AB930: Bill Text

3. The private school's requirements for promotion from grade to grade and for graduation.

4. The number of pupils enrolled in the previous school year who were handicapped.

5. The services provided by the private school to pupils with disabilities.

6. The private school's safety plan.

7. The private school's attrition rate for teachers in the previous school year, as compared to the statewide attrition rate and the Milwaukee Public Schools' (MPS) attrition rate in the previous school year.

8. The private school's budget for the ensuing fiscal year.

9. The private school's academic standards.

Pupil records

The bill requires a private school participating in the MPCP to maintain records for each pupil attending the school under the MPCP while the pupil attends the school and for at least five years thereafter. The bill requires the private school to provide a copy of the records to the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian upon request and, if the school closes, to transfer the records to MPS. The bill also requires the private school to issue a high school diploma or certificate to each pupil attending the school under the MPCP who satisfies all of the requirements necessary for high school graduation.

Current law requires a school district to transfer to another school or school district, within five working days, all pupil records relating to a specific pupil if the transferring school district has received notice from the pupil (if he or she is adult), from the pupil's parent or guardian (if the pupil is a minor), or from the other school or school district that the pupil intends to enroll or has enrolled in the other school or school district. This bill makes this requirement applicable to the private schools participating in the MPCP.

Accreditation

Currently, in order to participate in the MPCP, a private school must be accredited by the Wisconsin North Central Association, the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, or any other organization recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation, or be approved for scholarship funding for the 2005-06 school year by Partners Advancing Values in Education (PAVE).

Under this bill, approval by PAVE no longer satisfies the accreditation requirement.

School assessment guide

The bill directs DPI to develop a guide for parents to use in assessing public and private schools, including charter schools. The guide must include information on how to evaluate the academic performance of pupils enrolled in a school, a school's academic opportunities, a school's expenditures per pupil, the education and experience levels of teachers, and the opportunities for parental involvement in a school and classroom. DPI must post the guide on its Internet site and make copies available to schools upon request.

MPCP cost report

The bill requires MPS to report annually to the legislature the costs it incurred in the previous school year in connection with the MPCP, including transportation costs and costs of providing special education to pupils attending private schools under the MPCP.

Transportation of pupils and insurance coverage

Under current law, every school board must require that a certificate of insurance is filed with the school board and the Department of Transportation (DOT) showing that an insurance policy has been procured and is in effect which covers the owner and operator of the school bus and the school board or the school board must procure an insurance policy and file the certificate with DOT. DOT may not issue registration plates for a school bus unless the certificate is on file with DOT. This insurance policy may not be canceled or terminated prior to its expiration unless notice of cancellation or termination is filed by the insurer with DOT and the school board at least ten days prior to the date of cancellation or termination. DOT must then revoke the registration of any school bus on which the policy has been canceled or terminated.

Under this bill, the same requirements that apply to a school board also apply to the governing body of a charter school and the governing body of a private school. The bill requires that the insurance policy procured by a school board or the governing body of a charter school or the operator of a private school is in effect for the entire school year. The bill requires an insurer to provide 30 days' notice, rather than 10 days' notice, if it cancels or terminates an insurance policy covering a school bus prior to the policy's expiration. The bill also requires an insurer who provides this insurance coverage to a school participating in the MPCP to notify DPI of any change made to the policy. The bill also requires a private school participating in the MPCP to immediately notify DPI that the school has received a notice of cancellation or termination from the insurer.

Under current law, a school board or the governing body of a private school may provide pupil transportation services by alternative methods. These alternative methods consist of a motor vehicle transporting nine or fewer passengers in addition to the operator, and a motor vehicle transporting ten or more passengers in addition to the operator when the secretary of transportation determines, at the request of the school board or governing body, that an emergency exists because no regular transportation is available. Current law requires, with certain exceptions, that motor vehicles used for alternative pupil transportation comply with the insurance requirements applicable to school buses.

This bill clarifies that the operator of a charter school may provide pupil transportation services by alternative methods, and subjects the charter school to the same insurance requirements applicable to a school board and the governing body of a private school. In addition, the bill requires that a school board, the governing body of a private school, and the operator of a charter school file with DOT a certificate of insurance showing that the insurance policy applicable to a motor vehicle used as an alternative method of pupil transportation is in effect for the entire school year. The bill also requires an insurer to provide 30 days' notice to DOT and the school board, governing body of a private school, or operator of a charter school prior to the cancellation or termination of an insurance policy covering a motor vehicle used as an alternative method of pupil transportation. The bill requires an insurer who provides this insurance coverage to a school participating in the MPCP to notify DPI of any change made to the policy. The bill also requires a private school participating in the MPCP to immediately notify DPI that the school has received a notice of cancellation or termination from the insurer.

Exclusion of private schools from the MPCP

Under current law, DPI may bar a private school from participating in the MPCP if DPI determines that the private school has violated certain prohibitions. For example, a private school that fails to submit an independent financial audit of the school that has been conducted by a certified public accountant may be barred from participating in the MPCP. This bill creates the following additional grounds for DPI to bar a school from participating in the MPCP:

1. Failure to comply with the disclosure requirements established in the bill.

2. Failure to comply with the teacher licensure and pupil assessment requirements established in the bill.

3. Failure to develop policies on truancy, excused and unexcused absences, bullying, pupil engagement in learning and emotional development, and promoting parental involvement and volunteerism, as required in the bill.

4. Failure to maintain, provide copies of, and issue pupil records as required in the bill.

5. Failure to procure and maintain insurance as required by DPI and under the bill.

Fraudulent representations

Current law prohibits a person, with the intent to sell a product or service to the public or induce the public to enter into a contract, from making any assertion or statement that is untrue, deceptive, or misleading in its advertising or other representations made to the public. This bill authorizes DPI to prohibit a private school from participating in the MPCP in the following school year if the private school has violated this prohibition.

School buses

Under current law, a person may not operate a school bus without a school bus endorsement issued by DOT. A person may obtain a school bus endorsement to the person's regular motor vehicle operator's license if the person is to operate a school bus that is not a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) or to the person's commercial driver license (CDL) if the person is to operate a school bus that is a CMV.

Also under current law, an employer may not knowingly allow an employee to operate a CMV during any period of withdrawal of the employee's operating privileges or when the employee does not possess a valid CDL with any required endorsement. The employer also may not knowingly allow an employee to operate a CMV in violation of any law. A person who holds a CDL must report to his or her employer any conviction for a traffic violation within 30 days of the conviction and any withdrawal of operating privileges by the end of the day after the withdrawal. DOT maintains an employer notification program to permit an employer to register the name of a CDL-holding employee and be notified by DOT whenever a conviction or withdrawal of operating privileges is recorded on the employee's operating record.

Under this bill, an employer that employs any person as an operator of a school bus is responsible for determining that each such person is qualified to operate a school bus. This employer is also responsible for assuring that only employees so qualified operate the employer's school buses. If the employer employs any person holding a CDL to operate a school bus, the employer must participate in DOT's employer notification program. An employer that violates any of these requirements must forfeit not less than $20 nor more than $400.

Under current law, the definition of "school bus" includes a motor vehicle which carries ten or more passengers in addition to the driver or is painted in accordance with specifications established by statute and which is used for the purpose of transporting pupils to or from an elementary or high school supported by public taxation, a private school that meets criteria established by DPI, or, under certain conditions, a technical college. This bill changes the definition of "school bus" to explicitly include a motor vehicle that satisfies the above conditions and that is used for the purpose of transporting pupils to or from a charter school.

Also under current law, if a motor vehicle providing pupil transportation gets into an accident, the accident must be reported to the school board within ten days after its occurrence.

Under this bill, the accident must, if applicable, be reported to the governing body of a charter school or the governing body of a private school.

Under current law, a person may not operate or knowingly permit the operation of a motor vehicle if the registration for that vehicle is suspended, revoked, or canceled. A person who violates this prohibition may be required to forfeit not more than $200 if the vehicle involved in the violation is an automobile or weighs 10,000 pounds or less and may be required to forfeit not more than $500 if the vehicle involved is any other vehicle.

This bill specifically prohibits a person from operating or knowingly permitting the operation of a school bus, or motor vehicle used as an alternative method of pupil transportation, required to be covered by liability insurance unless such valid insurance is current on the school bus. A person who violates this prohibition may be required to forfeit not more than $500.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB930, s. 1 Section 1. 20.255 (2) (fv) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,7,3 20.255 (2) (fv) Milwaukee parental choice program; pupil assessments. A sum sufficient to pay the costs of acquiring, administering, and scoring the examinations required under ss. 118.30 (1s) and 119.23 (7) (b) 1.

AB930, s. 2 Section 2. 115.28 (7) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,7,14 115.28 (7) (b) Subject to the same rules and laws concerning qualifications of applicants and granting and revocation of licenses or certificates under par. (a), the state superintendent shall grant certificates and licenses to teachers in private schools, except that teaching experience requirements for such certificates and licenses may be fulfilled by teaching experience in either public or private schools. An applicant is not eligible for a license or certificate unless the state superintendent finds that the private school in which the applicant taught offered an adequate educational program during the period of the applicant's teaching therein. Private Except as provided in s. 119.23 (7) (b) 2., private schools are not obligated to employ only licensed or certified teachers.

AB930, s. 3 Section 3. 115.28 (27) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,8,2 115.28 (27) School assessment guide. Develop a guide for parents to use in assessing public and private schools, including charter schools. The guide shall include information on how to evaluate the academic performance of pupils enrolled in a school, a school's academic opportunities, a school's expenditures per enrolled pupil, the education and experience levels of teachers, and the opportunities for parental involvement in a school and classroom, and may include additional information. In developing the guide, the department shall consult with the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, the Wisconsin Charter Schools Association, the Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, and School Choice Wisconsin, Inc. The department shall post the guide on its Internet site and make copies of the guide available to schools upon request.

AB930, s. 4 Section 4. 118.125 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,8,17 118.125 (4) Transfer of records. Within 5 working days, a school district and a private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 shall transfer to another school or school district all pupil records relating to a specific pupil if the transferring school district or private school has received written notice from the pupil if he or she is an adult or his or her parent or guardian if the pupil is a minor that the pupil intends to enroll in the other school or school district or written notice from the other school or school district that the pupil has enrolled or from a court that the pupil has been placed in a juvenile correctional facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10p), or a secured residential care center for children and youth, as defined in s. 938.02 (15g). In this subsection, "school" and "school district" include any juvenile correctional facility, secured residential care center for children and youth, adult correctional institution, mental health institute, or center for the developmentally disabled, that provides an educational program for its residents instead of or in addition to that which is provided by public and private schools.

AB930, s. 5 Section 5. 118.19 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,8,22 118.19 (1) Any person seeking to teach in a public school, including a charter school, in a private school participating in the program under s. 119.23, or in a school or institution operated by a county or the state shall first procure a license or permit from the department.

AB930, s. 6 Section 6. 118.30 (1g) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,9,3 118.30 (1g) (a) 1. By August 1, 1998, each school board shall adopt pupil academic standards in mathematics, science, reading and writing, geography, and history. If the governor has issued The school board may adopt the pupil academic standards issued by the governor as an executive order under s. 14.23, the school board may adopt those standards no. 326, dated January 13, 1998.

AB930, s. 7 Section 7. 118.30 (1g) (a) 3. of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,9,9 118.30 (1g) (a) 3. The governing body of each private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 shall adopt pupil academic standards in mathematics, science, reading and writing, geography, and history. The governing body of the private school may adopt the pupil academic standards issued by the governor as executive order no. 326, dated January 13, 1998.

AB930, s. 8 Section 8. 118.30 (1s) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,9,12 118.30 (1s) Annually, the governing body of each private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 shall do all of the following:

AB930,9,15 (a) Administer the 4th grade examination adopted or approved by the state superintendent under sub. (1) to all pupils attending the 4th grade in the private school under s. 119.23.

AB930,9,18 (am) Administer the 8th grade examination adopted or approved by the state superintendent under sub. (1) to all pupils attending the 8th grade in the private school under s. 119.23.

AB930,9,21 (b) Administer the 10th grade examination adopted or approved by the state superintendent under sub. (1) to all pupils attending the 10th grade in the private school under s. 119.23.

AB930,9,24 (c) Administer to pupils attending the private school under s. 119.23 all other examinations in reading, mathematics, and science that are required to be administered to public school pupils under 20 USC 6311 (b) (3).

AB930, s. 9 Section 9. 118.30 (2) (b) 1. and 2. of the statutes are amended to read:

AB930,10,4 118.30 (2) (b) 1. If a pupil is enrolled in a special education program under subch. V of ch. 115, the school board or, operator of the charter school under s. 118.40 (2r), or governing body of the private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 shall comply with s. 115.77 (1m) (bg).

AB930,10,11 2. According to criteria established by the state superintendent by rule, the school board or, operator of the charter school under s. 118.40 (2r), or governing body of the private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 may determine not to administer an examination under this section to a limited-English speaking pupil, as defined under s. 115.955 (7), may permit the pupil to be examined in his or her native language or may modify the format and administration of an examination for such pupils.

AB930, s. 10 Section 10. 118.30 (2) (b) 5. of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,10,15 118.30 (2) (b) 5. Upon the request of a pupil's parent or guardian, the governing body of a private school participating in the program under s. 119.23 shall excuse the pupil from taking an examination administered under sub. (1s).

AB930, s. 11 Section 11. 119.16 (11) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,10,22 119.16 (11) Milwaukee parental choice program; report. Annually the board shall report to the legislature, in the manner provided under s. 13.172 (2), all of the costs it incurred in the previous school year in connection with the Milwaukee parental choice program under s. 119.23, including transportation costs and the costs of providing special education and related services to pupils attending private schools under s. 119.23.

AB930, s. 12 Section 12. 119.23 (2) (a) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,11,7 119.23 (2) (a) 7. The private school achieves accreditation by the Wisconsin North Central Association, the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, or any other organization recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation, by December 31 of the 3rd school year following the first school year that begins after June 30, 2006, in which it participates in the program under this section, or the private school was approved for scholarship funding for the 2005-06 school year by Partners Advancing Values in Education.

AB930, s. 13 Section 13. 119.23 (6m) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,11,11 119.23 (6m) (a) Each private school participating in the program under this section shall provide, annually to the department and upon request to any person, all of the following:

AB930,11,14 1. The results of all examinations administered to pupils under s. 118.30 (1s) and sub. (7) (b) 1. in the previous school year, categorized by subject area, grade, sex, race, disability, and economic status, except as provided in par. (b).

AB930,11,17 2. Rates of graduation, truancy, attendance, suspension, and expulsion in the previous school year, categorized as specified in subd. 1., except as provided in par. (b).

AB930,11,19 3. The private school's requirements for promotion from grade to grade and for graduation.

AB930,11,21 4. The number of pupils enrolled in the previous school year who were children with a disability, as defined s. 115.76 (5), except as provided in par. (b).

AB930,11,22 5. The private school's safety plan.

AB930,11,24 6. The services provided by the private school to pupils who are children with disabilities, as defined in s. 115.76 (5).

AB930,12,4 7. The private school's attrition rate for teachers in the previous school year, as compared to the statewide attrition rate in the previous school year and the attrition rate of the school district operating under this chapter in the previous school year.

AB930,12,7 8. The private school's budget, specifying all existing indebtedness and all anticipated revenue from all sources during the ensuing fiscal year and all proposed expenditures during the ensuing fiscal year.

AB930,12,8 9. The private school's academic standards adopted under s. 118.30 (1g) (a) 3.

AB930,12,13 (b) A private school participating in the program under this section is not required to categorize the information under par. (a) 1. and 2., or disclose the information under par. (a) 4., if the number of pupils in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual pupil.

AB930, s. 14 Section 14. 119.23 (7) (am) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB930,12,21 119.23 (7) (am) 1. An independent financial audit of the private school conducted by a certified public accountant, accompanied by the auditor's statement that the report is free of material misstatements and fairly presents pupil costs under sub. (4) (b) 1. The audit under this subdivision shall be limited in scope to those records that are necessary for the department to make payments under subs. (4) and (4m), except that the certified public accountant conducting the audit shall include a report on the private school's compliance with par. (b) 5. a. and c.

AB930, s. 15 Section 15. 119.23 (7) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB930,12,24 119.23 (7) (b) Each private school participating in the program under this section shall do all of the following: