Current law provides that 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, if the pupil is a minor. This bill provides that this prohibition does not apply
if all of a school district's public schools are converted to charter schools.
The bill requires that a charter school accept pupils at random if the capacity
of the school is insufficient to accept all applicants. A charter school must, however,
give preference to pupils who were enrolled in the school in the previous school year
and to siblings of currently enrolled pupils. In addition, the bill allows a charter
school to give preference, with certain limitations, to children of the charter school's
founders, governing board members, and full-time employees.
Current law provides that, unless otherwise explicitly provided, the school code
(chapters 115 to 121 of the Wisconsin statutes) does not apply to charter schools. This
bill prohibits a contract between a school board and the operator of a charter school
that is an instrumentality of a school district from imposing on the operator any
requirement in the school code that does not explicitly apply to charter schools.
The bill also requires that a contract between a school board and the operator
of a charter school that is an instrumentality of a school district do all of the following:
1. Specify the amount, which must be commensurate with the average per
pupil cost for the school district, to be paid to the charter school operator for each
pupil attending the charter school.
2. Grant the charter school operator sole discretion over the charter school's
budget, curriculum, professional development activities, hiring of personnel, and
personnel policies for the charter school, unless a decision in any of these areas
affects the health or safety of pupils.
Under current law, beginning in the 2013-14 school year, the state pays an
operator of a charter school that is operated by or under contract with an
independent charter school authorizer a per pupil amount in each school year that
is based on the per pupil amount the state paid in the previous school year and the
revenue limit adjustment for public schools.
Under this bill, in the 2013-14 school year, the state pays an operator of an
independent charter school a per pupil amount of $7,852 and, beginning in the
2014-15 school year, the state pays an operator of an independent charter school a
per pupil amount in each school year of $7,931.
Under current law, a pupil living in the city of Milwaukee or an eligible school
district (currently, only the Racine Unified School District) may, under a parental
choice program, attend a private school at state expense if, among other conditions,
the pupil is a member of a family that has a total family income that does not exceed
300 percent of the poverty level.
This bill expands the parental choice program for eligible school districts by
making eligible a school district having at least 4,000 pupils and in which two or more
schools in the district have been placed in a performance category of "fails to meet
expectations" or "meets few expectations" (qualifying categories) on an
accountability report published by DPI. If, after a school district has been identified
as an eligible school district, at least 20 pupils who reside in the school district apply
to attend private schools under the parental choice program, the eligible school
district becomes a qualifying eligible school district and qualifying pupils who reside
in that school district may attend a private school under the parental choice program.
In the 2013-14 school year, no more than 500 pupils residing in qualifying
eligible school districts may participate in the expanded parental choice program.
In the 2014-15 school year, participation cannot exceed 1,000 pupils.
Currently, under the parental choice programs, the state pays a participating
private school, for a pupil enrolled in the school under the program, the lesser of the
school's educational cost per pupil or the amount paid per pupil in the previous school
year increased by the percentage change in the amount appropriated as general
school aid. In the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years, however, the state pays the
school's educational cost per pupil or $6,442, whichever is less.
This bill changes the payments that the state makes to a private school
participating in a parental choice program as follows:
1. In the 2013-14 school year, for a pupil enrolled in the school under the
program, the state pays the lesser of the school's educational cost per pupil or $6,442.
2. In the 2014-15 school year and thereafter, for a pupil enrolled in the school
under the program, the state pays the lesser of the school's educational cost per pupil
or $7,050, if the pupil is in a grade from kindergarten to eight, or $7,856, if the pupil
is in a grade from nine to twelve.
Currently, a private school participating in a parental choice program must
accept applications submitted under the choice program on a random basis.
However, under current law, a participating private school may give a preference to
a sibling of a pupil who is accepted on a random basis. Under this bill, a participating
private school may, when accepting applications submitted under a choice program,
give preference to any of the following:
1. Pupils, or siblings of pupils, who attended the private school during the
school year prior to the school year for which the application is being made.
2. Siblings of pupils who have been accepted to the private school for the school
year for which the application is being made.
3. Pupils who attended any private school in a choice program during the school
year prior to the school year for which the application is being made.
Current law directs DPI to establish a student information system to collect
information about pupils enrolled in public schools, including their academic
performance and demographic information. Within five years of the system's
establishment, every school district must use the system. This bill includes charter
schools in the student information system. The bill also provides that within five
years of the system's establishment, every private school participating in a parental
choice program must use the system or use another system that is interoperable with
the state system.
This bill establishes a Special Needs Scholarship Program. Under the program,
a child with a disability may receive a scholarship to attend a public school located
outside the pupil's school district of residence, a charter school, or a private school,
if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The school has notified DPI of its intent to participate in the program and
the child has been accepted by the school.
2. If the school is a private school, it is approved as a private school by DPI or
is accredited.
3. An individualized education program (IEP) has been completed for the child.
4. The child attended a public school, attended a charter school, attended a
private school under a parental choice program, or did not attend school in this state,
in the previous school year.
Upon receipt of an application for a scholarship, DPI must review the child's
IEP and determine the amount of the child's scholarship. The amount is the lesser
of the cost to the child's school district of residence, the charter school, or private
school that the child wishes to attend, of providing regular instruction, instructional
and pupil support services, special education and related services, and
supplementary aids and services to the child plus the per pupil operating and debt
service costs; or the statewide cost per public school pupil in the previous school year
plus the per pupil amount appropriated for special education in the previous school
year. The number of scholarship recipients in any school year may not exceed five
percent of the total number of children with disabilities residing in this state in the
previous school year.
DPI pays the scholarship directly to the school district, charter school, or
private school. The scholarship continues while the child attends a school eligible
to participate in the program until he or she graduates from high school or until the
end of the school term in which he or she turns 21, whichever comes first.
Under the bill, a pupil attending a private school, or a public school outside the
pupil's school district of residence, under the program is counted for state aid
purposes by the pupil's school district of residence. However, the state aid paid to
that school district is reduced by the total amount of scholarships paid by DPI for
pupils who reside in that school district.
Each private school participating in the program must annually submit to DPI
a school financial report prepared by a certified public accountant. If the private
school expects to receive at least $50,000 in scholarships during a school year, it must
either file a surety bond with DPI or provide DPI with information demonstrating
that it has the ability to pay an amount equal to the total amount of scholarships that
it expects to receive.
The bill provides that if a child attends a private school under the program, his
or her school district of residence must provide transportation to and from the school
in certain circumstances. If the child attends a public school under the program, the
child's parent is responsible for transporting the child to and from school unless
transportation is required in the child's IEP. If the latter applies, the school district
that the child attends is responsible for transporting the child. The bill allows a
low-income pupil to apply to DPI for reimbursement of transportation costs.
The bill authorizes DPI to bar a school from participating in the program if the
school intentionally and substantially misrepresents information required under
the bill, routinely fails to comply with financial standards, uses a pupil's scholarship
for any purpose other than educational purposes, or fails to refund any scholarship
overpayments to the state. The bill directs the Legislative Audit Bureau to contract
for a study of the program.
Under the current part-time Open Enrollment Program, a high school pupil
may apply to take one or two courses at a public school located outside the pupil's
school district of residence under certain circumstances. The pupil's resident school
board must pay to the nonresident school board an amount equal to the cost of
providing the course to the pupil. The pupil's resident school board may reject the
pupil's application under one of two circumstances: 1) the course conflicts with the
pupil's IEP; or 2) the cost of paying for the pupil to attend the course would impose
an undue financial burden on the resident school district.
This bill allows pupils in all grades to participate in the program. The bill also
allows a pupil to attend a UW institution, a technical college, a nonprofit institution
of higher education, a tribal college, a charter school, or a nonprofit organization that
is approved by DPI. The bill prohibits the educational institution that the pupil
attends from charging to or receiving from a pupil or the pupil's resident school board
any payment that is in addition to the one determined by DPI.
The bill also eliminates the ability of a resident school board to reject an
application on the basis of undue financial burden. However, a resident school board
may reject an application if the school board determines that the course the pupil
wishes to take at an educational institution does not conform to or support the pupil's
academic and career plan or does not satisfy a high school graduation requirement.
This bill requires DPI to ensure that, beginning in the 2017-18 school year,
every school board is providing academic and career planning services to pupils
enrolled in grades 6 to 12. DPI is also required to purchase, install, and maintain
information technology that will be used by school districts statewide to provide
academic and career planning to pupils in grades 6 to 12 and to provide training and
technical assistance to school districts and school district staff related to
implementing academic and career plans.
Under current law, a pupil enrolled in a home-based private educational
program who has met the standards for admission to high school may take up to two
courses each semester in any school in the pupil's resident school district if there is
space in the classroom. This bill expands this opportunity to permit any pupil
enrolled in a home-based private educational program to attend up to two courses
in any public school in any school district in the state that has space. The bill permits
a school district that allows such a pupil to attend a course to count the pupil for
equalization aid purposes as 0.25 pupil for each course the pupil attends.
Current law requires the state superintendent of public instruction to adopt
examinations to be administered to pupils in grades four, eight, and ten. Current law
also requires the school board of each school district, the operator of each charter
school, and the governing body of each private school participating in a parental
choice program to administer the examinations to pupils enrolled in those grades in
each school in the district, in the charter school, and in the participating private
school, respectively.
This bill requires the state superintendent of public instruction to adopt
examinations to be administered, beginning in the 2014-15 school year, to pupils in
grades nine and eleven in the same manner as examinations are administered in
grades four, eight, and ten.
Under current law, each school board and each independent charter school
must annually assess all pupils in four-year-old and five-year-old kindergarten for
reading readiness using an assessment selected by DPI. If a reading readiness
assessment indicates that a pupil is at risk of reading difficulty, the school board or
charter school must provide the pupil with certain reading services.
Under this bill, beginning in the 2014–15 school year, each school board and
each independent charter school must annually assess all pupils in four-year-old
kindergarten to grade two for reading readiness and provide reading services to any
pupil who is determined to be at risk of reading difficulty.
This bill directs DPI, annually by June 30, to publish a school and school district
accountability report that includes the following components:
1. Multiple measures to determine performance, including pupil achievement
and growth in reading and mathematics; measures of college and career readiness;
and gaps in pupil achievement and rates of graduation, categorized by race, English
language proficiency, disability, and income.
2. An index system to identify a school's level of performance and place each
school into one of five performance categories.
Within one year after an independent charter school, or a private school
participating in a parental choice program, begins using the student information
system established by DPI, DPI must include the school in its annual school
accountability report.
This bill creates a grant program through which a qualifying school may receive
an award related to the school's performance on the accountability reports issued by
DPI. The bill identifies three categories of qualifying schools: 1) schools placed in
a performance category of "significantly exceeds expectations" or "exceeds
expectations" on the most recent accountability report; 2) schools that increase the
score received on the most recent accountability report by at least three points over
the previous accountability report; and 3) schools placed in a performance category
of "fails to meet expectations" on the most recent accountability report and that
submit a comprehensive school improvement plan to DPI.
Under current law, DPI must develop an educator effectiveness evaluation
system (EEES). School districts and independent charter school operators must
employ the EEES to evaluate teachers and principals on a variety of measures. This
bill permits DPI to charge a fee to school districts and independent charter schools
to use the EEES developed by DPI. The bill also permits DPI to award grants to
school districts to implement an EEES or equivalent evaluation process.
This bill directs DPI to grant a charter school teaching license to any person who
has a bachelor's degree and demonstrates that he or she is proficient in the subject
or subjects that he or she intends to teach. The license authorizes the person to teach
that subject or those subjects in a charter school. The bill does not explicitly limit
the person to teaching only certain grades. The license is valid for three years and
may be renewed.
This bill eliminates a requirement that any person teaching an online course
in a public school, including a charter school, complete at least 30 hours of related
professional development. The bill also prohibits DPI from requiring a teacher
licensed to teach in a virtual charter school to complete professional development not
required to be completed by teachers who do not teach in a virtual charter school.
Currently, DPI may issue an emergency permit to an applicant who has a
bachelor's degree, which authorizes the holder to be employed by a school board as
a professional school employee for one specific assignment. The permit is valid for
up to one year. This bill directs DPI to ensure that teaching experience gained while
a person held an emergency permit counts toward fulfillment of the teaching
experience requirement for a license based on experience or for an administrator's
license.
This bill prohibits DPI from requiring that a licensed teacher or instructional
staff member be physically present in the classroom when the delivery of content or
collaborative instruction in the classroom is being provided digitally or through an
online course.
Under current law, a school district that is created as the result of consolidation
is eligible to receive two types of additional state aid during the five school years
following the consolidation. The first type is an increased amount of equalization aid
that is the result of a 15 percent increase that is applied to the consolidated school
district's shared cost and guaranteed valuation. The second type is special
adjustment aid in an amount necessary to ensure that the consolidated school
district's general aid is at least equal to the total amount of general aid that the
consolidated districts received in the school year before the consolidation
(underlying district aid). This bill extends the period during which a consolidated
school district may receive these two types of additional aid to seven years following
consolidation and makes the following changes during the extension period:
1. For the sixth school year following the consolidation, a 10 percent increase
is applied to the consolidated school district's shared cost and guaranteed valuation
factors and the consolidated school district is guaranteed to receive at least 66
percent of the underlying district aid.
2. In the seventh year following the consolidation, a 5 percent increase is
applied to the consolidated school district's shared cost and guaranteed valuation
factors and the consolidated school district is guaranteed to receive at least 33
percent of the underlying district aid.
Current law directs DPI, the Board of Regents of the UW System, the Technical
College System Board, and the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities to enter into a written agreement requiring them to establish and
maintain a longitudinal data system of student data that links such data from
preschool programs to postsecondary programs. This bill requires that DCF and
DWD be parties to the agreement and that work force data be a part of the data
system.
This bill requires DPI to provide funding to Teach for America, Inc., to recruit
and prepare individuals to teach in low-income or urban school districts.
This bill increases the reimbursement rate to school districts for transporting
a pupil who lives more than 12 miles from the school the pupil attends from $220 per
school year to $275 per school year.
Current law directs DPI to award a grant to any teacher who is certified by the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards or who is licensed by DPI as a
master educator. A person awarded a grant is eligible for additional grants over the
succeeding nine years. Beginning with grants awarded in 2014-15, this bill requires
that a person who is receiving a grant and is licensed as a master educator have and
maintain a rating of "effective" or "highly effective" in the applicable educator
effectiveness system.
This bill directs DPI to develop and maintain an online resource, called
WISElearn, to provide educational resources for parents, teachers, and pupils; offer
online learning opportunities; provide regional technical support centers; provide
professional development for teachers; and enable video conferencing.
Higher education
Under current law, technical colleges receive funding from various sources,
including property taxes levied by technical college district boards. Current law also
makes various appropriations for technical colleges, including a specified amount of
state aid each fiscal year that the Technical College System (TCS) Board is required
to allocate to each technical college district. Current law requires the TCS Board to
allocate the state aid to districts based on a formula that specifies the costs eligible
for the state aid. The formula also allocates a greater percentage of the state aid to
districts that have lower property valuations, which are not able to generate as much
property tax revenue as districts with higher property valuations.
This bill gradually replaces, in accordance with a specified schedule, the
formula under current law with a new formula established by the TCS Board for
allocating the state aid based on a technical college district's performance regarding
all of the following criteria (performance criteria): 1) student job placement rates; 2)
the number of degrees and certificates awarded in high-demand fields; 3) the
number of programs or courses with industry-validated curriculum; 4) the
transition of adult students from basic education to skills training; 5) participation
in certain dual enrollment programs; and 6) workforce training provided to
businesses and individuals. No later than December 31, 2013, the TCS Board must
submit a plan for making allocations according to the new formula to the secretary
of administration (secretary). Upon approval or modification by the secretary, the
TCS Board must administer the plan. The bill also requires the TCS Board to submit
a report to the secretary in each fiscal year that describes how the state aid is
allocated to each technical college district under the new formula.
This bill directs the Board of Regents of the UW System to award grants to UW
institutions to provide funding for:
1. Economic development programs.
2. Programs that have as their objective the development of an educated and
skilled workforce.
3. Programs to improve the affordability of postsecondary education for
resident undergraduates.
The bill directs the Board of Regents to report annually to DOA on the programs
awarded a grant. The report must include the goals, budget, and results for each
program and a systemwide summary of all programs funded.
The bill consolidates a number of separate appropriations to the TCS Board for
grants to technical college districts for various purposes except for aid for driver
training. The bill provides that all such grants are discretionary, not mandatory, and
authorizes the TCS Board to award grants to district boards for activities related to
improving district performance.
Current law imposes a limit of 1.5 mills on the property taxes levied by a
technical college district board for the operation of the district. This bill eliminates
that limit.
This bill imposes a limit on the increase in a technical college district board's
operating levy. Under the bill, no district board may increase its tax levy by a
percentage that exceeds a percentage equal to the greater of zero percent or the
percentage change in the district's equalized value due to the aggregate new
construction, less improvements removed, in municipalities located in the district
during the previous year.
If a district board's allowable levy is greater than its actual levy in any year, the
district board may by a three-fourths vote increase its limit in the succeeding year
by the difference, up to a maximum of 0.5 percent of its actual levy. If a district board
wishes to exceed its limit, it must adopt a resolution to that effect and hold a
district-wide referendum. If a district board exceeds its limit without the approval
of the electors, the state technical college system board must reduce the district's aid
payments by the amount of the excess.
Current law requires that the Board of Regents of the UW System and the
chancellor of UW-Madison submit compensation plans for UW employees to the
director of the Office of State Employment Relations (OSER), who then makes
recommendations for UW employee compensation to the Joint Committee on
Employment Relations (JCOER) for approval. This bill eliminates the requirements
that the Board of Regents and the chancellor of UW-Madison submit the plans to the
director of OSER and receive JCOER approval. In addition, the bill eliminates all
funding for the Board of Regents from the compensation reserve, a pool of moneys
used to fund salary adjustments for UW System employees. Under the bill, salary
adjustments are funded from moneys directly appropriated to the Board of Regents.
Current law requires the Board of Regents to establish policies for transferring
credits between institutions within the system. The policies must designate the
courses that are transferable without loss of credit toward graduation or toward
completion of a specific course of study. In addition, current law allows the Board of
Regents to establish policies for transferring credits with educational institutions
outside the system. Current law also allows the TCS Board, in agreement with the
Board of Regents, to designate courses that are transferable for collegiate credit
between the technical colleges and the UW System.
This bill requires the Board of Regents and the TCS Board to enter into an
agreement regarding transfer of credit for courses generally required for an
undergraduate degree that are prerequisite or otherwise in addition to the courses
required for an undergraduate degree in a specific course of study (core general
education courses). The agreement must ensure that, beginning in the 2014-15
academic year, not fewer than 30 credits of such courses are transferable within and
between each UW school and technical college. The agreement must also ensure that
the courses are transferrable without loss of credit toward graduation or toward
completion of a specific course of study.
The bill also requires the Board of Regents and the TCS Board to ensure that
in-state tribally controlled colleges (tribal colleges) and that nonprofit institutions
of higher education that are members of the Wisconsin Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities have an opportunity to participate in the agreement. If a
tribal college or private school participates, the agreement must ensure that credits
for core general educational courses are transferable within and between each
participating tribal college and private school, as well as UW schools and technical
colleges.
Under current law, a veteran who was a resident of this state when he or she
entered the armed forces and who meets certain additional criteria is eligible for a
full remission of tuition and segregated fees at a UW institution, or of tuition and
materials fees at a technical college, for 128 credits or eight semesters, whichever is
longer. This bill makes the following changes to this fee remission program for
eligible veterans:
1. The veteran must have been a resident of this state when he or she entered
the armed forces or for at least five consecutive years.
2. In determining a veteran's residence at the time he or she entered the armed
forces, the state from which the veteran entered is irrelevant.
3. A veteran must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 to
remain eligible for the fee remission.
Under current law, the spouse and children of a veteran who was a resident of
this state when he or she entered the armed forces and to whom one of the following
applies is eligible for the same tuition remission:
1. The veteran, while a state resident, died while on active duty, as the result
of a service-connected disability, or in the line of duty while in training.
2. The veteran has been awarded at least a 30 percent service-connected
disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Under current law, with certain exceptions, a spouse is eligible for a fee
remission under this program only if he or she is a state resident and only for the first
ten years after the veteran receives the disability rating or after the veteran dies.
A child is eligible only if he or she is a state resident and is at least 17 and not yet
26 years old. This bill makes the same changes to this fee remission program as it
makes to the first-described program and eliminates the ten-year limitation for a
spouse.
With certain exceptions, current law, beginning on July 1, 2013, prohibits the
Board of Regents and all UW Schools, including the UW-Extension (UW schools)
from being a member, shareholder, or partner in organizations that provide
telecommunications services, including Internet-related services. Current law
includes an exception for organizations that are comprised entirely of universities
and university-affiliated research facilities.
This bill creates a new exception for an organization that advances research or
higher education, except that an association called WiscNet does not qualify for the
new exception. The bill's new exception applies if the Board of Regents or a UW
school served as a member, shareholder, or partner in the organization on February
1, 2013, or if the DOA secretary determines that the organization qualifies for the
exception. If the bill's new exception applies, the Board of Regents or UW school may
use the organization's services and may also participate in the organization's
operations or provide certain services to the organization, but only if the
participation, or provision of services, is in connection with the Board of Regents' or
UW school's use of the organization's services.
This bill makes an appropriation to the Board of Regents for costs incurred by
the UW Carbone Cancer Center (center) that relate to translational imaging
research, research imaging and scanning, research imaging equipment, and the
Wisconsin Oncology Network. The bill also requires the center to submit a plan to
the secretary of administration for raising matching funds from federal, private, and
other sources to help defray the foregoing costs. The bill prohibits any release of
moneys from the appropriation until the secretary of administration approves the
fund-raising plan.
This bill directs the Board of Regents annually to allocate $1,500,000 for the
Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine and the Training in Urban Medicine and
Public Health Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Other educational and cultural agencies
Current law appropriates to the Higher Educational Aids Board certain
general purpose revenue for the support of Wisconsin residents who are pursuing
doctor of dental surgery degrees at the Marquette University Dental School and caps
the number of students who may be so funded at 160. This bill increases that cap
to 200.
Under current law, the Educational Approval Board (EAB) inspects and
approves private trade, correspondence, business, and technical schools to protect
the students of those schools, prevent fraud, and encourage accepted educational
standards at those schools. Currently, EAB is attached to the TCS Board for
administrative purposes. This bill attaches EAB to DSPS for administrative
purposes.
