LRB-3574/2
PG:kmg&kjf:rs
2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE
February 19, 2004 - Introduced by Representative Sinicki. Referred to Committee
on Education Reform.
AB855,1,9
1An Act to renumber 119.23 (2) (b);
to renumber and amend 118.165 (1) (c),
2119.23 (7) (am) and 119.23 (7) (c);
to amend 118.13 (2) (b), 118.13 (3) (a) 3.,
3118.13 (3) (b) 1., 118.13 (3) (b) 2., 118.13 (4), 118.30 (1g) (a) 1., 118.30 (1g) (c),
4118.30 (2) (b) 1. and 2., 118.30 (6), 118.33 (1) (f) 3., 119.23 (7) (a) (intro.) and
5119.23 (7) (b); and
to create 118.13 (1m), 118.13 (2) (am), 118.165 (1) (c) 2.,
6118.30 (1g) (a) 3., 118.30 (1s), 118.30 (2) (b) 5., 118.33 (1) (f) 2m., 118.33 (6) (c),
7119.23 (2) (b) 2., 119.23 (6m), 119.23 (7) (d), 119.23 (7m) (b) to (d) and 119.23 (10)
8of the statutes;
relating to: the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and
9providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes a number of changes in the laws governing the Milwaukee
Parental Choice Program (MPCP), under which a pupil who resides in the city of
Milwaukee may attend a private school at state expense under certain conditions.
The changes include the following:
Private school requirements
Currently, in order to qualify as a private school under the law, an institution's
educational program must provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year.
This bill provides that if the program offers kindergarten it must provide at least 437
hours of instruction in kindergarten each school year.
The bill also provides that upon request of the Department of Public Instruction
(DPI), which administers the MPCP, a private school must demonstrate to DPI's
satisfaction that the private school's educational program meets all of the statutory
criteria to be a private school. In addition to offering a specified number of hours of
instruction each school year (as mentioned above), current law requires all of the
following:
1. That the primary purpose of the educational program be to provide private
or religious based instruction.
2. That the program be privately controlled.
3. That the program provide a sequentially progressive curriculum of
fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies,
science, and health.
4. That the program not be operated for the purpose of circumventing the
compulsory school attendance law.
5. That the pupils in the program return annually to the homes of their parents
or guardians for at least two months of summer vacation, or that the institution be
licensed as a child welfare agency by the Department of Health and Family Services.
Standards and school requirements
Current law requires each private school participating in the MPCP to meet at
least one of the following standards:
1. At least 70 percent of the pupils in the program must advance one grade level
each year.
2. The private school's average attendance rate for pupils in the program must
be at least 90 percent.
3. At least 80 percent of the pupils in the program must demonstrate significant
academic progress.
4. At least 70 percent of the families of pupils in the program must meet
parent-involvement criteria established by the private school.
This bill requires each private school participating in the program to meet at
least three of the above standards and to annually submit to DPI, a report describing
the school's status with respect to the fourth standard.
Pupil assessments
Current law requires each school board to adopt either its own academic
standards or the academic standards contained in the governor's executive order
issued on January 13, 1998, and to administer fourth, eighth, and tenth grade
examinations to fourth, eighth, and tenth grade pupils enrolled in the school district,
including pupils enrolled in charter schools (other than independent charter schools)
located in the school district. Identical provisions exist under current law for
independent charter schools.
Under current law, the fourth, eighth, and tenth grade examinations are not
required to be administered to pupils participating in the MPCP.
This bill provides that the governing body of a private school participating in
the MPCP must adopt academic standards and administer fourth, eighth, and tenth
grade examinations to pupils enrolled in the private school. The governing body may
either adopt the DPI examinations or develop its own.
Under current law, each school board must administer to all pupils enrolled in
the school district in the third grade, including pupils enrolled in charter schools
(other than independent charter schools) located in the school district, a
standardized reading test developed by DPI. The independent charter schools are
required to administer this test to their third grade pupils. Private schools
participating in the MPCP are not required to administer this test. This bill imposes
this requirement on these private schools.
High school diplomas; grade promotion
Under current law, each school board and the operator of each independent
charter school must develop written policies specifying criteria for granting a high
school diploma. Neither a school board nor the operator of an independent charter
school may grant a high school diploma to any pupil unless the pupil has satisfied
the criteria. Similarly, each school board and each independent charter school must
adopt policies specifying criteria for promoting a pupil from the fourth grade to the
fifth grade and from the eighth grade to the ninth grade. A pupil may not be
promoted unless he or she satisfies the promotion criteria.
This bill imposes upon private schools participating in the MPCP the same
prohibitions against graduation and promotion (for pupils attending the private
school under the MPCP) that are imposed upon school boards and independent
charter schools.
Religious activities
Current law prohibits a private school that is participating in the MPCP from
requiring a pupil attending the private school under the program to participate in
any religious activity if the pupil's parent or guardian requests that the pupil be
exempt from the activity.
This bill requires each private school participating in the MPCP to adopt a
policy implementing the requirement described above. The private school must
include in the policy a list of the school activities that it has determined are religious
activities for the purpose of the exemption requirement. The list must include
religious worship, religious instruction, and any school activity that the private
school has determined is sectarian, proselytizing, or religiously doctrinal in nature.
The bill requires each MPCP school to provide a copy of its policy to each person who
expresses an interest in attending the private school under the program and
annually to DPI.
The bill directs each MPCP school to ensure that a pupil who is exempt from
participating in a religious activity is not present in the room in which the activity
occurs. The bill also directs each MPCP school to provide a pupil who is exempt from
religious activities with a sufficient number of hours of instruction to meet the
statutory requirement for all private schools (at least 875 hours of instruction each
school year) and to enable the pupil to advance from grade to grade.
Nondiscrimination
Current law prohibits public schools from discriminating against pupils on the
basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or
parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning
disability. In addition, each school board must adopt policies and procedures
implementing this nondiscrimination requirement.
This bill extends the nondiscrimination requirement to schools participating in
the MPCP. The bill also requires each MPCP school to develop written policies and
procedures to implement the nondiscrimination requirement and to provide each
applicant to a school with all of the following: 1) a list of the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of the members of the governing body of the school; 2) a notice
stating whether the school is an organization run for profit or not for profit, and, if
the school is run not for profit, proof of its federal tax-exempt status; 3) a copy of the
appeals process used if the school rejects an applicant for admission; 4) a statement
that the school agrees to be subject to the open meetings and open records
requirements applicable to public bodies; and 5) a copy of the school's
nondiscrimination policies and procedures. In addition, upon request of any person,
the school must provide the information above, as well as the number of pupils
enrolled in the previous school year, pupil scores on standardized tests administered
in the previous school year, and the number of pupils who were expelled or who failed
to graduate in the previous school year.
Limitation on enrollment
The bill provides that no more then 65 percent of a private school's enrollment
may consist of MPCP pupils.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB855, s. 1
1Section
1. 118.13 (1m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB855,4,82
118.13
(1m) No person who wishes to attend a private school under s. 119.23
3may be denied admission to that school and no pupil who is attending a private school
4under s. 119.23 may be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
5discriminated against in any curricular, extracurricular, pupil services, recreational,
6or other program or activity of that school because of the person's sex, race, religion,
7national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual
8orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability.
AB855, s. 2
9Section
2. 118.13 (2) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
AB855,5,6
1118.13
(2) (am) Each private school participating in the program under s.
2119.23 shall develop written policies and procedures to implement this section and
3submit them to the state superintendent. The policies and procedures shall provide
4for receiving and investigating complaints regarding possible violations of this
5section, for making determinations as to whether this section has been violated, and
6for ensuring compliance with this section.
AB855, s. 3
7Section
3. 118.13 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB855,5,98
118.13
(2) (b) Any person who receives a negative determination under par. (a)
9or (am) may appeal the determination to the state superintendent.