118.40(4)
(4) Charter school duties and restrictions. 118.40(4)(a)(a)
Duties. A charter school shall do all of the following:
118.40(4)(a)1.
1. If the charter school replaces a public school in whole or in part, give preference in admission to any pupil who resides within the attendance area or former attendance area of that public school.
118.40(4)(a)2.
2. Be nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices and all other operations.
118.40(4)(b)
(b)
Restrictions. A charter school may not do any of the following:
118.40(4)(b)2.
2. Discriminate in admission or deny participation in any program or activity on the basis of a person's sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.
118.40(5)
(5) Charter revocation. A charter may be revoked by the school board or the entity under
sub. (2r) (b) that contracted with the charter school if the school board or, if applicable, the entity under
sub. (2r) (b) finds that any of the following occurred:
118.40(5)(a)
(a) The charter school violated its contract with the school board or the entity under
sub. (2r) (b).
118.40(5)(b)
(b) The pupils enrolled in the charter school failed to make sufficient progress toward attaining the educational goals under
s. 118.01.
118.40(5)(c)
(c) The charter school failed to comply with generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management.
118.40(6)
(6) Program voluntary. 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 or legal guardian, if the pupil is a minor.
118.40(7)
(7) Legal status; applicability of school laws. 118.40(7)(a)(a) Except as provided in
par. (am), the school board of the school district in which a charter school is located shall determine whether or not the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district. If the school board determines that the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district, the school board shall employ all personnel for the charter school. If the school board determines that the charter school is not an instrumentality of the school district, the school board may not employ any personnel for the charter school.
118.40(7)(am)1.1. Except as provided in
subds. 2. and
3., if a charter school is established under
sub. (2m) and located in the school district operating under
ch. 119, the school board of that school district shall determine whether or not the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district. If the school board determines that a charter school is an instrumentality of the school district, the school board shall employ all personnel for the charter school. If the school board determines that a charter school is not an instrumentality of the school district, the school board may not employ any personnel for the charter school.
118.40(7)(am)2.
2. A charter school established under
sub. (2r) or a private school located in the school district operating under
ch. 119 that is converted to a charter school is not an instrumentality of any school district and no school board may employ any personnel for the charter school. If the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside contracts for the establishment of a charter school under
sub. (2r), the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System may employ instructional staff for the charter school.
118.40(7)(am)3.
3. Notwithstanding
subd. 2., if the city of Milwaukee contracts with an individual or group operating for profit to operate a school as a charter school, the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district operating under
ch. 119 and the board of the school district operating under
ch. 119 shall employ all personnel for the charter school.
118.40(7)(ar)
(ar) Nothing in this subsection affects the rights of personnel of a charter school that is an instrumentality of the school district in which it is located to engage in collective bargaining pursuant to
subch. IV of ch. 111.
118.40(7)(b)
(b) Except as otherwise explicitly provided,
chs. 115 to
121 do not apply to charter schools.
118.43
118.43
Achievement guarantee contracts; state aid. 118.43(1)(a)
(a) "Class size" means the number of pupils assigned to a regular classroom teacher on the 3rd Friday of September.
118.43(1)(b)
(b) "Low income" means the measure of low income that is used by the school district under
20 USC 2723.
118.43(2)(a)(a) The school board of any school district in which a school in the previous school year had an enrollment that was at least 50% low-income is eligible to participate in the program under this section, except that a school board is eligible to participate in the program under this section in the 2000-01 school year if in the 1998-99 school year a school in the school district had an enrollment that was at least 0% low-income.
118.43(2)(b)
(b) In the 1996-97 school year, the school board of an eligible school district may enter into a 5-year achievement guarantee contract with the department on behalf of one school in the school district if all of the following apply:
118.43(2)(b)1.
1. In the previous school year, the school had an enrollment that was at least 30% low-income.
118.43(2)(b)2.
2. The school board is not receiving a grant under the preschool to grade 5 program on behalf of the school under
s. 115.45.
118.43(2)(bg)
(bg) In the 1998-99 school year, the school board of an eligible school district may enter into a 5-year achievement guarantee contract with the department on behalf of one school in the school district if all of the following apply:
118.43(2)(bg)1.
1. In the previous school year, the school had an enrollment that was at least 30% low-income.
118.43(2)(bg)2.
2. The school board is not receiving a grant under the preschool to grade 5 program on behalf of the school under
s. 115.45.
118.43(2)(br)
(br) In the 2000-01 school year, the school board of an eligible school district may enter into a 5-year achievement guarantee contract with the department on behalf of one or more schools in the school district if all of the following apply:
118.43(2)(br)2.
2. The school board is not receiving a grant under the preschool to grade 5 program on behalf of any of the schools under
s. 115.45.
118.43(2)(br)3.
3. The school board, if eligible to participate in the program under this section in the 1996-97 and 1998-99 school years, had participated in the program during either school year.
118.43(2)(br)4.
4. None of the schools is a beneficiary of a contract under this section.
118.43(2)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding
pars. (b) and
(bg), the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119 may enter into an achievement guarantee contract on behalf of up to 10 schools under
par. (b) and up to 10 schools under
par. (bg).
118.43(2)(d)
(d) If an eligible school district has more than one school that qualifies under
par. (b), the school board shall apply on behalf of the school with the largest number of low-income pupils in grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(2)(e)1.1. If the school board of an eligible school district does not enter into an achievement guarantee contract with the department, a school board that has entered into such a contract, other than the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119, may apply to the department to enter into such a contract on behalf of one or more schools that meet the requirements under
par. (b),
(bg) or
(br).
118.43(2)(e)2.
2. If more than one school board applies under
subd. 1., the department shall determine which school board to contract with based on the number of low-income pupils in grades kindergarten and one enrolled in the schools and on the balance of rural and urban school districts currently participating in the program.
118.43(2)(g)
(g) The department may renew an achievement guarantee contract under
pars. (b),
(bg), and
(br) for one or more terms of 5 school years. As a condition of receiving payments under a renewal of an achievement guarantee contract, a school board shall maintain the reduction of class size achieved during the last school year of the original achievement guarantee contract for the grades specified for the last school year of the contract.
118.43(3)
(3) Contract requirements. Except as provided in
pars. (am) and
(ar), an achievement guarantee contract shall require the school board to do all of the following in each participating school:
118.43(3)(a)
(a) Class size. Reduce each class size to 15 in the following manner:
118.43(3)(a)1.
1. In the 1996-97 school year, in at least grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(3)(a)2.
2. In the 1997-98 school year, in at least grades kindergarten to 2.
118.43(3)(a)3.
3. In the 1998-99 to 2000-01 school years, in at least grades kindergarten to 3.
118.43(3)(am)
(am)
Class size; additional contracts. For contracts that begin in the 1998-99 school year, reduce each class size to 15 in the following manner:
118.43(3)(am)1.
1. In the 1998-99 school year, in at least grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(3)(am)2.
2. In the 1999-2000 school year, in at least grades kindergarten to 2.
118.43(3)(am)3.
3. In the 2000-01 to 2002-03 school years, in at least grades kindergarten to 3.
118.43(3)(ar)
(ar)
Class size; additional contracts. For contracts that begin in the 2000-01 school year, reduce each class size to 15 in the following manner:
118.43(3)(ar)1.
1. In the 2000-01 school year, in at least grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(3)(ar)2.
2. In the 2001-02 school year, in at least grades kindergarten to 2.
118.43(3)(ar)3.
3. In the 2002-03 to 2004-05 school years, in at least grades kindergarten to 3.
118.43(3)(b)1.1. Keep the school open every day from early in the morning until late in the day, as specified in the contract.
118.43(3)(b)2.
2. Collaborate with community organizations to make educational and recreational opportunities, as well as a variety of community and social services, available in the school to all school district residents.
118.43(3)(c)1.1. Provide a rigorous academic curriculum designed to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(c)2.
2. In consultation with the department and with the participation of the school's teachers and administrators and school district residents, review the school's current curriculum to determine how well it promotes pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(c)3.
3. If necessary, outline any changes to the curriculum to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(d)1.1. Develop a one-year program for all newly hired employees that helps them make the transition from their previous employment or school to their current employment.
118.43(3)(d)3.
3. Require that each teacher and administrator submit to the school board a professional development plan that focuses on how the individual will help improve pupil academic achievement. The plan shall include a method by which the individual will receive evaluations on the success of his or her efforts from a variety of sources.
118.43(3)(d)4.
4. Regularly review staff development plans to determine if they are effective in helping to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(d)5.
5. Establish an evaluation process for professional staff members that does all of the following:
118.43(3)(d)5.c.
c. Includes a support plan that provides opportunities to learn and improve.
118.43(3)(d)5.d.
d. Systematically documents performance in accordance with the plan.
118.43(3)(d)5.e.
e. Allows professional staff members to comment on and contribute to revisions in the evaluation process.
118.43(3)(d)5.f.
f. Provides for the dismissal of professional staff members whose failure to learn and improve has been documented over a 2-year period.
118.43(4)
(4) Other contract provisions. Each achievement guarantee contract shall include all of the following:
118.43(4)(a)
(a) A description of how the school will implement each of the elements under
sub. (3), including any alternative class configurations for specific educational activities that may be used to meet the class size requirement under
sub. (3).
118.43(4)(b)
(b) A description of the method that the school district will use to evaluate the academic achievement of the pupils enrolled in the school.
118.43(4)(c)
(c) A description of the school's performance objectives for the academic achievement of the pupils enrolled in the school and the means that will be used to evaluate success in attaining the objectives. Performance objectives shall include all of the following:
118.43(4)(c)2.
2. The attainment of any educational goals adopted by the school board.
118.43(4)(c)3.
3. Professional development with the objective of improving pupil academic achievement.
118.43(4)(c)4.
4. Methods by which the school involves pupils, parents or guardians of pupils and other school district residents in decisions affecting the school.
118.43(4)(d)
(d) A description of any statute or rule that is waived under
s. 118.38 if the waiver is related to the contract.
118.43(4)(e)
(e) A description of the means by which the department will monitor compliance with the terms of the contract.
118.43(5)(a)(a) At the end of the 1996-97 school year, the department may terminate a contract if the department determines that the school board has failed to fully implement the provisions under
sub. (3).
118.43(5)(b)
(b) Annually by June 30 through the 2003-04 school year, a committee consisting of the state superintendent, the chairpersons of the education committees in the senate and assembly and the individual chiefly responsible for the evaluation under
sub. (7) shall review the progress made by each school for which an achievement guarantee contract has been entered into. The committee may recommend to the department that the department terminate a contract if the committee determines that the school board has violated the contract or if the school has made insufficient progress toward achieving its performance objectives under
sub. (4) (c). The department may terminate the contract if it agrees with the committee's recommendation.
