LRB-3284/6
PG/ARG/TKK:cjs:nwn
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
March 11, 2008 - Introduced by Representatives Krusick, Pope-Roberts,
Staskunas, Turner and
Kessler, cosponsored by Senators Lehman and
Carpenter. Referred to Committee on Education Reform.
AB930,1,12
1An Act to renumber 343.12 (9);
to amend 115.28 (7) (b), 118.125 (4), 118.19 (1),
2118.30 (1g) (a) 1., 118.30 (2) (b) 1. and 2., 119.23 (2) (a) 7., 119.23 (7) (am) 1.,
3119.23 (7) (e) 1., 119.23 (10) (d), 121.53 (4), 121.53 (6), 121.555 (1) (intro.),
4121.555 (1) (b), 121.555 (2) (intro.), 121.555 (2) (cm), 121.555 (6) (a), 340.01 (56)
5(a) 1., 341.03 (title), 341.03 (1) and 343.12 (4) (b);
to repeal and recreate
6119.23 (7) (f); and
to create 20.255 (2) (fv), 115.28 (27), 118.30 (1g) (a) 3., 118.30
7(1s), 118.30 (2) (b) 5., 119.16 (11), 119.23 (6m), 119.23 (7) (b), 119.23 (10) (a) 5.
8to 7., 119.23 (10) (a) 8., 119.23 (10) (am) 4., 121.555 (2m), 343.12 (1m) and 343.12
9(9) (b) of the statutes;
relating to: the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program;
10a school assessment guide; the operation of, and insurance requirements
11related to, school buses and alternative methods of pupil transportation;
12making an appropriation; and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes a number of changes in the laws governing the Milwaukee
Parental Choice Program (MPCP), under which a pupil who resides in the city of
Milwaukee may attend a private school at state expense under certain conditions.
In addition, the bill makes a number of changes in the laws governing the operation
of, and insurance requirements related to, school buses and alternative methods of
pupil transportation. The changes include the following:
Teacher licensure
Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, this bill directs each private school
participating in the MPCP to ensure that every teacher, supervisor, administrator,
and professional staff member holds a license or a permit to teach issued by the
Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Under current law, a person is not required
to be licensed to teach in any private school.
Pupil assessments
Current law requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer a nationally normed standardized test in reading, mathematics, and
science to pupils attending the school under the program in the fourth, eighth, and
tenth grades. This bill requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer the fourth, eighth, and tenth grade examinations adopted or approved by
DPI to pupils attending the school under the MPCP.
Current law requires each school board to adopt either its own academic
standards or the academic standards contained in the governor's executive order
issued on January 13, 1998. Identical provisions exist under current law for
independent charter schools. This bill requires the governing body of each private
school participating in the MPCP to adopt academic standards.
Under current law, each school board must administer to all pupils enrolled in
the school district in the third grade, including pupils enrolled in charter schools
(other than independent charter schools) located in the school district, a
standardized reading test developed by DPI. The independent charter schools are
required to administer this test to their third grade pupils. Private schools
participating in the MPCP are not required to administer this test. This bill imposes
this requirement on these private schools for pupils attending the schools under the
MPCP.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires public school assessments in
reading and mathematics in each of grades 3 to 8 and at least once in grades 10 to
12; and in science at least once in grades 3 to 5, 6 to 9, and 10 to 12. This bill imposes
this requirement on private schools participating in the MPCP for pupils attending
the schools under the MPCP.
The bill appropriates to DPI a sum sufficient to pay the costs of acquiring,
administering, and scoring the examinations.
Disclosure requirements
The bill requires each MPCP school to provide, annually to DPI and upon
request to any person, all of the following:
1. The results of all standardized tests administered in the previous school
year.
2. Rates of graduation, truancy, attendance, suspension, and expulsion in the
previous school year.
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
