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 1Section 1d. 118.51 (3) (intro.) of the statutes is created to read:
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, s. 1e 5Section 1e. 118.51 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
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, s. 1m 6Section 1m. 118.51 (3) (a) 1m. of the statutes is created to read:
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, s. 2 16Section 2. 118.51 (3) (a) 5. of the statutes is repealed.
SB2-engrossed, s. 3 17Section 3. 118.51 (3) (a) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
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, s. 4 24Section 4. 118.51 (3) (a) 7. of the statutes is amended to read:
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, s. 5 5Section 5. 118.51 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
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, s. 5g 13Section 5g. 118.51 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
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.
SB2-engrossed,9,2518 2. a. Except as provided in subd. 2. b., the resident school district determines
19that the costs of the special education or related services required in the
20individualized education program under s. 115.787 (2) for a child with a disability
21whose parent has submitted an application under par. (a), as proposed to be
22implemented by the nonresident school district, would impose upon the child's
23resident school district an undue financial burden in light of the resident school
24district's total economic circumstances, including its revenue limit under subch. VII
25of ch. 121, its ability to pay tuition costs for the pupil, and the per pupil special

1education or related services costs for children with disabilities continuing to be
2served by the resident school district.
SB2-engrossed,10,43 b. Subdivision 2. a. does not apply to a pupil who submits an application under
4par. (a) if the pupil relied upon the criteria set forth in par. (b) 1.
SB2-engrossed,10,125 (e) If an application is accepted by the nonresident school board under par. (c),
6the pupil may immediately begin attending the school or program in the nonresident
7school district and shall begin attending the school or program no later than the 15th
8day following receipt by the parent of the pupil of the notice of acceptance under par.
9(c). If the pupil has not enrolled in or attended school in the nonresident school
10district by the day specified in this paragraph, the nonresident school district may
11notify the pupil's parent, in writing, that the pupil is no longer authorized to attend
12the school or program in the nonresident school district.
SB2-engrossed, s. 5r 13Section 5r. 118.51 (5) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,10,1614 118.51 (5) (a) Permissible criteria. (intro.) Except as provided in sub. (3) (a)
152., the criteria for accepting and rejecting applications from nonresident pupils
16under sub. subs. (3) (a) and (3m) (a) may include only the following:
SB2-engrossed, s. 6 17Section 6. 118.51 (5) (a) 1. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,11,218 118.51 (5) (a) 1. (intro.) The availability of space in the schools, programs,
19classes, or grades within the nonresident school district. The nonresident school
20board shall determine the number of regular education and special education spaces
21available within the school district in the January meeting of the school board, except
22that for the 2011-12 school year the board shall determine the number of regular
23education and special education spaces available within the school district in the
24February meeting of the school board.
In determining the availability of space, the
25nonresident school board may consider criteria such as class size limits,

1pupil-teacher ratios, or enrollment projections established by the nonresident school
2board and may include in its count of occupied spaces all of the following:
SB2-engrossed, s. 6g 3Section 6g. 118.51 (5) (a) 1. b. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,11,54 118.51 (5) (a) 1. b. Pupils and siblings of pupils who have applied under sub.
5(3) (a) or (3m) (a) and are already attending the nonresident school district.
SB2-engrossed, s. 6r 6Section 6r. 118.51 (5) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,11,107 118.51 (5) (a) 1. c. If the nonresident school district is a union high school
8district, pupils who have applied under sub. (3) (a) or (3m) (a) and are currently
9attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district
10under this section.
SB2-engrossed, s. 7 11Section 7. 118.51 (5) (d) of the statutes is renumbered 118.51 (5) (d) 1. and
12amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,11,2113 118.51 (5) (d) 1. The school board of a nonresident school district may create
14a waiting list of pupils whose applications were rejected under sub. (3) (a) 3. The
15nonresident school board may accept pupils from a waiting list created under this
16paragraph until the 3rd Thursday in September but only if the pupil will be in
17attendance at the school or program in the nonresident school district on the 3rd
18Friday in September. Notwithstanding sub. (3) (a) 6., if a pupil is accepted from a
19waiting list created under this paragraph after the start of the school term, the
20parent shall immediately notify the resident school district of the pupil's intent to
21attend school in the nonresident school district for the current school term.
SB2-engrossed,11,23 223. The department shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this
23paragraph.
SB2-engrossed, s. 8 24Section 8. 118.51 (5) (d) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
SB2-engrossed,12,5
1118.51 (5) (d) 2. A pupil accepted from a waiting list created under this
2paragraph may attend the school or program in the nonresident school district even
3if the pupil has attended a school or program in the pupil's resident school district
4in the current school term, but not if the pupil has attended a school or program in
5a nonresident school district in the current school term.
SB2-engrossed, s. 9 6Section 9. 118.51 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,12,167 118.51 (8) Disciplinary records. Notwithstanding s. 118.125, for an
8application submitted under sub. (3) (a), by the first Friday following the first
9Monday in May, and within 10 days of receiving a copy of an application under sub.
10(3m) (c),
the resident school board shall provide to the nonresident school board to
11which a pupil has applied under this section, upon request by that school board, a
12copy of any expulsion findings and orders pertaining to the pupil, a copy of records
13of any pending disciplinary proceeding involving the pupil, a written explanation of
14the reasons for the expulsion or pending disciplinary proceeding and the length of
15the term of the expulsion or the possible outcomes of the pending disciplinary
16proceeding.
SB2-engrossed, s. 9m 17Section 9m. 118.51 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,13,518 118.51 (9) Appeal of rejection. If the nonresident school board rejects an
19application under sub. (3) (a) or (7), the resident school board prohibits a pupil from
20attending public school in a nonresident school district under sub. (3m) (d), (6), (7)
21or (12) (b) 1., or the nonresident school board prohibits a pupil from attending public
22school in the nonresident school district under sub. (11), the pupil's parent may
23appeal the decision to the department within 30 days after the decision. If the
24nonresident school board provides notice that the special education or related service
25is not available under sub. (12) (a), the pupil's parent may appeal the required

1transfer to the department within 30 days after receipt of the notice. If the resident
2school board provides notice of transfer under sub. (12) (b) 2., the pupil's parent may
3appeal the required transfer to the department within 30 days after receipt of the
4notice. The department shall affirm the school board's decision unless the
5department finds that the decision was arbitrary or unreasonable.
SB2-engrossed, s. 10 6Section 10. 118.51 (12) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB2-engrossed,13,177 118.51 (12) (am) Estimate of costs. 1. The nonresident school district shall
8prepare an estimate of the costs to provide the special education or related services
9required in the individualized education program developed under s. 115.787 (2) for
10a child with a disability whose parent has submitted an application under this
11section. For an application submitted for a child with a disability under sub. (3) (a),
12the nonresident school district shall provide a copy of the estimate of costs to the
13resident school district by the 3rd Friday following the first Monday in May. For an
14application submitted for a child with a disability under sub. (3m) (a), the
15nonresident school district shall provide a copy of the estimate of costs to the resident
16school district within 10 days after receiving or developing the individualized
17education program for the applicant.
SB2-engrossed,13,2218 2. Except as provided in subd. 3., if the nonresident school district fails to
19comply with the requirement under this section by the date specified, the
20nonresident school district may not charge the resident school district for any actual,
21additional costs incurred by the nonresident school district to provide the special
22education and related services for the child with a disability.
SB2-engrossed,13,2423 3. Subdivision 2. does not apply if the resident school district fails to comply
24with the requirements under sub. (3) (a) 1m.
SB2-engrossed, s. 11 25Section 11. 118.51 (12) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,14,13
1118.51 (12) (b) 1. If the estimate of the costs of the special education or related
2services required in the individualized education program under s. 115.787 (2) for a
3child with a disability whose parent has submitted an application under sub. (3) (a),
4as proposed to be implemented by the nonresident school district and as provided to
5the resident school district as required under par. (am)
, would impose upon the
6child's resident school district an undue financial burden in light of the resident
7school district's total economic circumstances, including its revenue limit under
8subch. VII of ch. 121, its ability to pay tuition costs for the pupil , and the per pupil
9special education or related services costs for children with disabilities continuing
10to be served by the resident school district, the child's resident school board may
11notify the child's parent and the nonresident school board by the first 2nd Friday
12following the first Monday in April June that the pupil may not attend the
13nonresident school district to which the child has applied.
SB2-engrossed, s. 11g 14Section 11g. 118.51 (15) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,14,2315 118.51 (15) (a) Application form. Prepare, distribute to school districts, and
16make available to parents an application form to be used by parents under sub. (3)
17(a) and an application form to be used by parents under sub. (3m) (a). The form shall
18include provisions that permit a parent to apply for transportation reimbursement
19under sub. (14) (b). The form shall require an applicant who is applying to attend
20a virtual charter school to indicate that he or she is applying to attend a virtual
21charter school, the number of virtual charter schools to which he or she is applying,
22and whether he or she is a sibling of a pupil currently enrolled in a virtual charter
23school through the open enrollment program.
SB2-engrossed, s. 11k 24Section 11k. 118.51 (15) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 118.51 (15) (c)
25(intro.) and amended to read:
SB2-engrossed,15,3
1118.51 (15) (c) Annual report. (intro.) Annually submit a report to the governor,
2and to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3), on
3the
. The report under this paragraph shall include all of the following information:
SB2-engrossed,15,5 41. The number of pupils who applied to attend public school in a nonresident
5school district under this section, the.
SB2-engrossed,15,6 63. The number of applications denied and the bases for the denials, and the.
SB2-engrossed,15,12 74. The number of pupils attending public school in a nonresident school district
8under this section. The department shall specify, separately, the number of pupils
9attending public school in a nonresident school district whose applications were
10accepted under subs. (3) (a) 3. and (3m) (c), and, for the applications accepted under
11sub. (3m) (c), the number of pupils attending under each of the criteria listed in sub.
12(3m) (b)
.
SB2-engrossed, s. 11n 13Section 11n. 118.51 (15) (c) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
SB2-engrossed,15,1614 118.51 (15) (c) 2. The number of applications received under subs. (3) (a) and
15(3m) (a) and, for the applications received under sub. (3m) (a), the number of
16applications received under each of the criteria listed in sub. (3m) (b).
SB2-engrossed, s. 11r 17Section 11r. 121.91 (4) (p) of the statutes is created to read:
SB2-engrossed,15,2218 121.91 (4) (p) The limit otherwise applicable to a school district under sub. (2m)
19in any school year is increased by the amount of any reduction to that school district's
20state aid payment made under s. 118.51 (16) (b) 2. and (c) in the previous school year
21for a pupil who was not included in the calculation of the number of pupils enrolled
22in that school district in the previous school year.
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