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:
Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the joint
legislative council's special committee on strengthening Wisconsin families.
Under current law, s. 38.04 (21), stats., requires the Wisconsin technical college
system (WTCS) board to submit an annual report to the department of administration,

department of public instruction, department of workforce development, and to the
legislature.
This bill amends s. 38.04 (21), stats., to include data related to adult basic
education (ABE) among the information the board is required to include in the annual
report.
The bill also requires the board to develop a plan to increase the number of pupils
who enroll in diploma or degree programs, who previously completed an ABE program
at a technical college. The plan requires the board to set 5-year goals with annual
benchmarks for the number of students who transition from an ABE program to a
technical college diploma or degree program.
Under current law, a technical college may require the prerequisite of a high school
diploma, general educational development credential (GED), or high school equivalency
diploma (HSED) to enroll in technical college diploma and degree programs.
This bill creates s. 38.31, stats., relating to a concurrent enrollment admissions
program. Under the proposed program, the board shall allow pupils to concurrently
enroll in a diploma or degree program and an ABE program. The proposed program also
allows the board to require a high school diploma, GED, or HSED for enrollment in
certain diploma and degree programs.
Under current law, s. 39.435 (1), stats., relating to Wisconsin higher education
grants (WHEG) requires half-time enrollment in order for a pupil to be eligible for the
higher education grant program.
This bill amends s. 39.435 (1), stats., to remove the requirement of half-time
enrollment for higher education grant eligibility under s. 39.435 (1), stats., for students
enrolled in the Wisconsin technical college system. The bill amends s. 39.435 (3), stats.,
relating to the amount of grants under s. 39.435 (1), stats., to reflect the modification of
the half-time enrollment requirement under s. 39.435 (1), stats.
The bill also amends s. 39.435 (3), stats., to remove eligibility for grants under s.
39.435 (1), stats., for students who have earned more than 135 credits.
AB439, s. 1 1Section 1. 38.01 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 38.01 (1m).
AB439, s. 2 2Section 2. 38.01 (1d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB439,2,53 38.01 (1d) "Adult basic education program" includes the following programs:
4family literacy, general educational development, high school equivalency, English
5as a second language, and workplace education.
AB439, s. 3 6Section 3. 38.04 (8m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB439,3,57 38.04 (8m) Adult basic education transition plan. (a) Annually by January
81, the board shall develop a plan to increase the number of students who enroll in
9vocational diploma or associate degree programs after completing an adult basic
10education program at a technical college. The plan shall specify each district board's

1goals and objectives for such adult basic education graduate transition. The plan
2shall outline activities and programs that enhance adult basic education graduate
3transition and shall review the progress made by the board and by the district boards
4in the previous school year. The plan shall outline the efforts made to publicize
5activities and programs that enhance adult basic education graduate transition.
AB439,3,96 (b) Every 5th year, the board shall promulgate rules establishing 5-year goals
7with annual benchmarks for the number of students who enroll in vocational
8diploma or associate degree programs after completing an adult basic education
9program at a technical college.
AB439, s. 4 10Section 4. 38.04 (21) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,3,1411 38.04 (21) Pupils attending technical colleges; board report. (intro.) (am)
12Annually by the 3rd Monday in February the board shall submit a report to the
13department of administration, department of public instruction and department of
14workforce development, and to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).
AB439,3,16 15(bm) The report under par. (am) shall specify all of the following by school
16district:
AB439, s. 5 17Section 5. 38.04 (21) (a) to (e) of the statutes are renumbered 38.04 (21) (bm)
181. to 5.
AB439, s. 6 19Section 6. 38.04 (21) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:
AB439,3,2020 38.04 (21) (cm) The report under par. (am) shall also specify all of the following:
AB439,3,2321 1. The number of students who were enrolled in, and the number of students
22who completed, each adult basic education program at each technical college in the
23previous school year.
AB439,4,3
12. The number of students who earned a certificate of general educational
2development or completing a high school equivalency diploma in the previous school
3year after completing an adult basic education program at a technical college.
AB439,4,84 3. The number of students who were enrolled in a vocational diploma or
5associate degree program at a technical college in the previous school year after
6completing an adult basic education program at a technical college, and the type of
7vocational diploma or associate degree program in which each such student was
8enrolled.
AB439,4,129 4. The number of students who completed a vocational diploma or associate
10degree program at a technical college in the previous school year after completing an
11adult basic education program at a technical college within the previous 5 school
12years.
AB439,4,1413 5. The type of adult basic education program completed by each student under
14subds. 2., 3., and 4.
AB439, s. 7 15Section 7. 38.24 (1m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,4,2516 38.24 (1m) (b) Postsecondary and vocational-adult programs. Uniform fees
17based on not less than 14% of the combined estimated statewide operational cost of
18postsecondary, exclusive of collegiate transfer, and vocational-adult programs. The
19board shall maintain statewide uniformity in the program fees charged for
20postsecondary and vocational-adult credits. Students 62 years old and over shall be
21exempted from program fees under this paragraph in vocational-adult programs.
22Students enrolled in adult high school, including students enrolled under s. 118.15
23(1) (cm) 3., adult basic education skills, and English as a 2nd language courses shall
24be exempted from program fees under this paragraph. The board shall establish fees
25under this paragraph as if students exempt from fees under sub. (4) were not exempt.
AB439, s. 8
1Section 8. 38.27 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,5,52 38.27 (1) (a) The creation or expansion of adult high school, adult basic
3education skills, and English as a 2nd language courses. The board shall give
4priority to courses serving minority, unemployed, disadvantaged or handicapped
5students.
AB439, s. 9 6Section 9. 38.31 of the statutes is created to read:
AB439,5,14 738.31 Concurrent enrollment. (1) The district board shall allow a student
8to enroll concurrently in a program leading to a certificate of general educational
9development, a high school equivalency diploma, or a high school diploma, and in a
10vocational diploma or associate degree program unless the board has determined
11under sub. (2) that the vocational diploma or associate degree program includes one
12or more courses that require the student to first obtain a certificate of general
13educational development, a high school equivalency diploma, or a high school
14diploma.
AB439,5,18 15(2) The board shall determine whether enrollment in a vocational diploma or
16associate degree program requires a student to first obtain a certificate of general
17educational development, a high school equivalency diploma, or a high school
18diploma, and shall publish a list of those that do.
AB439,5,20 19(3) The board shall identify and approve those basic education courses that also
20satisfy curricular requirements for vocational diploma or associate degree programs.
AB439,5,22 21(4) The board shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this section,
22including rules establishing criteria for making the determinations under sub. (2).
AB439, s. 10 23Section 10. 39.435 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,6,824 39.435 (1) There is established, to be administered by the board, a higher
25education grant program for postsecondary resident students enrolled at least

1half-time and registered as freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors in accredited
2institutions of higher education or in tribally controlled colleges in this state who
3have earned no more than 135 credits. The requirement of at least half-time
4enrollment does not apply to students enrolled in a technical college
. Except as
5authorized under sub. (5), such grants shall be made only to students enrolled in
6nonprofit public institutions or tribally controlled colleges in this state. There is no
7limit on the number of consecutive semesters for which a student may receive a grant
8under this subsection.
AB439, s. 11 9Section 11. 39.435 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,6,1610 39.435 (3) Grants under sub. (1) shall not be less than $250 or the actual cost
11of fees and tuition, whichever is lower,
during any one academic year, unless the joint
12committee on finance approves an adjustment in the amount of the minimum grant.
13Grants under sub. (1) shall not exceed $3,000 during any one academic year. The
14board shall, by rule, establish a reporting system to periodically provide student
15economic data and shall promulgate other rules the board deems necessary to assure
16uniform administration of the program.
AB439, s. 12 17Section 12. 85.107 (3) (am) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,6,2218 85.107 (3) (am) Award scholarships of not more than $2,000 each to any
19targeted group member who is registered in his or her 2nd year of full-time
20enrollment in an associate degree program, as defined in s. 38.01 (1) (1m), or
21vocational diploma program, as defined in s. 38.01 (11), at a technical college in this
22state.
AB439, s. 13 23Section 13. 230.22 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB439,7,324 230.22 (3) Subject to s. 230.275, the administrator may establish separate
25recruitment, evaluation and certification procedures for certain entry professional

1positions. Vacancies in entry professional positions may be limited to persons with
2a degree from an institution of higher education, as defined in s. 108.02 (18), or a
3degree under an associate degree program, as defined in s. 38.01 (1) (1m).
AB439, s. 14 4Section 14 . Nonstatutory provisions.
AB439,7,85 (1) The board shall include the initial criteria determined under section 38.31
6(4) of the statutes, as created by this act, and the list of programs under section 38.31
7(2) of the statutes, as created by this act, in the first report under section 38.04 (21)
8of the statutes that is due after the effective date of this subsection.
AB439,7,129 (2) The board shall submit in proposed form the rules required under sections
1038.04 (8m) and 38.31 of the statutes, as created by this act, to the legislative council
11staff under section 227.15 (1) of the statutes no later than the first day of the 7th
12month beginning after publication.
AB439, s. 15 13Section 15. Initial applicability.
AB439,7,1614 (1) Wisconsin higher education grants. The treatment of section 39.435 (1)
15and (3) of the statutes first applies to Wisconsin higher education grants awarded by
16the higher educational aids board for the 2009-10 academic year.
AB439, s. 16 17Section 16. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the first day of the 13th
18month beginning after publication, except as follows:
AB439,7,1919 (1) Section 14 (2 ) of this act takes effect on the day after publication.
AB439,7,2020 (End)
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