am) 1. h., 118.60 (4v), 118.60 (6m) (bm), 118.60 (6p), 118.60 (7)
10(h), 118.60 (7m), 118.60 (10) (am) 4., 119.23 (3m) (am) 1. h., 119.23 (4v), 119.23
11(6m) (bm), 119.23 (6p), 119.23 (7) (h), 119.23 (7m), 119.23 (10) (am) 4. and 121.90
12(1) (g) of the statutes;
relating to: parental choice programs, the Special Needs
13Scholarship Program, granting rule-making authority, and making an
14appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes changes to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine
Parental Choice Program, the statewide parental choice program (collectively, the
choice programs) and the Special Needs Scholarship Program.
Private schools participating in a choice program
This bill makes the following changes to the choice programs:
1. Requires a private school participating in a choice program to conduct
background checks of its employees and prohibits a private school from employing
any individual who would be ineligible for a teaching license based on his or her
criminal history and any individual who may pose a threat to the safety of others.
2. Eliminates the requirement that a private school participating in a choice
program annually satisfy at least one of the following standards: a) at least 70
percent of the pupils in the program advance one grade level each year; b) the private
school's average attendance rate for the pupils in the program is at least 90 percent;
c) at least 80 percent of the pupils in the program demonstrate significant academic
progress; or d) at least 70 percent of the families of pupils in the program meet parent
involvement criteria established by the private school.
3. Specifies that a private school participating in a choice program is not
required to administer certain knowledge and content examinations if fewer than 20
pupils in grades 3 to 12 are attending the private school under the choice program.
Under current law, a private school participating in a choice program is not required
to administer the examinations if fewer than 20 pupils are attending the private
school under the choice program.
4. Prohibits the Department of Public Instruction from requiring a private
school participating in the statewide parental choice program to submit financial
information for an applicant who was on a waiting list for the statewide parental
choice program in the previous school year or to verify the family income of such an
applicant.
5. Replaces Wisconsin North Central Association with AdvancED in the list of
entities that are accrediting agencies for purposes of the choice programs and the
Special Needs Scholarship Program.
6. Requires a private school participating in a choice program to refund its
reserve balance to DPI if the private school does not maintain a cash and investment
balance that is at least equal to its reserve balance.
7. Requires that the annual independent financial audit submitted to DPI be
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles only if a
private school has received a total of at least $100,000 under the choice programs and
the Special Needs Scholarship Program in any school year. If a private school has
not received a total of at least $100,000 under the choice programs and the Special
Needs Scholarship Program in any school year, the financial audit must be prepared
as prescribed by the department by rule.
8. Changes the annual deadline for a private school participating in a choice
program to provide evidence to DPI that the private school remains accredited for the
current school year from January 15 to August 1.
9. Changes the date by which a private school participating in a choice program
must file a summer school daily attendance report from October 1 to September 15.
10. Eliminates the requirement that a private school participating in a choice
program annually provide DPI information related to how many pupils attended the
private school in the previous school year and eliminates the requirement that a
private school submit an updated operating budget to DPI by November 1 of the first
school term in which the private school participates in the choice program.
11. Allows a private school participating in a choice program to charge pupils
who attend the private school under one of the programs reasonable fees to recover
the cost of providing room and board.
12. Requires that up to 140 hours of work in a work-based learning program
count towards the minimum required number of hours of direct pupil instruction
that must be provided by a private school participating in a choice program.
13. Requires a private school to submit either a surety bond or an anticipated
budget and evidence of the school's financial viability prior to the first school term
in which the private school participates in a choice program. If the private school
submits a surety bond, the private school must continue to submit an annual surety
bond until certain conditions are satisfied. If a private school submits a budget and
evidence of financial viability and DPI determines that the private school is not
financially viable, the private school may not participate in a choice program in that
school year.
14. Requires a private school that participated in a choice program in the
previous school year to submit certain school policies and academic standards
adopted by the private school at DPI's request, instead of submitting the policies and
academic standards to DPI each year as required under current law. The bill also
requires these continuing private schools to provide to DPI only signatures of new
members of its governing body, rather than signatures from all of the members of its
governing body each year. For a private school that did not participate in a choice
program in the previous year, the bill requires the private school to submit all of its
policies and signatures from all of the members of its governing body to DPI by
January 10 of the immediately preceding school year and to submit academic
standards adopted by the private school by August 1 of the current school year.
15. Allows DPI to bar a private school from participating in a choice program
in the current school year and the following school year for intentionally or
negligently misrepresenting any information required under the program. Under
current law, DPI may bar a private school in the current school year if DPI
determines the private school misrepresented information related to the school's
financial viability or to the school's local certificate of occupancy.
Pupil applications to participate in a choice program
This bill makes the following changes to the choice programs:
1. Allows an applicant for a choice program to receive a determination about
the applicant's income eligibility for the choice program directly from the
Department of Revenue as part of the application process.
2. Eliminates the requirement to verify a pupil's family income for
participation in the Racine Parental Choice Program if the pupil attended a private
school under the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program in the immediately preceding
school year and similarly eliminates the requirement to verify a pupil's family
income for participation in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program if the pupil
attended a private school under the Racine Parental Choice Program in the
immediately preceding school year. Under current law, the family income limits for
the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the Racine Parental Choice Program
are both 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
3. Changes the deadline for notifying an applicant whether his or her
application to attend a private school under a choice program has been accepted to
no later than 60 days after the end of the application period during which the
application is received. Under current law, the deadline is 60 days after the
applicant's application is received.
4. Expands the criteria that satisfy the prior year attendance eligibility
requirement for participating in the statewide or Racine parental choice program to
include a) a pupil who attended school in another state in the previous school year
and b) a pupil who was on a waiting list to attend a private school under any choice
program during the previous school year. Additionally, the bill specifies that a pupil
satisfies the prior year attendance requirement if he or she attended a private school
under any choice program in the previous school year. Under current law, a pupil
may participate in the statewide or Racine parental choice program only if the pupil
satisfies one of the following attendance requirements: a) the pupil attended a public
school in Wisconsin the previous school year; b) the pupil was not enrolled in school
in the previous school year; c) the pupil is applying for grades kindergarten, first, or
ninth in the current school year or; d) the pupil attended a private school in either
the statewide or Racine parental choice program in the previous school year.
5. Expands the first priority in the priority list for accepting applications to
attend a private school under a choice program to include pupils who attended that
private school under any choice program rather than under a specific choice
program.
6. Limits certain application procedures that apply only to the statewide
parental choice program to the period during which there is a limit on how many
pupils may participate in the statewide parental choice program. The bill also
requires DPI to determine which applications to accept during this period. Under
current law, applications for the statewide parental choice program are accepted
from February 1 to April 20. Additionally, under current law, applications for the
statewide parental choice program are forwarded to DPI, and DPI determines
whether a pupil participation limitation has been exceeded. Under current law,
beginning in the 2018-19 school year, DPI determines which applications to accept
if the total number of applicants exceeds a school district's pupil participation limit.
If a pupil participation cap for a school district is not exceeded, the private school
determines which applications to accept.
7. Allows DPI to consider a pupil who accepted a space at a private school under
the statewide parental choice program as a pupil attending the private school under
the Racine parental choice program or the Milwaukee parental choice program if
certain conditions are met.
8. Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, allows, between the first weekday in
August and the third Friday in August, DPI to transfer the applications of certain
pupils to a different private school participating in the statewide parental choice
program. The bill allows DPI to transfer a pupil's application only if a) the pupil
applied to participate in the statewide parental choice program during the
immediately preceding enrollment period, which occurs between February 1 and
April 20; b) the pupil's residence changed since the end of the immediately preceding
enrollment period and the pupil continues to reside in a school district other than
Racine Unified School District or Milwaukee Public Schools; c) the private school to
which the pupil's application is transferred has space available in the pupil's grade;
and d) the pupil resides in a school district that has not exceeded its participation
limit in the statewide parental choice program.
Special Needs Scholarship Program
This bill makes the following changes to the Special Needs Scholarship
Program:
1. Changes the manner in which pupils attending a private school under the
Special Needs Scholarship Program are counted for purposes of school district
revenue limits. Under current law, for purposes of calculating a school district's
revenue limit, a pupil attending a private school under the Special Needs
Scholarship Program is considered a pupil enrolled in the school district. Under the
bill, for purposes of calculating a school district's revenue limit, a pupil attending a
private school under the Special Needs Scholarship Program is treated in the same
manner as an incoming pupil in the statewide or Racine parental choice program.
In other words, under the bill, a pupil attending a private school under the Special
Needs Scholarship Program is not counted as a pupil enrolled in the school district
for purposes of calculating a school district's revenue limit, but the school district
may increase its revenue limit by the amount equal to any reduction made to the
school district's state aid under the Special Needs Scholarship Program.
2. Clarifies the circumstances under which a pupil's resident school district
administers knowledge and content examinations to a pupil attending a private
school under the Special Needs Scholarship Program and the circumstances under
which the private school the pupil is attending under the program administers the
examinations.
3. Allows an Individualized Education Program team appointed by a
nonresident school board to conduct a reevaluation of a pupil with a disability who
is attending a private school under the Special Needs Scholarship Program in the
nonresident school district.
4. Requires a private school participating in the Special Needs Scholarship
Program to obtain verification that a child with a disability who has applied to attend
the private school under the program has an IEP or services plan in effect before
notifying DPI that the private school intends to accept the application of the child.
Under current law, DPI must verify that an IEP or services plan is in effect.
5. Makes the annual financial audit requirement for a private school
participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program the same as the
requirement that applies to a private school participating in a choice program and
allows a private school participating in a choice program that is also participating
in the Special Needs Scholarship Program to satisfy the financial reporting
requirements under the Special Needs Scholarship Program by submitting a
comprehensive financial audit under the choice program.
6. Allows DPI to bar a private school from participating in the Special Needs
Scholarship Program for intentionally or negligently misrepresenting any
information required under the program. Under current law, DPI may bar a private
school from participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program if the private
school intentionally and substantially misrepresents information related to the
private schools duties under the program.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB383,1
1Section
1. 20.255 (1) (j) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB383,7,92
20.255
(1) (j)
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the parental choice
3program for eligible school districts and other school districts; financial audits. All
4moneys received under ss. 118.60 (2) (a) 3.
and (ag) 1. c. and 119.23 (2) (a) 3.
and (ag)
51. c. to be used to evaluate the financial information submitted under
s. 119.23 (7)
6(d) 2., 2015 stats., and s. 119.23 (7) (am) and (d)
2. and 3.
and (7m) (a) 2. by private
7schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and under
s. 118.60
8(7) (d) 2., 2015 stats., and s. 118.60 (7) (am) and (d)
2. and 3.
and (7m) (a) 2. by private
9schools participating in the choice program under s. 118.60.
AB383,2
10Section 2
. 20.255 (1) (j) of the statutes, as affected by 2017 Wisconsin Act ....
11(this act), is amended to read:
