LRBs0094/3
PG:cjs:rs
2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2011 SENATE BILL 22
May 25, 2011 - Offered by Senators Olsen and Darling.
SB22-SSA1,2,5 1An Act to repeal 118.40 (2) (b) 1. and 2., 118.40 (2r) (c) and (cm), 118.40 (7) (am)
23., 118.40 (8) (h) and 118.51 (3) (a) 7.; to renumber 118.51 (1) (a); to renumber
3and amend
118.40 (2) (b) (intro.), 118.40 (3) (d), 118.40 (3) (e), 118.40 (4) (a) and
4118.40 (4) (c); to amend 20.923 (6) (m), 40.02 (28), 40.02 (36), 111.81 (7) (f),
5111.815 (1), 111.825 (2) (f), 111.92 (1) (c), 115.001 (1), 115.001 (16), 118.40 (2m)
6(b), 118.40 (2r) (b) 1. (intro.), 118.40 (2r) (b) 2., 118.40 (2r) (b) 3. (intro.), 118.40
7(2r) (bm), 118.40 (2r) (d) (intro.), 118.40 (2r) (e) 2., 118.40 (2r) (f), 118.40 (4)
8(title), 118.40 (6), 118.40 (7) (am) 1., 118.40 (8) (a) (intro.), 118.40 (8) (f) 1., 118.40
9(8) (g) 2., 118.40 (8) (g) 3., 118.51 (3) (a) 6., 118.51 (3) (b), 121.02 (1) (a) 2., 121.05
10(1) (a) 9., 121.08 (4) (a) 1., 230.08 (2) (dm) and 230.35 (1s); to repeal and
11recreate
118.40 (2r) (b) 4.; and to create 15.07 (1) (a) 7., 15.56, 20.265, 20.923
12(4) (e) 1. c., 20.923 (6) (aLm), 40.05 (2) (f) 9., 118.19 (14), 118.395, 118.40 (2r) (b)
131. e. and f., 118.40 (2r) (g), 118.40 (2r) (h), 118.40 (2r) (i), 118.40 (2r) (j), 118.40

1(2t), 118.40 (3) (f), 118.40 (3) (g), 118.40 (3m) (intro.), 118.40 (3m) (a) and (d) to
2(f), 118.40 (4) (ag), 118.40 (4) (ar) 3., 118.40 (4) (d), 118.40 (7) (c), 118.51 (1) (ag),
3119.60 (5), 119.60 (6) and 230.08 (2) (wc) of the statutes; relating to: charter
4schools, creating a Charter School Authorizing Board, granting rule-making
5authority, and making an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, school boards may enter into contracts with individuals,
groups, businesses, or governmental bodies to establish charter schools, which
operate with fewer constraints than traditional public schools. Current law also
permits the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, the
Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the city of Milwaukee to operate charter
schools (independent charter schools) directly or to contract for the operation of
charter schools. In general, only pupils who reside in the school district in which an
independent charter school is located may attend the charter school. No entity
authorized to establish an independent charter school may establish a virtual
charter school.
This substitute amendment allows a cooperative educational service agency
(CESA) to contract for the operation of independent charter schools. The substitute
amendment also creates an independent state agency, the Charter School
Authorizing Board (CSAB), and authorizes it to contract for the operation of
independent charter schools. The CSAB consists of the state superintendent of
public instruction and eight other members. Of the latter members, six are
appointed by the governor and two by the state superintendent. The substitute
amendment prohibits the CSAB from promulgating administrative rules. The
substitute amendment permits the CSAB and a CESA to contract for the
establishment of charter schools located anywhere in the state.
The substitute amendment eliminates the authority of the entities specified
above to establish an independent charter school directly. Under the substitute
amendment, a charter school may be established only by contract. In addition, every
charter school must be operated by a governing board and every contract for the
establishment of a charter school entered into by the CSAB must be with a nonprofit
corporation. The substitute amendment removes the restrictions that limit who may
attend an independent charter school. Under the substitute amendment, only a
school board or a CESA may establish a virtual charter school. The substitute
amendment eliminates the cap on the number of pupils who may attend virtual
charter schools through the Open Enrollment Program, currently set at 5,250.
The substitute amendment allows a charter school contract to provide for more
than one charter school, and allows a charter school governing board to enter into
more than one contract. Until the 2017-18 school year, the substitute amendment

limits the number of contracts that the CSAB may enter into. In addition, a contract
with the CSAB may only authorize the establishment of charter schools located in
one school district or in the territory of one CESA.
The substitute amendment provides that if a nonprofit corporation wishes to
contract with the CSAB to operate a charter school, it must apply concurrently to the
CSAB and the school board of the school district in which it wishes to locate the
charter school by July 1. The school board has until October 1 to enter into a contract
with the nonprofit corporation unless the school board and the nonprofit corporation
jointly request the CSAB for an additional 30 days. If the school board does not wish
to contract with the corporation or fails to successfully negotiate a contract with the
corporation, the application is referred to the CSAB. The CSAB must determine by
February 1 whether to contract with the corporation.
The substitute amendment requires every charter school under contract with
the CSAB to pay an annual fee to the CSAB. The substitute amendment allows a
charter school under contract with an authorizing entity, including the CSAB, to
provide health care for its employees under the Group Insurance Board health
coverage plan for local government employees if the charter school has become a
participating employer in the Wisconsin Retirement System. Although a charter
school's employees are not state employees and may not be local government
employees, the substitute amendment provides that a charter school's governing
board may elect to become a participating employer under the Wisconsin Retirement
System.
Current law prohibits a school board from converting all of the public schools
in the school district to charter schools unless the school board provides alternative
public school attendance arrangements for pupils who do not wish to attend or are
not admitted to a charter school. In addition, a school board may not grant a petition
to establish a charter school that would result in the conversion of all the public
schools in the school district to charter schools unless at least 50 percent of the
teachers employed by the school district sign the petition.
This substitute amendment eliminates the conditions on converting all of a
school district's public schools to charter schools and explicitly permits a school board
to do so.
Current law provides that no pupil may be required to attend a charter school
without his or her approval, if the pupil is an adult, or the approval of his or her
parents, if the pupil is a minor. This substitute amendment provides that this
prohibition does not apply if all of a school district's public schools are converted to
charter schools.
The substitute amendment requires that a charter school accept pupils at
random if the capacity of the school is insufficient to accept all applicants. A charter
school must, however, give preference in enrollment to pupils who were enrolled in
the school in the previous school year and to siblings of pupils who are enrolled in the
school. In addition, the substitute amendment allows a charter school to give
preference in enrollment to children of the charter school's founders, governing board
members, and full-time employees so long as the number of such children given
preference constitutes no more than 10 percent of the school's enrollment.

The substitute amendment directs the Department of Public Instruction to
promulgate rules establishing a charter school teaching license that allows the
licensee to teach multiple subjects in a charter school. The rules must require the
applicant to demonstrate competence in each subject and must provide the applicant
several means of doing so.
Under current law, state aid to independent charter schools is funded by a
reduction in general school aid, applied on a prorated basis to all school districts.
Current law provides that beginning in the 2011-12 school year, instead of reducing
general school aid by the amount of charter school aid paid in the same school year,
general school aid will be reduced by the amount of charter school aid paid in the
2010-11 school year. This substitute amendment eliminates this cap on the
reduction in general school aid described above.
Under current law, pupils attending a charter school under contract with a
school board are counted in the school district's enrollment for state aid purposes.
This substitute amendment also counts in a school district's enrollment those
resident pupils who are attending an independent charter school under contract with
the CSAB or a CESA. However, the substitute amendment reduces the school
district's state aid by an amount equal to the number of such pupils multiplied by the
per pupil state aid amount that is paid to the independent charter schools.
The substitute amendment provides that if the Board of Directors of the
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has leased property owned by the city of Milwaukee
to a charter school that is not an instrumentality of MPS, and the lease was in effect
on January 1, 2011, when the lease is extended, modified, or renewed, the city of
Milwaukee is a party to the lease and may negotiate with the charter school to modify
the terms of the lease.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB22-SSA1, s. 1 1Section 1. 15.07 (1) (a) 7. of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,4,32 15.07 (1) (a) 7. Members of the charter school authorizing board appointed
3under s. 15.56 shall be appointed as provided in that section.
SB22-SSA1, s. 2 4Section 2. 15.56 of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,4,7 515.56 Charter school authorizing board. (1) There is created a charter
6school authorizing board consisting of the state superintendent of public instruction
7and the following members appointed for 3-year terms:
SB22-SSA1,4,88 (a) Six members appointed by the governor.
SB22-SSA1,5,3
1(b) Two members appointed by the state superintendent of public instruction
2from a list of nominees submitted jointly by the Wisconsin Association of School
3Boards and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.
SB22-SSA1,5,9 4(2) The appointing authorities under sub. (1) shall ensure to the extent feasible
5that members appointed to the board are geographically diverse and have experience
6and expertise in governing public and nonprofit organizations; in management and
7finance; in public school leadership, assessment, and curriculum and instruction;
8and in education law; and understand and are committed to the use of charter schools
9to strengthen public education.
SB22-SSA1,5,11 10(3) No member of the board appointed under sub. (1) may serve more than 2
11consecutive terms.
SB22-SSA1,5,12 12(4) The board does not have rulemaking authority.
SB22-SSA1, s. 3 13Section 3. 20.265 of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,5,15 1420.265 Charter school authorizing board. There is appropriated to the
15charter school authorizing board for the following programs:
SB22-SSA1,5,17 16(1) Support of charter schools. (g) Oversight. All moneys received as fees
17under s. 118.40 (4) (ar) 3. to perform its functions under s. 118.40.
SB22-SSA1,5,1918 (h) Gifts and grants. All moneys received from gifts and grants for the purposes
19for which made.
SB22-SSA1, s. 4 20Section 4. 20.923 (4) (e) 1. c. of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,5,2121 20.923 (4) (e) 1. c. Charter school authorizing board: executive director.
SB22-SSA1, s. 5 22Section 5. 20.923 (6) (aLm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,5,2423 20.923 (6) (aLm) Charter school authorizing board: unclassified professional
24staff.
SB22-SSA1, s. 6 25Section 6. 20.923 (6) (m) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,6,6
120.923 (6) (m) University of Wisconsin System: deans, principals, professors,
2instructors, research assistants, librarians and other teachers, as defined in s. 40.02
3(55), the staff of the environmental education board, and instructional staff
4employed by the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System who provide
5services for a charter school established by contract under s. 118.40 (2r) (cm), 2009
6stats
.
SB22-SSA1, s. 7 7Section 7. 40.02 (28) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,6,188 40.02 (28) "Employer" means the state, including each state agency, any
9county, city, village, town, school district, other governmental unit or
10instrumentality of 2 or more units of government now existing or hereafter created
11within the state, any charter school under contract with a school board or with an
12entity specified in s. 118.40 (2r) (b) 1.,
any federated public library system established
13under s. 43.19 whose territory lies within a single county with a population of
14500,000 or more, a local exposition district created under subch. II of ch. 229, a transit
15authority created under s. 66.1039, and a long-term care district created under s.
1646.2895, except as provided under ss. 40.51 (7) and 40.61 (3). "Employer" does not
17include a local cultural arts district created under subch. V of ch. 229. Each employer
18shall be a separate legal jurisdiction for OASDHI purposes.
SB22-SSA1, s. 8 19Section 8. 40.02 (36) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,7,620 40.02 (36) "Governing body" means the legislature or the head of each state
21agency with respect to employees of that agency for the state, the common council
22in cities, the village board in villages, the town board in towns, the county board in
23counties, the school board in school districts, or the board, commission or other
24governing body having the final authority for any other unit of government, for any
25agency or instrumentality of 2 or more units of government, for any federated public

1library system established under s. 43.19 whose territory lies within a single county
2with a population of 500,000 or more, for a local exposition district created under
3subch. II of ch. 229, for a charter school under contract with a school board or with
4an entity specified in s. 118.40 (2r) (b) 1.,
or for a long-term care district created
5under s. 46.2895, but does not include a local cultural arts district created under
6subch. V of ch. 229.
SB22-SSA1, s. 9 7Section 9. 40.05 (2) (f) 9. of the statutes is created to read:
SB22-SSA1,7,128 40.05 (2) (f) 9. If the participating employer was a charter school under contract
9with a school board or with an entity specified in s. 118.40 (2r) (b) 1., and there is no
10successor employer to assume any outstanding obligations under the terms of this
11paragraph, the outstanding obligation shall be the responsibility of the school board
12or entity that contracted for the establishment of the charter school.
SB22-SSA1, s. 10 13Section 10. 111.81 (7) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,7,1614 111.81 (7) (f) Instructional staff employed by the board of regents of the
15University of Wisconsin System who provide services for a charter school established
16by contract under s. 118.40 (2r) (cm), 2009 stats.
SB22-SSA1, s. 11 17Section 11. 111.815 (1) of the statutes, as affected by 2011 Wisconsin Act 10,
18is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,8,819 111.815 (1) In the furtherance of this subchapter, the state shall be considered
20as a single employer and employment relations policies and practices throughout the
21state service shall be as consistent as practicable. The office shall negotiate and
22administer collective bargaining agreements. To coordinate the employer position
23in the negotiation of agreements, the office shall maintain close liaison with the
24legislature relative to the negotiation of agreements and the fiscal ramifications of
25those agreements. Except with respect to the collective bargaining unit specified in

1s. 111.825 (2) (f), the office is responsible for the employer functions of the executive
2branch under this subchapter, and shall coordinate its collective bargaining
3activities with operating state agencies on matters of agency concern. The legislative
4branch shall act upon those portions of tentative agreements negotiated by the office
5that require legislative action. With respect to the collective bargaining unit
6specified in s. 111.825 (2) (f), the governing board of the charter school established
7by contract under s. 118.40 (2r) (cm), 2009 stats., is responsible for the employer
8functions under this subchapter.
SB22-SSA1, s. 12 9Section 12. 111.825 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB22-SSA1,8,1210 111.825 (2) (f) Instructional staff employed by the board of regents of the
11University of Wisconsin System who provide services for a charter school established
12by contract under s. 118.40 (2r) (cm), 2009 stats.
Loading...
Loading...