Under current law, with certain exceptions for repeat serious felony offenders, if a person is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide or another crime punishable by life imprisonment, the court must sentence the person to life imprisonment and must make a parole eligibility determination either allowing ordinary parole eligibility provisions to apply or setting a later parole eligibility date. This bill gives the court a 3rd option: the court may provide that the life imprisonment is without the possibility of parole.
Current law provides a number of penalty enhancement provisions to allow for increased penalties whenever crimes are committed under specified circumstances. This bill provides penalty enhancement for violent crimes committed on or within 1,000 yards of school premises or a school bus. If the underlying crime is a felony, the maximum period of imprisonment is increased by 5 years. If the underlying crime is a misdemeanor, the maximum period of imprisonment is increased by 6 months. In addition, unless the person who is convicted of a crime poses a public safety risk, the court may require the person to complete 100 hours of community service work.
Under current law, the sentencing commission promulgates rules providing guidelines for use by judges whenever sentencing most felony defendants. Judges must take the guidelines into account when imposing a sentence, but may deviate from the guidelines by stating on the record the reasons for the deviation. This bill abolishes the sentencing commission and eliminates the requirement that judges consider the guidelines.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Article X, Section 1, of the Wisconsin Constitution provides that "the supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a state superintendent of public instruction and such other officers as the legislature shall direct ...." The constitution provides for the election of the state superintendent. The statutes provide that the state superintendent directs and supervises the department of public instruction.
Effective July 1, 1996, this bill changes the name of the department of public instruction (DPI) to the department of education (DOE) and provides for DOE to be under the direction and supervision of a secretary of education who is nominated by the governor, and with the advice and consent of the senate appointed, to serve at the pleasure of the governor. All duties and powers currently assigned or granted to the state superintendent, including membership on various boards and councils, are transferred to the secretary of education. The bill creates an office of the state superintendent, attached to DOE, under the direction and supervision of the state superintendent, and directs the state superintendent to:
1. Visit, ascertain the condition of and stimulate public interest in the public schools.
2. Advocate for the needs of children and school districts.
3. Provide information to the public on the public schools and school districts.
4. Annually submit to the governor and the legislature a plan for improving the public schools and the academic achievement of public school pupils.
This bill transfers from DPI to the department of revenue (DOR), effective July 1, 1996, the responsibility for calculating and distributing general school aid, the responsibility for distributing handicapped education aid, pupil transportation aid, bilingual-bicultural education aid, school library aids and tuition payments. The bill transfers 10 FTE positions from DPI to DOR, but no incumbent DPI employes are transferred.
Current law requires any person having under his or her control a child between the ages of 6 and 18 years to ensure that the child attends school regularly. Current law provides certain exceptions to that general rule:
1. With the written approval of the parent or guardian of a child who is at least 16 years old and a child at risk, the child may attend, part time or in lieu of high school, a technical college. A child at risk is a pupil in grades 5 to 12 who is one or more years behind his or her age group in the number of high school credits attained, or 2 or more years behind his or her age group in basic skill levels, and is also a dropout, a habitual truant, a parent or an adjudicated delinquent.
2. With the written approval of the parent or guardian of a child who is 16 years old, the child may be excused by a school board from school attendance if the child will participate in an alternative program that leads to high school graduation.
3. With the written approval of the parent or guardian of a child who is at least 17 years old, the child may be excused by a school board from regular school attendance if the child will participate in an alternative program leading to high school graduation or to a high school equivalency diploma.
4. With the written approval of the parent or guardian of a child who is at least 17 years old, the child must be excused by a school board from regular school attendance if the child began a program leading to a high school equivalency diploma in a secured correctional facility and the child and his or her parent or guardian agree that the child will continue to participate in such a program.
This bill reduces the age of compulsory school attendance from 18 to 17 years of age. The bill modifies the exception described in item 3, above. Under the bill, upon the request of any child who is at least 17 years old, the school board may allow the child to participate in an alternative program. Finally, the bill eliminates the exception described in item 4, above.
Under current law, a school district may admit a pupil who resides in another school district if the pupil's parents pay tuition. In addition, a pupil may attend a public school located outside his or her school district of residence if the 2 school boards agree, the state superintendent approves and the school district of residence pays tuition.
This bill creates an interdistrict school choice program. Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, the bill provides that a pupil may attend any public school located outside his or her school district of residence if the pupil's parent complies with certain application dates and procedures, and requires the school district of residence to pay tuition or an amount agreed to between the 2 school districts. The school district of residence continues to count the pupil in enrollment for state aid purposes.
The school board of attendance may reject an application only if there is no space available in the school or program or the pupil is involved in a disciplinary proceeding. The school board must reject an application, however, if acceptance would violate a plan to reduce racial imbalance in the school district or would be harmful to the efforts of the school board to achieve racial balance in the school district. Similarly, a school district may prohibit a resident pupil from attending school in another school district if the pupil is involved in a disciplinary proceeding. A school district must prohibit a resident pupil from attending school in another school district if allowing such attendance would violate a plan to reduce racial imbalance in the school district or would be harmful to the efforts of the school board to achieve racial balance in the school district.
Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, this bill also creates an interdistrict enrollment options program under which a pupil enrolled in a public school may attend a public school in another school district in order to take one or more courses under certain circumstances. The pupil must continue to attend school in his or her school district of residence for at least one course; the school board of the other school district must determine that there is space available; the school board of the resident school district must not offer, or have space available in, a comparable course; if the course is offered in the high school grades, the school board of the resident school district must determine that the course satisfies high school graduation requirements; and the pupil must meet all of the prerequisites for the course. Acceptance and rejection criteria and procedures for the program are identical to the acceptance and rejection criteria and procedures for the interdistrict school choice program.
The school board of the school district of residence must pay to the school board of the other school district an amount equal to the cost of providing a course to a nonresident pupil under the program, as determined by DOE.
Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, this bill allows a pupil enrolled in a public school to attend a public school located within the pupil's school district of residence but outside the pupil's attendance area under certain circumstances. The school board must determine that there is space available and the pupil must meet all of the prerequisites for the course.
The bill provides that the school board may not reject an application to attend a school in a different attendance area based on the pupil's academic achievement. In addition, the provision described above regarding acceptance or rejection based on the effect on the school district's plans to reduce racial imbalance applies to the intradistrict enrollment options program.
The bill allows a school board that is participating in a special transfer program to reduce racial imbalance (commonly known as chapter 220) or in a merged attendance area program to reduce racial imbalance to modify the application deadlines established in this bill if the deadlines would conflict with chapter 220 or merged attendance area program procedures.
In addition, the parent of a pupil who resides in a school district participating in one of the integration programs must submit the application to attend another school district to the school board of the school district of residence for approval.
The bill also authorizes DOE to modify any provision contained in the interdistrict and intradistrict programs if DOE agrees with the school board that the provision is harmful to the integration program or to the school district's efforts to achieve racial balance.
Current law allows up to 1.5% of the enrollment of the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) to attend, at no charge, any nonsectarian private school located in the city of Milwaukee under certain circumstances. The state pays the private school, on behalf of the pupil, an amount equal to the amount of per pupil aid that MPS receives from the state, and subtracts that amount from the amount paid to MPS.
This bill makes a number of changes in the program beginning in the 1996-97 school year:
1. The bill allows pupils who reside in the city to attend any private school, whether sectarian or nonsectarian.
2. The bill eliminates the 1.5% enrollment limitation described above but provides that no more than 3,500 pupils in the 1996-97 school year and no more than 5,500 pupils in the 1997-98 school year may participate in the program.
3. The bill eliminates a provision that limits the percentage of a private school's enrollment that may participate in the program to 65%.
4. The bill provides that in the 1995-96 school year, the amount paid per pupil is the same as in the 1994-95 school year. Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, the private school receives that amount, increased by the increase in the consumer price index (CPI), or the private school's operating cost per pupil, whichever is less.
5. The bill provides that the MPS aid reduction described above must come first from aid paid to MPS for its special transfer program, commonly known as chapter 220.
6. Finally, the bill directs DOE, when making the payment, to send a check to the private school that is made out to the pupil's parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must restrictively endorse the check for the use of the private school.
Current law authorizes a school board on its own initiative, or upon receipt of a petition signed by at least 10% of the teachers employed by the school district or by at least 50% of the teachers employed at one school, to contract for the operation of up to 2 schools as charter schools. A charter school is exempt from most laws governing public schools. A school board may not establish a charter school without the approval of the state superintendent, who must approve the first 10 requests for approval and must ensure that charter schools are established in no more than 10 school districts. If the school board acts on its own initiative or if a petition is granted, the school board may contract for the operation of a school as a charter school. The contract must specify the amount that the school district will pay the charter school each year. Charter school employes remain school district employes and may participate in the Wisconsin retirement system.
This bill makes a number of changes in the provisions governing charter schools, including:
1. The bill deletes the requirement for state superintendent approval to establish a charter school, deletes the limit on the number of charter schools that a school board may establish and deletes the 10-school-district limit.
2. The bill deletes a provision that prohibits a school board from spending more per pupil enrolled in a charter school than it spends per pupil enrolled in a public school.
3. The bill provides that a requirement for all charter schools to be nonsectarian in their programs, admission policies, employment practices and other operations does not apply to charter schools established by MPS.
4. The bill deletes the requirement that all charter school personnel be school district employes.
5. The bill authorizes a school board to enter into a contract for the operation of a charter school that results in the conversion of a private school to a charter school. Current law prohibits a school district from entering into such a contract.
This bill authorizes MPS to contract with nonprofit, private schools or agencies located in the city of Milwaukee to provide educational programs to pupils enrolled in grades kindergarten to 12. The bill allows pupils enrolled in MPS to attend, at no charge, any private school or agency with which the board has contracted. The board must establish educational standards for pupil performance for each contracting private school and agency.
This bill authorizes the MPS board to contract with any person to manage or operate one or more schools. The bill also authorizes the MPS board to close a school that it determines is low in performance by adopting a resolution to that effect. The bill provides that if the board closes a school, or reopens the school, the superintendent of schools may reassign staff members without regard to seniority in service.
This bill directs the secretary of education to reorganize the 12 cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs) into 15 CESAs, effective on July 1, 1997. Each reorganized CESA is coterminous with a technical college district, except that reorganized CESA no. 5 is coterminous with the territory of 2 technical college districts and except that the school board of a school district that is located in more than one technical college district must select the reorganized CESA in which the school district will participate.
The bill adds 2 members to each technical college district board: one member of the board of control of the CESA that is located in the district and one employe of a school district or CESA who represents a school-to-work program. Both are appointed by the board of control.
The bill also adds members to each CESA board of control: one member of the technical college district board of the technical college district located in the CESA and a representative of each University of Wisconsin System institution and center that is located in the agency.
The bill authorizes a CESA to contract with all public and private entities and to apply for state and federal grants for the CESA and on behalf of school districts.
This bill authorizes a school district, as an alternative to the employment of teachers, to contract with any person for the performance of teaching or other educational services by individuals who are licensed by the state superintendent but who are not employes of the school district.
If a school district decides to subcontract work that would otherwise be performed by employes in a collective bargaining unit for which a representative is recognized or certified, and the decision is primarily related to the wages, hours or conditions of employment of employes in the bargaining unit, the school district must first bargain collectively with the representative concerning that decision. See Unified School District No. 1 of Racine County v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 81 Wis. 2d 89 (1977).
This bill provides that the statutory duties and powers of school boards are to be broadly construed to authorize any action that is within the comprehensive meaning of the terms of the duties and powers, if the action is not prohibited by federal or state law.
With certain exceptions, this bill authorizes DPI, upon request of a school board, to waive any school board or school district requirement in the laws administered by DPI or in the administrative rules promulgated by DPI. Before requesting a waiver, the school board must hold a public hearing in the school district on the issue. In determining whether to grant a waiver, DPI must consider whether the requirement impedes progress toward achieving a local improvement plan under the federal Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and whether the school board has adopted educational goals. A waiver is effective for 4 years and may be renewed for additional 4-year periods.
Under current law, teachers employed at a public school located in Milwaukee County are permanent employes upon the gaining of a 4th contract in the school or school system after a continuous and successful 3-year probation. This bill repeals the permanent employment status provision.
Under current law, each school board must employ a reading specialist, licensed by the state superintendent, to develop and coordinate a comprehensive reading curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12. This bill eliminates the requirement to employ a reading specialist.
Current law requires each school board to administer pupil assessment examinations adopted or approved by the state superintendent to all pupils enrolled in the 8th and 10th grades. A school board may administer additional examinations only if they are aligned with the school district's curriculum. This bill eliminates this latter requirement.
Current law requires MPS to use 67% of certain funds allocated to MPS to provide a mentor teacher program and a peer coaching program, and the balance for school administrator assessment and development. This bill directs MPS to use all of these funds for professional staff development.
This bill authorizes a school board to establish a performance recognition plan that annually allocates at least 2% of the school district's payroll, excluding the cost of fringe benefits, for performance recognition awards to school district employes. If a school board adopts a performance recognition plan, it must establish a committee to develop employe performance standards and a committee to develop a process to review employe performance and make recommendations to each principal regarding award recipients and the amount of each award. The committees are composed of school district employes, school administrators and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled in the school district. The principal of each school determines award recipients and award amounts, subject to the total amount allocated to that school.
Currently, with certain exceptions, governmental bodies are required to provide public notice of their meetings and meet in open session. This bill excludes committees that make recommendations concerning school district performance recognition awards from the application of this law.
Under current law, the general school aid appropriation is a sum certain amount. Beginning in the 1995-96 school year, however, the appropriation is changed to a sum sufficient. The amount appropriated is the amount necessary to ensure that the total amount appropriated as general school aid and minimum aid is sufficient to allow school districts the maximum revenue increase possible under the school district revenue limit, as determined by the joint committee on finance (JCF). This bill maintains the general school aid appropriation as a sum certain amount.
Under the current school aid formula, the guaranteed valuation is the amount of property tax base support that the state guarantees to each pupil. The current formula has 2 levels of state support, a primary guaranteed valuation and a secondary guaranteed valuation. The secondary guaranteed tax base applies to costs above a certain level. Because the secondary guarantee is lower than the main, primary guarantee, it generates less state aid on the costs to which it applies. The dividing point between use of the primary and secondary guarantees is called the primary ceiling cost per member. Currently, the primary ceiling cost per member is set annually at the previous school year's ceiling increased by the percentage change in the CPI.
This bill adds a tertiary level of state support beginning in the 1996-97 school year. Under the bill, the primary ceiling cost per member is $1,000. In the 1996-97 school year, the secondary ceiling cost per member is the 1995-96 primary ceiling cost per member increased by the percentage change in the CPI. Thereafter, the secondary ceiling cost per member is the secondary ceiling cost per member in the previous school year increased by the percentage change in the CPI.
Under current law, a school district may receive minimum state aid in an amount that is based on the district's median household income and the amount of aid that it receives under the school equalization aid formula. The current amount that a school district may receive under the minimum state aid program is a minimum of $175 per pupil and a maximum of $400 per pupil. This bill eliminates the minimum aid program beginning in the 1996-97 school year.
Current law limits the increase in the total amount of revenue that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes in the 1993-94 to 1997-98 school years. In the 1993-94 school year, the maximum allowable increase per pupil was $190 or the per pupil revenue amount multiplied by the rate of inflation, whichever was greater. Beginning in the 1994-95 school year, the $190 per pupil amount is adjusted each year by the rate of inflation. The limit is based on the difference between the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the 3 previous school years and the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the current and 2 preceding school years. If a school district exceeds its revenue limits, the state superintendent is required to deduct from the district's general state aid (or other state aids, if necessary) an amount equal to the excess revenue. If these state aids are not sufficient to cover the amount of the excess revenue, the state superintendent must order the school board to reduce the property tax obligations of its taxpayers by an amount that equals the remaining excess revenue after the deduction of state aids. If these property tax obligations are not reduced, any resident in the school district may seek injunctive relief in court. The state superintendent must also make sure that any such reductions in state aid lapse to the general fund and that the amount of the excess revenue is not used in calculating the school district's revenue limit in the following year.
This bill modifies the formula used to compute a school district's revenue limit by expanding the types of school aid under the limit. The bill includes in state aid all current categorical aids to schools that are formula-driven, such as handicapped education aid and pupil transportation aid. The bill does not include those categorical aids that are grant programs.
The bill also makes the revenue limits permanent and freezes the allowable annual increase in revenue per pupil at $194 beginning in the 1995-96 school year.
The bill exempts from the revenue limits those school districts whose base revenue per pupil is less than $5,200 in the 1995-96 school year and $5,500 in each subsequent school year. Base revenue per pupil is determined by calculating the sum of general school aid received in the previous year and property taxes levied for the previous year, less funds expended on school district debt service, and the costs of a county handicapped children's education board program, dividing this amount by the sum of the average of the number of pupils in the 3 previous school years and the number of pupils who are school district residents who are solely enrolled in a special education board program provided by a county handicapped children's education board program in the previous school year, and adding $194 to the quotient.
Finally, if a school district exceeds its revenue limit, the bill provides that the reductions in state aid that lapse to the general fund are to be paid to the school district in the succeeding school year. The school board is required to reduce the school district's property tax levy by an amount that equals the amount that lapsed to the general fund in the prior school year.
Currently, with certain exceptions, no school district may grant to its nonrepresented professional employes for any 12-month period ending on June 30 an average increase in compensation, for all such employes, prior to July 1, 1996, having an average cost per employe of more than 2.1% of the total cost per employe of compensation and fringe benefits provided by the district to its nonrepresented professional employes.
This bill provides, instead, that no school district may grant to its nonrepresented professional employes for any 12-month period ending on June 30 an average increase in compensation, for all such employes, prior to July 1, 1996, having an average cost per employe exceeding the highest average total percentage increased cost per employe of compensation provided by the school district to its represented employes in any collective bargaining unit during either of the 2 most recent 12-month periods ending on June 30 preceding the date that the increase for nonrepresented professional employes becomes effective.
This bill eliminates the reimbursement rates for handicapped education costs and school age parents program costs of 63% for program staff and transportation costs and 51% for the costs of psychologists and social workers. The bill directs that aidable costs be fully reimbursed, subject to the availability of funds.
Under current law, the state provides state aid to school districts to support voluntary efforts by school districts to reduce racial imbalance. Aid is provided for both interdistrict transfer and intradistrict transfer programs. Aid for an intradistrict transfer program is calculated by multiplying the general state aid per pupil in the school district by the number of pupils participating in the program, weighted such that each transfer pupil is counted as an additional 0.325 of a pupil. Interdistrict transfer aid is calculated in such a manner that each transfer pupil continues to be counted as 1.0 pupil in aid by the school district of residence; the gaining school district is paid the per pupil cost of that school district for each transfer pupil or, if such pupils constitute at least 5% of the total enrollment of the gaining school district, 20% more.
Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, this bill provides that the gaining school district is paid, for each interdistrict transfer pupil, the per pupil cost in the gaining school district or $7,000, whichever is less.
The bill also provides that if a school district receives intradistrict transfer aid in the 1995-96 school year, in each subsequent school year its aid may not exceed the amount determined by multiplying the amount per transfer pupil received in the previous school year by the CPI. If a school district does not receive intradistrict aid in the 1995-96 school year, its aid in the first school year in which it receives such aid is calculated as under current law. In each subsequent school year, its aid may not exceed the amount determined by multiplying the amount per transfer pupil received in the previous school year by the CPI.
Current law appropriates money to DPI for the purposes of correcting the academic deficiencies of educationally and economically disadvantaged pupils and achieving a more effective and responsive educational program in MPS. In the 1993-94 school year, the funds were distributed according to a plan developed by the governor and the state superintendent and approved by JCF.
For the 1995-96 school year, this bill directs the MPS school board to submit a proposal for the expenditure of the funds to the governor for his or her approval. In subsequent school years, the governor must submit a proposal to JCF for its approval.
Under current law, DPI awards grants to school districts for various programs, including all of the following:
1. Learning assistance programs.
2. Programs that enhance the instruction of mathematics and science in the elementary grades.
3. Staff development programs.
4. Programs designed to promote the interaction of pupils and teachers with professional scientists, engineers and mathematicians.
5. Human growth and development programs.
This bill eliminates all of the above grant programs.
This bill authorizes DPI and the division of technology management in the department of administration (DOA), which is created by the bill, jointly to award a grant to a school district, or to a school district acting in conjunction with one or more other school districts, cooperative educational service agencies or technical college districts, for the purchase of instructional technology and the cost of providing staff development and training related to instructional technology.
Current law requires the state superintendent to adopt or approve examinations that are designed to measure pupil attainment of knowledge in the 8th and 10th grades. Each school board must administer the examinations to all pupils enrolled in the school district in the 8th and 10th grades. The pupil assessment program expires at the end of the 1997-98 school year.
This bill eliminates the expiration of the program. The bill directs the state superintendent to adopt or approve a 4th grade examination as well, and requires each school board to administer the examination to all pupils enrolled in the school district in the 4th grade beginning in the 1996-97 school year. The bill authorizes school boards to administer the examination in the 1995-96 school year.
Under current law, the term of an employment contract of a school district administrator, business manager or school principal or assistants to such persons may not exceed 2 years and must expire on June 30 of an odd-numbered year.
This bill eliminates the restriction on term length and eliminates the requirement that contracts expire on June 30 of an odd-numbered year. The bill provides that the initial employment contract must be for a term of at least 2 years. The bill also provides that if the employing school board fails to give notice of either renewal of the contract or of refusal to renew the contract at least 4 months before it expires, the contract then in force continues for 2 years.
Current law provides that a pupil may be suspended from school for noncompliance with school rules, or for knowingly conveying any threat or false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made to destroy any school property by means of explosives, or for conduct while at school or while under the supervision of a school authority that endangers the property, health or safety of others, or for conduct while not at school or while not under the supervision of a school authority that endangers the property, health or safety of others at school or under the supervision of a school authority or endangers the property, health or safety of any employe or school board member of the school district in which the pupil is enrolled.
