LRB-1452/1
TKK:jld:jf
2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE
February 16, 2011 - Printed by direction of Assembly Chief Clerk.
SB2-engrossed,1,9
1An Act to repeal 118.51 (3) (a) 5.;
to renumber and amend 118.51 (5) (d) and
2118.51 (15) (c);
to amend 118.51 (3) (a) 1., 118.51 (3) (a) 2., 3. and 4., 118.51 (3)
3(a) 6., 118.51 (3) (a) 7., 118.51 (3) (b), 118.51 (5) (a) (intro.), 118.51 (5) (a) 1.
4(intro.), 118.51 (5) (a) 1. b., 118.51 (5) (a) 1. c., 118.51 (8), 118.51 (9), 118.51 (12)
5(b) 1. and 118.51 (15) (a); and
to create 118.51 (3) (intro.), 118.51 (3) (a) 1m.,
6118.51 (3m), 118.51 (5) (d) 2., 118.51 (12) (am), 118.51 (15) (c) 2. and 121.91 (4)
7(p) of the statutes;
relating to: changing timing of application process under
8the open enrollment program and permitting certain pupils to submit open
9enrollment 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,4,42
118.51
(3) (intro.) Except as provided under sub. (3m), the following procedures
3govern pupil applications to attend a public school in a nonresident school district
4under this section:
SB2-engrossed,5,56
118.51
(3) (a) 1. The parent of a pupil who wishes to attend a public school in
7a nonresident school district under this section shall submit an application, on a form
8provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the school board of the nonresident
9school district that the pupil wishes to attend, not earlier than the first Monday in
10February and not later than the
3rd Friday following the first Monday in February 11last weekday in April of the school year immediately preceding the school year in
12which the pupil wishes to attend. Applications may be submitted to no more than
13 nonresident school boards in any school year.
On the 4th Monday in February the 2The nonresident school board shall send a copy of the application to the pupil's
3resident school board and the department
by the end of the first weekday following
4the last weekday in April. The application may include a request to attend a specific
5school or program offered by the nonresident school district.
SB2-engrossed,5,107
118.51
(3) (a) 1m. By the first Friday following the first Monday in May, the
8resident school board shall send to the nonresident school district a copy of the
9individualized education program developed under s. 115.787 (2) for a child with a
10disability whose parent submitted an application under subd. 1.
SB2-engrossed, s. 1s
11Section 1s. 118.51 (3) (a) 2., 3. and 4. of the statutes are amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,6,212
118.51
(3) (a) 2. A nonresident school board may not act on any application
13received under subd. 1.
until after the 3rd Friday following the first Monday in
14February before May 1. If a nonresident school board receives more applications for
15a particular grade or program than there are spaces available in the grade or
16program, the nonresident school board shall determine which pupils to accept,
17including pupils accepted from a waiting list under sub. (5) (d), on a random basis,
18after giving preference to pupils and to siblings of pupils who are already attending
19the nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high
20school district, to pupils who are attending an underlying elementary school district
21of the nonresident school district under this section. If a nonresident school board
22determines that space is not otherwise available for open enrollment pupils in the
23grade or program to which an individual has applied, the school board may
24nevertheless accept a pupil or the sibling of a pupil who is already attending the
25nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high
1school district, a pupil who is attending an underlying elementary school district of
2the nonresident school district under this section.
SB2-engrossed,6,93
3.
On Except as provided under sub. (5) (d) 1., on or before the first Friday
4following the first Monday in
April June following receipt of the application, the
5nonresident school board shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has
6accepted the application.
If the nonresident school board has accepted the applicant,
7the school board shall identify the specific school or program that the applicant may
8attend in the following school year. If the nonresident school board rejects an
9application, it shall include in the notice the reason for the rejection.
SB2-engrossed,6,1510
4. On or before the
first 2nd Friday following the first Monday in
April June 11following receipt of a copy of the application, if a resident school board denies a pupil's
12enrollment in a nonresident school district under sub. (6), (7) or (12) (b) 1., the
13resident school board shall notify the applicant and the nonresident school board, in
14writing, that the application has been denied and include in the notice the reason for
15the denial.
SB2-engrossed,6,2318
118.51
(3) (a) 6.
If Except as provided in sub. (5) (d) 2., if an application is
19accepted, on or before the
first last Friday
following the first Monday in June
20following receipt of a notice of acceptance, or within 10 days of receiving a notice of
21acceptance if a pupil is selected from a waiting list under
sub. (5) (d) or s. 118.40 (8)
22(h) 5., the pupil's parent shall notify the nonresident school board of the pupil's intent
23to attend school in that school district in the following school year.
SB2-engrossed,7,4
1118.51
(3) (a) 7. If the department has not notified a virtual charter school of
2the pupils who may attend the school under s. 118.40 (8) (h) by the deadline for
3informing applicants under subd. 3.
or 5., the nonresident school district shall specify
4in its notices under subd. 3.
or 5. that the school district's acceptance is conditional.
SB2-engrossed,7,126
118.51
(3) (b)
Notice to resident school district. Annually by
June 30 July 7,
7each nonresident school board that has accepted a pupil under this section for
8attendance in the following school year shall report the name of the pupil to the
9pupil's resident school board. If a pupil is selected from a waiting list under s. 118.40
10(8) (h) 5., the nonresident school board shall report the name of the pupil to the pupil's
11resident school board within 10 days of receiving notice of the pupil's selection from
12the department.
SB2-engrossed,7,2114
118.51
(3m) Alternative application procedures under certain
15circumstances. (a) Notwithstanding sub. (3), the parent of a pupil who wishes to
16attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section may, in lieu
17of applying under sub. (3), submit an application under this subsection, on a form
18provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the school board of the nonresident
19school district that the pupil wants to attend if the pupil satisfies at least one of the
20criteria under par. (b). Applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident
21school boards in any school year.
SB2-engrossed,7,2422
(b) The parent of a pupil may apply under this subsection only if the pupil meets
23one of the following criteria, and shall describe the criteria that the pupil meets in
24the application:
SB2-engrossed,8,5
11. The resident school board determines that the pupil has been the victim of
2a violent criminal offense, as defined by the department by rule. An application
3made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board
4receives the application within 30 days after the determination of the resident school
5board.
SB2-engrossed,8,96
2. The pupil is or has been a homeless pupil in the current or immediately
7preceding school year. In this subdivision, "homeless pupil" means an individual who
8is included in the category of homeless children and youths, as defined in
42 USC
911434a (2).
SB2-engrossed,8,1110
3. The pupil has been the victim of repeated bullying or harassment and all of
11the following apply:
SB2-engrossed,8,1312
a. The pupil's parent has reported the bullying or harassment to the resident
13school board.
SB2-engrossed,8,1514
b. Despite action taken under subd. 3. a., the repeated bullying and harassment
15continues.
SB2-engrossed,8,2016
4. The place of residence of the pupil's parent or guardian and of the pupil has
17changed as a result of military orders. An application made on the basis of this
18criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no
19later than 30 days after the date on which the military orders changing the place of
20residence were issued.
SB2-engrossed,8,2321
5. The pupil moved into this state. An application made on the basis of this
22criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no
23later than 30 days after moving into this state.
SB2-engrossed,9,424
6. The place of residence of the pupil has changed as a result of a court order
25or custody agreement or because the pupil was placed in a foster home or with a
1person other than the pupil's parent, or removed from a foster home or from the home
2of a person other than the pupil's parent. An application made on the basis of this
3criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no
4later than 30 days after the pupil's change in residence.
SB2-engrossed,9,65
7. The parent of the pupil and the nonresident school board agree that
6attending school in the nonresident school district is in the best interests of the pupil.
SB2-engrossed,9,127
(c) If a nonresident school board receives an application under par. (a), the
8nonresident school board shall immediately forward a copy of the application to the
9resident school board, and shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has
10accepted the application no later than 20 days after receiving the application. If the
11nonresident school board has accepted the application, the nonresident school board
12shall identify the specific school or program that the pupil may attend.
SB2-engrossed,9,1513
(d) A resident school district may notify an applicant under par. (a) that the
14pupil may not attend a school or program in the nonresident school district only for
15the following reasons:
SB2-engrossed,9,1716
1. The resident school district determines that the criteria relied on by the
17applicant under par. (b) does not apply to the pupil.