AB150: Bill Text

AB150, s. 3989 Section 3989. 118.40 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150,1398,3 118.40 (3) (c) A school board may not enter into a contract for the establishment of a charter school located outside the school district or a contract that would result in the conversion of a private school to a charter school.

AB150, s. 3990 Section 3990. 118.40 (3m) of the statutes is repealed.

AB150, s. 3991 Section 3991. 118.40 (4) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150,1398,9 118.40 (4) (a) 2. Be nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices and all other operations. This subdivision does not apply to any charter school established by the board of school directors in charge of the public schools of a 1st class city.

AB150, s. 3992 Section 3992. 118.40 (7) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150,1398,11 118.40 (7) (title) Legal status; applicability Applicability of school laws.

AB150, s. 3993 Section 3993. 118.40 (7) (a) of the statutes is repealed.

AB150, s. 3994 Section 3994. 118.40 (7) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 118.40 (7).

AB150, s. 3995 Section 3995. Subchapter II of chapter 118 [precedes 118.50] of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1398,16 Chapter 118

AB150,1398,18 Subchapter II Enrollment options programs

AB150,1398,19 118.50 Definitions. In this subchapter:

AB150,1398,20 (1) "Attendance area" has the meaning given in s. 121.845 (1).

AB150,1398,21 (4) "Parent" includes a guardian.

AB150,1399,11 118.51 Interdistrict school choice. (1) Applicability; application procedures. (a) Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, a pupil may attend a public school, including a prekindergarten, early childhood or school-operated day care program, outside his or her school district of residence under this section. The pupil's parent shall submit an application, on a form provided by the state superintendent, to the school board of the school district that the pupil wishes to attend by February 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which he or she wishes to attend, and shall send a copy of the application to the school board of the school district of residence. The application may include a request to attend a specific school or program offered by the school district. By April 1 following receipt of the application, the school board shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether the application has been accepted. If the school board rejects an application, it shall include in the notice the reason for the rejection. By May 1 following receipt of a notice of acceptance, the pupil's parent shall notify the school board of the pupil's intent to attend school in the school district in the following school year.

AB150,1399,16 (am) A school board may not act on any application received under par. (a) until after February 1. A school board shall act on applications in the order in which they were received, except that if a school board receives more applications for a particular grade or program than there are spaces available in the grade or program the school board shall determine which pupils to accept on a random basis.

AB150,1399,20 (b) Annually by May 15, each school board of a school district that has accepted nonresident pupils under this section shall notify the school board of the school district of residence of the names of the pupils from the latter school district who will be attending the former school district in the following school year.

AB150,1400,5 (c) 1. If a pupil's parent notifies the school board of a nonresident school district that the pupil intends to attend school in that school district in the following school year under par. (a), the pupil shall attend that school district in the following school year. If at any time the pupil wishes to reattend school in his or her school district of residence, the pupil's parent shall notify the school boards of the school districts of residence and of attendance by February 1 preceding the school year in which the pupil will begin reattending the school district of residence. If at any time the pupil wishes to attend school in a school district other than the school district that he or she is currently attending or his or her school district of residence, the pupil's parent shall follow the application procedure under par. (a).

AB150,1400,8 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., a pupil attending school outside his or her school district of residence under this section may reattend school in his or her school district of residence at any time if the school boards of both school districts agree.

AB150,1400,12 (2) Acceptance criteria. (a) By December 1, 1995, each school board shall adopt a resolution specifying criteria for accepting and rejecting applications. If the school board wishes to revise the criteria, it shall do so by resolution. The criteria may include any of the following:

AB150,1400,15 1. The availability of space in the school, program, class or grade. The school board may give preference in attendance at a school, program, class or grade to residents of the school district who live outside the school's attendance area.

AB150,1400,17 2. Whether the pupil is involved in a disciplinary proceeding, as determined by the school board of the school district to which the pupil has applied.

AB150,1400,21 (am) The criteria may not include academic achievement, athletic or other special ability, English language proficiency, the presence of a physical, mental, emotional or learning disability, previous disciplinary proceedings or anything else not specified in par. (a) 1. and 2., except as provided under par. (b).

AB150,1400,25 (b) 1. A school board shall reject an application if acceptance would violate a court-ordered plan, or a plan established under s. 121.85 (4), 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 under s. 121.85 or 121.86.

AB150,1401,2 2. A school board shall give preference in accepting applications to siblings of pupils who are already attending public school in the school district.

AB150,1401,5 (c) 1. A school board may prohibit a resident pupil from attending school in another school district under this section if the school board determines that the pupil is involved in a disciplinary proceeding.

AB150,1401,10 2. A school board shall prohibit a resident pupil from attending school in another school district under this section if allowing such attendance would violate a court-ordered plan, or a plan established under s. 121.85 (4), 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 under s. 121.85 or 121.86.

AB150,1401,15 3. In the 1996-97 school year, the school board of the school district of residence may limit the number of resident pupils attending public school in other school districts to 5% of its membership. In the 1997-98 school year, the school board of the school district of residence may limit the number of resident pupils attending public school in other school districts to 10% of its enrollment.

AB150,1401,20 (3) Appeal of rejection. If an application is rejected under sub. (1) (a) or a pupil is prohibited from attending school in another school district under sub. (2) (c), the pupil's parent may appeal the decision to the department within 30 days after the decision. The department's decision is final and is not subject to judicial review under subch. III of ch. 227.

AB150,1401,24 (4) Rights and privileges of nonresident pupils. A pupil attending a public school outside of his or her school district of residence under this section has all of the rights and privileges of resident pupils and is subject to the same rules and regulations as resident pupils.

AB150,1402,3 (6) Transportation. The parent of a pupil attending a public school outside of the pupil's school district of residence under this section is responsible for transporting the pupil to and from school.

AB150,1402,11 (7) Tuition. The school board of the school district of residence shall pay to the school board of the school district of attendance, for each pupil attending a public school outside of his or her school district of residence under this section, tuition calculated under s. 121.83 for either the school district of residence or the school district of attendance, whichever is lower, or an amount agreed to by the school boards of the 2 school districts. The amount to be paid and a payment schedule shall be specified in a written agreement. If the school boards cannot agree on the amount of tuition, the state superintendent shall determine the amount.

AB150,1402,15 (8) Information. Each school board shall provide information about its schools and programs in the format and manner prescribed by the state superintendent. The school board may not provide information in a manner that is designed to recruit nonresident pupils to attend the school district under this section.

AB150,1402,19 118.52 Interdistrict enrollment options. (1) Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, a pupil enrolled in a public school may attend a public school outside his or her school district of residence under this section for the purpose of taking one or more courses offered by the other school district, if all of the following apply:

AB150,1402,21 (a) The pupil continues to attend public school in his or her school district of residence for at least one course.

AB150,1402,23 (b) The school board of the other school district determines that there is space available in the course or courses.

AB150,1402,25 (c) The school board of the school district of residence determines that it does not offer, or have space available in, a comparable course or courses.

AB150,1403,3 (d) If the courses are offered in the high school grades, the school board of residence determines that the courses satisfy high school graduation requirements under s. 118.33 in that school district.

AB150,1403,5 (e) The pupil meets all of the prerequisites for the course or courses that apply to pupils who reside in the other school district.

AB150,1403,8 (2) Section 118.51 (1) to (4) applies to pupils under this section, except that if the school board of the other school district accepts the application the acceptance applies only for the following school year.

AB150,1403,11 (3) The parent of a pupil attending a public school outside of the pupil's school district of residence under this section is responsible for transporting the pupil to and from the course or courses that the pupil is attending.

AB150,1403,16 (4) The school board of the school district of residence shall pay to the school board of the other school district for each pupil attending one or more courses at a public school outside of his or her school district of residence under this section an amount equal to the cost of providing the course or courses to the pupil, calculated as determined by the state superintendent.

AB150,1403,21 118.53 Intradistrict enrollment options. (1) Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, a pupil enrolled in a public school may attend a public school located within the pupil's school district of residence but outside the pupil's attendance area under this section for the purpose of taking one or more courses offered by the school if all of the following apply:

AB150,1403,24 (a) The school board determines that there is space available in the course or courses. The school board shall reserve space in a course for pupils who reside in the attendance area for the school in which the course is offered.

AB150,1404,2 (b) The school board determines that the pupil meets all of the prerequisites for the course or courses.

AB150,1404,6 (2) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), the school board shall establish policies and procedures for application, notification and acceptance or rejection and shall make information about the policies and procedures available to school district residents.

AB150,1404,8 (b) 1. The school board may not reject an application based on the pupil's academic achievement.

AB150,1404,10 2. Section 118.51 (2) (b) 1. applies to the acceptance and rejection of applications under this section.

AB150,1404,12 3. Acceptance of an application under this section applies only to the following school year.

AB150,1404,14 4. The school board may reject an application if the pupil is involved in a disciplinary proceeding.

AB150,1404,15 (3) Section 118.51 (4) applies to pupils under this section.

AB150,1404,17 (4) Section 118.52 (3) applies to the transportation of pupils to and from courses under this section.

AB150,1404,22 118.54 School districts participating in a special transfer program. (1) If the school board of a school district participating in a program under s. 121.85 or 121.86 determines that the application deadlines under s. 118.51 or 118.52 conflict with procedures necessary to implement the program under s. 121.85 or 121.86, the school board may modify the deadlines under ss. 118.51 and 118.52.

AB150,1405,2 (2) Notwithstanding ss. 118.51 (1) and 118.52 (2), the parent of a pupil who resides in a school district participating in a program under s. 121.85 or 121.86 shall submit the application to the school board of the school district of residence. If the school board of the school district of residence approves the application, it shall forward the application to the school district of attendance.

AB150,1405,8 (3) If the school board of a school district participating in a program under s. 121.85 or 121.86 believes that any provision in ss. 118.51 to 118.53 is harmful to the program or to the school district's efforts to achieve racial balance, the school board may request the department to modify the provision. If the department determines that the provision is harmful to the program or to the school district's efforts, department shall modify the provision for that school district.

AB150,1405,10 118.56 State superintendent duties. The state superintendent shall do all of the following:

AB150,1405,11 (1) Promulgate rules to implement and administer this subchapter.

AB150,1405,17 (2) Annually evaluate the effects of the programs under ss. 118.51 to 118.53 and submit a report to the governor, and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3), summarizing the results of the evaluation. The report shall specify the number of pupils attending a school outside of the pupil's school district of residence under ss. 118.51 and 118.52 by school, grade, ethnicity and gender.

AB150, s. 3996 Section 3996. 119.04 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150,1405,19 119.04 (title) Public instruction Education laws applicable.

AB150, s. 3997 Section 3997. 119.04 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB150,1406,3 119.04 (1) Subchapters IV, V and VII of ch. 115, subch. II of ch. 118, ch. 121 and ss. 66.03 (3) (c), 115.01 (1) and (2), 115.28, 115.31, 115.33, 115.34, 115.343, 115.345, 115.361, 115.364, 115.366, 115.38 (2), 115.40, 115.45, 118.01 118.001 to 118.04, 118.06, 118.07, 118.10, 118.12, 118.125 to 118.14, 118.15, 118.153, 118.16, 118.162, 118.163, 118.18, 118.19, 118.20, 118.24 (1), (2) (c) to (f), (6) and (8), 118.245, 118.255, 118.258, 118.30 to 118.42, 120.12 (5) and (15) to (23), 120.125, 120.13 (1), (2) (b) to (g), (3), (14), (17) to (19), (26), and (34) and (35) to (36) and 120.14 are applicable to a 1st class city school district and board.

AB150, s. 3998 Section 3998. 119.18 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 119.18 (1r).

AB150, s. 3999 Section 3999. 119.18 (1g) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1406,8 119.18 (1g) Generally. The board may do all things reasonable to promote the cause of education, including establishing, providing and improving school district programs, functions and activities for the benefit of pupils.

AB150, s. 4000 Section 4000. 119.18 (23) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1406,17 119.18 (23) School closings. The board may close any school that it determines is low in performance by adopting a resolution to that effect. If the superintendent of schools recommends to the board that a school be closed, he or she shall state the reasons for the recommendation in writing. If the board closes a school, the superintendent of schools may reassign the school's staff members without regard to seniority in service. If the board reopens the school, the superintendent of schools may reassign staff members to the school without regard to seniority in service.

AB150, s. 4001 Section 4001. 119.18 (24) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1406,20 119.18 (24) Contracts for management or operation. The board may contract with any person to manage or operate one or more schools.

AB150, s. 4002 Section 4002. 119.23 (2) (a) (intro.) and 3. of the statutes are amended to read:

AB150,1406,25 119.23 (2) (a) (intro.) Subject to par. (b), beginning in the 1990-91 school year, any pupil in grades kindergarten to 12 who resides within the city may attend, at no charge, any nonsectarian private school located in the city if all of the following apply:

AB150,1407,4 3. The private school notified the state superintendent of its intent to participate in the program under this section by May 1 of the previous school year. The notice shall specify the number of pupils participating in the program under this section for which the school has space.

AB150, s. 4003 Section 4003. 119.23 (2) (b) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:

AB150,1407,11 119.23 (2) (b) In the 1996-97 school year, no more than 3,500 pupils may participate in the program under this section. In the 1997-98 school year, no more than 5,500 pupils may participate in the program under this section. If in any school year there are more spaces available in the participating private schools than the maximum number of pupils allowed to participate, the department shall prorate the number of spaces available at each participating private school.

AB150, s. 4004 Section 4004. 119.23 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 119.23 (3) (a).

AB150, s. 4005 Section 4005. 119.23 (3) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1407,16 119.23 (3) (b) If the private school rejects an applicant because it has too few available spaces, the pupil may transfer his or her application to a participating private school that has space available.

AB150, s. 4006 Section 4006. 119.23 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 119.23 (4) (a) and amended to read:

AB150,1407,24 119.23 (4) (a) Upon In the 1995-96 school year, upon receipt from the pupil's parent or guardian of proof of the pupil's enrollment in the private school, the state superintendent shall pay to the private school, from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (fu), an amount equal to the total amount to which the school district is entitled under s. 121.08 divided by the school district membership paid per pupil under this section in the 1994-95 school year.

AB150,1408,2 (c) The state superintendent shall pay 25% of the total amount in September, 25% in November, 25% in February and 25% in May.

AB150, s. 4007 Section 4007. 119.23 (4) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1408,12 119.23 (4) (b) Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, upon receipt from the pupil's parent or guardian of proof of the pupil's enrollment in the private school, the department shall pay to the parent or guardian, from the appropriation under s. 20.225 (2) (fu), the amount paid per pupil under this section in the previous school year multiplied by the sum of 1.0 plus the allowable rate of increase under s. 73.0306 expressed as a decimal, or an amount equal to the private school's operating cost per pupil, as determined by the department, whichever is less. The department shall send the check to the private school. The parent or guardian shall restrictively endorse the check for the use of the private school.

AB150, s. 4008 Section 4008. 119.23 (5) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1408,16 119.23 (5) (am) Beginning in the 1996-97 school year, ensure that the aid reduction under par. (a) is accomplished by first reducing aid paid to the board under s. 121.85 (6).

AB150, s. 4009 Section 4009. 119.23 (10) of the statutes is repealed.

AB150, s. 4010 Section 4010. 119.235 of the statutes is created to read:

AB150,1408,25 119.235 Contracts with private schools and agencies. (1) The board may contract with any nonprofit, private school or agency located in the city to provide educational programs to pupils enrolled in the school district operating under this chapter. The board shall ensure that each private school or agency under contract with the board complies with ss. 118.125 and 118.13, 20 USC 1232g, 20 USC 1681 to 1688, 20 USC 3171 to 3197, 29 USC 794, 42 USC 2000d and 42 USC 6101 to 6107, and all health and safety laws and rules that apply to public schools.