SB2: Bill Text Engrossed

LRB-1452/1

TKK:jld:jf

2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

Engrossed 2011 Senate BILL 2

February 16, 2011 - Printed by direction of Assembly Chief Clerk.

SB2-engrossed,1,9 An Act to repeal 118.51 (3) (a) 5.; to renumber and amend 118.51 (5) (d) and 118.51 (15) (c); to amend 118.51 (3) (a) 1., 118.51 (3) (a) 2., 3. and 4., 118.51 (3) (a) 6., 118.51 (3) (a) 7., 118.51 (3) (b), 118.51 (5) (a) (intro.), 118.51 (5) (a) 1. (intro.), 118.51 (5) (a) 1. b., 118.51 (5) (a) 1. c., 118.51 (8), 118.51 (9), 118.51 (12) (b) 1. and 118.51 (15) (a); and to create 118.51 (3) (intro.), 118.51 (3) (a) 1m., 118.51 (3m), 118.51 (5) (d) 2., 118.51 (12) (am), 118.51 (15) (c) 2. and 121.91 (4) (p) of the statutes; relating to: changing timing of application process under the open enrollment program and permitting certain pupils to submit open enrollment applications outside of the regular application period.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Engrossment information:

The text of Engrossed 2011 Senate Bill 2, as passed by the senate on February 2, 2011, consists of the following documents adopted in the senate on February 2, 2011: the bill as affected by Senate Amendment 1 (as affected by the February 16, 2011, chief clerk's correction thereto); Senate Amendment 2 (as affected by Senate Amendment 2 thereto and as affected by the February 16, 2011, chief clerk's correction thereto); and Senate Amendment 3.

Content of Engrossed 2011 Senate Bill 2:

Under the Open Enrollment Program (OEP), a pupil may apply to attend a public school in a school district other than the pupil's resident school district (nonresident school district) if certain conditions are met. Current law establishes a time line for filing and processing applications under the OEP. An application to attend a school in a nonresident school district is due between the first Monday in February and the third Friday following the first Monday in February. A school board that receives an application must forward a copy of the application to the pupil's resident school board by the fourth Monday in February, and may not act on the application until after the third Friday following the first Monday in February. The resident school board may, under certain conditions, deny the pupil's enrollment in the nonresident school district; the resident school board must notify the applicant that its application has been rejected by the first Friday following the first Monday in April.

The nonresident school board must notify the pupil whether it has accepted the application by the first Friday following the first Monday in April and must provide the pupil with information about the specific program or school the pupil would attend by the second Friday following the first Monday in May. The pupil must inform the nonresident school board whether he or she will attend a school in the nonresident school district by the first Friday following the first Monday in June. By June 30, the nonresident school board must report the name of each pupil accepted under the OEP to the pupil's resident school board. Current law permits a nonresident school district to deny enrollment to a pupil who has been expelled from school for certain reasons, including for engaging in conduct while at school that endangered the health safety or property of others. A resident school district must provide copies of the disciplinary records of a pupil who has applied under the OEP to a nonresident school district that makes a request for such records.

This bill changes the time line for filing and processing applications under the OEP. Under the new time line, the nonresident school district must determine the number of regular education and special education spaces available within the school district at the January meeting of the nonresident school board (and, for the 2011-12 school year, at the February meeting of the nonresident school board). An application to attend a school in a nonresident school district is due between the first Monday in February and the last weekday in April. A nonresident school board that receives an application must forward a copy of the application to the pupil's resident school district by the end of the first weekday following the last weekday in April. The nonresident school board may not act on the application before May 1. The bill requires a resident school district to provide to a nonresident school district records pertaining to disciplinary proceedings involving a pupil who has applied to the nonresident school district under the OEP by the first Friday following the first Monday in May.

The bill also requires the resident school district to forward a copy of the individualized education program (IEP) prepared for a child with a disability who applies to the nonresident district under the OEP. If the resident school district fails to comply with this requirement, the nonresident school district may charge the resident school district for any actual, additional costs incurred by the school district to provide the special education and related services to the child. This bill requires the nonresident school district to prepare an estimate of the costs to implement an IEP prepared for a child with a disability who has applied to attend a school or program in the nonresident school district, and to provide the resident school district with a copy of the estimate by the third Friday following the first Monday in May. If the nonresident school district fails to provide the information by the required date, the nonresident school district may not charge the resident school district for the costs to provide the special education and related services to the child with a disability. If the resident school board will deny the pupil's enrollment in the nonresident school district, the resident school board must notify the applicant that its application has been rejected on or before the second Friday following the first Monday in June.

The nonresident school board must notify the pupil whether it has accepted the application on or before the first Friday following the first Monday in June, and if the school board has accepted the application, it must provide the pupil with information about the specific program or school the pupil would attend at that time. The pupil must inform the nonresident school board whether he or she will attend a school in the nonresident school district by the last Friday in June. By July 7, the nonresident school board must report the name of each pupil accepted under the OEP to the pupil's resident school board.

The bill also creates an alternative application process, with a separate time line, under the OEP. Under the alternative process, the pupil must satisfy one of the following criteria: 1) the resident school district determines that the pupil has been the victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) by rule; 2) the pupil is or has been a homeless pupil in the current or immediately preceding school year; 3) the pupil has been the victim of repeated bullying or harassment, the parent has reported the bullying or harassment to the resident school board, and the repeated bullying or harassment continues; 4) the place of residence of the pupil's parent or guardian and of the pupil has changed as a result of military orders; 5) the pupil has moved into this state; 6) the place of residence of the pupil has changed as a result of a court order or custody agreement or because the pupil was placed in a foster home or with a person other than the pupil's parent, or removed from a foster home or from the home of a person other than the pupil's parent; or 7) the parent of the pupil and the nonresident school board agree that attending school in the nonresident school district is in the best interests of the pupil.

A nonresident school district that receives an application under the alternative time line must immediately forward a copy to the resident school board and must notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has accepted the application no later than 20 days after receiving it. The resident school district may notify an applicant that the pupil may not attend a school or program in the nonresident school district only if it determines that the criterion relied on by the applicant does not apply to the pupil or determines that the costs of special education or related services would impose an undue financial burden on the child's resident school district.

Current law limits the increase in the total amount of revenue per pupil that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes to the amount of revenue increase allowed per pupil in the previous school year increased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. Several adjustments to the revenue limits are permitted. This bill permits a school district to increase the revenue limit applicable to the school by the amount of any reduction to the school district's payment from DPI in the previous year for a pupil who was not included in the calculation of the number of pupils enrolled in that school district in the previous year.

Current law requires DPI to annually report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature on the number of pupils who applied to attend school in a nonresident school district under the OEP, the number of applications denied, and the bases for the denials, and the number of pupils attending public school in a nonresident school district under the OEP. This bill requires DPI to provide more detailed information about participation in the OEP, including information about whether pupils were accepted under the regular or alternative application process and, if the latter, which criterion the applicant applied under.

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

SB2-engrossed, s. 1d Section 1d. 118.51 (3) (intro.) of the statutes is created to read:

SB2-engrossed,4,4 118.51 (3) (intro.) Except as provided under sub. (3m), the following procedures govern pupil applications to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section:

SB2-engrossed, s. 1e Section 1e. 118.51 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB2-engrossed,5,5 118.51 (3) (a) 1. The parent of a pupil who wishes to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section shall submit an application, on a form provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the school board of the nonresident school district that the pupil wishes to attend, not earlier than the first Monday in February and not later than the 3rd Friday following the first Monday in February last weekday in April of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the pupil wishes to attend. Applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident school boards in any school year. On the 4th Monday in February the The nonresident school board shall send a copy of the application to the pupil's resident school board and the department by the end of the first weekday following the last weekday in April. The application may include a request to attend a specific school or program offered by the nonresident school district.

SB2-engrossed, s. 1m Section 1m. 118.51 (3) (a) 1m. of the statutes is created to read:

SB2-engrossed,5,10 118.51 (3) (a) 1m. By the first Friday following the first Monday in May, the resident school board shall send to the nonresident school district a copy of the individualized education program developed under s. 115.787 (2) for a child with a disability whose parent submitted an application under subd. 1.

SB2-engrossed, s. 1s Section 1s. 118.51 (3) (a) 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes are amended to read:

SB2-engrossed,6,2 118.51 (3) (a) 2. A nonresident school board may not act on any application received under subd. 1. until after the 3rd Friday following the first Monday in February before May 1. If a nonresident school board receives more applications for a particular grade or program than there are spaces available in the grade or program, the nonresident school board shall determine which pupils to accept, including pupils accepted from a waiting list under sub. (5) (d), on a random basis, after giving preference to pupils and to siblings of pupils who are already attending the nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high school district, to pupils who are attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district under this section. If a nonresident school board determines that space is not otherwise available for open enrollment pupils in the grade or program to which an individual has applied, the school board may nevertheless accept a pupil or the sibling of a pupil who is already attending the nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high school district, a pupil who is attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district under this section.

SB2-engrossed,6,9 3. On Except as provided under sub. (5) (d) 1., on or before the first Friday following the first Monday in April June following receipt of the application, the nonresident school board shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has accepted the application. If the nonresident school board has accepted the applicant, the school board shall identify the specific school or program that the applicant may attend in the following school year. If the nonresident school board rejects an application, it shall include in the notice the reason for the rejection.

SB2-engrossed,6,15 4. On or before the first 2nd Friday following the first Monday in April June following receipt of a copy of the application, if a resident school board denies a pupil's enrollment in a nonresident school district under sub. (6), (7) or (12) (b) 1., the resident school board shall notify the applicant and the nonresident school board, in writing, that the application has been denied and include in the notice the reason for the denial.

SB2-engrossed, s. 2 Section 2. 118.51 (3) (a) 5. of the statutes is repealed.

SB2-engrossed, s. 3 Section 3. 118.51 (3) (a) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB2-engrossed,6,23 118.51 (3) (a) 6. If Except as provided in sub. (5) (d) 2., if an application is accepted, on or before the first last Friday following the first Monday in June following receipt of a notice of acceptance, or within 10 days of receiving a notice of acceptance if a pupil is selected from a waiting list under sub. (5) (d) or s. 118.40 (8) (h) 5., the pupil's parent shall notify the nonresident school board of the pupil's intent to attend school in that school district in the following school year.

SB2-engrossed, s. 4 Section 4. 118.51 (3) (a) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB2-engrossed,7,4 118.51 (3) (a) 7. If the department has not notified a virtual charter school of the pupils who may attend the school under s. 118.40 (8) (h) by the deadline for informing applicants under subd. 3. or 5., the nonresident school district shall specify in its notices under subd. 3. or 5. that the school district's acceptance is conditional.

SB2-engrossed, s. 5 Section 5. 118.51 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB2-engrossed,7,12 118.51 (3) (b) Notice to resident school district. Annually by June 30 July 7, each nonresident school board that has accepted a pupil under this section for attendance in the following school year shall report the name of the pupil to the pupil's resident school board. If a pupil is selected from a waiting list under s. 118.40 (8) (h) 5., the nonresident school board shall report the name of the pupil to the pupil's resident school board within 10 days of receiving notice of the pupil's selection from the department.

SB2-engrossed, s. 5g Section 5g. 118.51 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB2-engrossed,7,21 118.51 (3m) Alternative application procedures under certain circumstances. (a) Notwithstanding sub. (3), the parent of a pupil who wishes to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section may, in lieu of applying under sub. (3), submit an application under this subsection, on a form provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the school board of the nonresident school district that the pupil wants to attend if the pupil satisfies at least one of the criteria under par. (b). Applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident school boards in any school year.

SB2-engrossed,7,24 (b) The parent of a pupil may apply under this subsection only if the pupil meets one of the following criteria, and shall describe the criteria that the pupil meets in the application:

SB2-engrossed,8,5 1. The resident school board determines that the pupil has been the victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined by the department by rule. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application within 30 days after the determination of the resident school board.

SB2-engrossed,8,9 2. The pupil is or has been a homeless pupil in the current or immediately preceding school year. In this subdivision, "homeless pupil" means an individual who is included in the category of homeless children and youths, as defined in 42 USC 11434a (2).

SB2-engrossed,8,11 3. The pupil has been the victim of repeated bullying or harassment and all of the following apply:

SB2-engrossed,8,13 a. The pupil's parent has reported the bullying or harassment to the resident school board.

SB2-engrossed,8,15 b. Despite action taken under subd. 3. a., the repeated bullying and harassment continues.

SB2-engrossed,8,20 4. The place of residence of the pupil's parent or guardian and of the pupil has changed as a result of military orders. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 30 days after the date on which the military orders changing the place of residence were issued.

SB2-engrossed,8,23 5. The pupil moved into this state. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 30 days after moving into this state.

SB2-engrossed,9,4 6. The place of residence of the pupil has changed as a result of a court order or custody agreement or because the pupil was placed in a foster home or with a person other than the pupil's parent, or removed from a foster home or from the home of a person other than the pupil's parent. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 30 days after the pupil's change in residence.

SB2-engrossed,9,6 7. The parent of the pupil and the nonresident school board agree that attending school in the nonresident school district is in the best interests of the pupil.