AB379: Bill Text

Public schools

If DPI determines that a public school, other than a charter school, has performed at the lowest performance level for three consecutive school years, the school board must complete a DPI-approved, diagnostic review of the school and, based on the results of the review, do one of the following:

1. Implement DPI-approved improvement activities that significantly transform the school.

2. Convert the school to a charter school.

3. Close the school.

In addition, if the school board implements DPI-approved improvement activities, DPI must direct the school board to do one or more of the following:

1. Modify one or more of the activities performed by the school board, described above.

2. Implement a new or modified instructional design in the school.

3. Implement professional development programs in the school.

4. Implement changes in administrative and personnel structures in the school.

5. Adopt accountability measures to monitor the school district's finances or to monitor other interventions.

If the school board implements DPI-approved improvement activities, as described above, but the school fails to improve to at least the performance level of "meets few expectations" within three school years, the school board must convert the school to a charter school or close the school.

Charter schools

The bill provides that a contract for the establishment of a charter school must provide that if DPI determines that a charter school has performed at the lowest performance level for three consecutive school years, the school board or other entity that has contracted for the operation of the charter school must require that a remediation plan, approved by the school board or other entity, be implemented by the charter school operator. If the charter school operator implements a remediation plan but the school's performance fails to improve to at least the level of "meets few expectations" within three school years, the school board or other entity must revoke the school's charter. If a charter school's charter is revoked, the bill prohibits it from participating as a private school in a PCP.

Choice schools

If DPI determines that a private school participating in a PCP has performed at the lowest level for three consecutive school years, the bill requires the private school to notify its accrediting agency of the determination. If the private school's performance fails to improve to at least the level of "meets few expectations" within three school years of DPI's determination, DPI must issue an order barring the private school from participating in a PCP. A private school barred from participating in a PCP may not reopen as a charter school.

Charter schools; contracts

Under current law, an entity authorized to establish an independent charter school may do so itself or by contracting with a third party. This bill allows charter schools to be established by contract only.

Currently, school districts, and private schools participating in a PCP, are subject to various requirements relating to the transfer of a pupil's records when the pupil transfers to another school. This bill subjects independent charter schools to the same requirements.

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:

AB379,1 Section 1. 20.255 (1) (e) of the statutes, as affected by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is amended to read:

AB379,6,5 20.255 (1) (e) Student information system. As a continuing appropriation, the amounts in the schedule for the student information system under s. 115.28 (12) 115.383.

AB379,2 Section 2. 20.255 (1) (he) of the statutes, as created by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is amended to read:

AB379,6,10 20.255 (1) (he) Student information system; fees. All moneys received from fees charged as authorized under s. 115.28 (12) (b) 115.383 (3) (c) to be used for the student information system established under s. 115.28 (12) (a) 115.383 (1).

AB379,3 Section 3. 115.001 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB379,7,2 115.001 (1) Charter school. "Charter school" means a school under contract with a school board under s. 118.40 or with one of the entities an entity under s. 118.40 (2r) (b), or a school established and operated by one of the entities under s. 118.40 (2r) (b).

AB379,4 Section 4. 115.28 (12) (title) of the statutes is renumbered 115.383 (title).

AB379,5 Section 5. 115.28 (12) (a) of the statutes, as affected by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is renumbered 115.383 (1), and 115.383 (1) (a) and (c), as renumbered, are amended to read:

AB379,7,12 115.383 (1) (a) Develop a proposal for a multiple-vendor student information system for the standardized collection of pupil data. The proposal shall allow schools and school districts to use their vendor of choice and include reporting requirements that can reasonably be met by multiple vendors. The state superintendent may not establish a student information system unless the proposal is approved by the joint committee on finance under subd. 2 par. (b).

AB379,7,18 (c) If the proposal is approved under subd. 2. par. (b), the state superintendent shall ensure that information about pupils enrolled in charter schools and about pupils enrolled in private schools participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23, including their academic performance and demographic information, aggregated by school district, school, and teacher, is collected and maintained in the student information system.

AB379,6 Section 6. 115.28 (12) (ag) (intro.) of the statutes, as affected by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is renumbered 115.383 (2) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB379,8,4 115.383 (2) (intro.) If the student information system is established under par. (a) sub. (1), each school district, charter school, and private school using the system under par. (a) sub. (1) shall include in the system the following information for each teacher teaching in the school district or school who completed a teacher preparatory education program described in sub. s. 115.28 (7) (a) or (e) 2. and located in this state or a teacher education program described in sub. (7) (e) 2. and located in this state on or after January 1, 2012, or, for each teacher teaching in a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23, who obtained a bachelor's degree from an institution located in this state on or after July 1, 2010:

AB379,7 Section 7. 115.28 (12) (ag) 1. and 2. of the statutes are renumbered 115.383 (2) (a) and (b) and amended to read:

AB379,8,9 115.383 (2) (a) The name of the teacher preparatory program or teacher education program the teacher attended and completed or the name of the institution from which the teacher obtained a bachelor's degree.

AB379,8,11 (b) The term or semester and year in which the teacher completed the teacher education program described in subd. 1 or obtained a bachelor's degree.

AB379,8 Section 8. 115.28 (12) (b) of the statutes, as affected by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is renumbered 115.383 (3) (a) and amended to read:

AB379,8,18 115.383 (3) (a) If the student information system is established under par. (a), sub. (1), the state superintendent shall ensure that within 5 years of the establishment of the system under par. (a), every school district and every charter school, other than a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), is using the system, and that.

AB379,9,2 (b) Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the state superintendent shall ensure that every charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r) and every private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 is either using the system under par. (a) sub. (1) or is using a system that is interoperable with the system under par. (a). The commercially available, capable of providing the information required under s. 115.39, able to obtain pupil identification numbers under sub. (5), and compatible with the most recent version of the Schools Interoperability Framework.

AB379,9,6 (c) If the student information system is established under sub. (1), the state superintendent may promulgate rules authorizing the department to charge a fee to any person that uses the system. All fees shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.255 (1) (he).

AB379,9 Section 9. 115.38 of the statutes, as affected by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is repealed.

AB379,10 Section 10. 115.383 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

AB379,9,13 115.383 (4) A private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 is not required to include information about pupils who are not attending the private school under s. 118.60 or 119.23 in the system it is using under sub. (3).

AB379,11 Section 11. 115.383 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

AB379,9,19 115.383 (5) The state superintendent shall assign to each pupil attending a public school or charter school, and to each pupil attending a private school under s. 118.60 or 119.23, a unique identification number for use in the student information system. The state superintendent shall not assign to any pupil an identification number that is identical to or incorporates the pupil's social security number.

AB379,12 Section 12. 115.385 of the statutes, as created by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, is repealed.

AB379,13 Section 13. 115.39 of the statutes is created to read:

AB379,9,25 115.39 School and school district accountability system. (1) In this section, "school" means a public school, including a charter school, and a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23.

AB379,10,3 (2) The department shall establish a comprehensive school and school district accountability system beginning in the 2014-15 school year that includes all of the following components:

AB379,10,6 (a) Multiple measures to determine a school's and school district's performance under s. 118.42, including all of the following categorized by English language proficiency, disability, income level, and race or ethnicity:

AB379,10,7 1. Pupil achievement in reading and mathematics.

AB379,10,9 2. Growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics, calculated using a value-added methodology that includes demographic controls.

AB379,10,11 3. College and career readiness for high school pupils and being on track for college and career readiness for pupils in the elementary grades.

AB379,10,12 4. Gap closure in pupil academic achievement and graduation rates.

AB379,10,13 5. Pupil engagement in school.

AB379,10,15 (b) Measures to ensure that all data elements collected and calculations performed are done consistently and in a uniform manner for all schools.

AB379,10,17 (c) An index system to rate a school's and a school district's level of performance as one of the following:

AB379,10,18 1. Significantly exceeds expectations.

AB379,10,19 2. Exceeds expectations.

AB379,10,20 3. Meets expectations.

AB379,10,21 4. Meets few expectations.

AB379,10,22 5. Fails to meet expectations.

AB379,10,23 (3) The department shall do all the following:

AB379,11,2 (a) Except as provided in sub. (6), based on data derived from multiple school years, annually rate the performance of each school and school district under sub. (2) (c) and issue an accountability report for the school or school district that is clear and easily understandable.

AB379,11,6 (b) 1. Collect and disseminate the best practices from schools, except that the department may not collect information for this purpose from a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 without the private school's consent.

AB379,11,8 2. Identify opportunities to support and intervene in the public schools and school districts that fail to meet expectations.

AB379,11,11 (c) Specify in the report for a private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 the percentage of pupils attending the school who are attending under the parental choice program.

AB379,11,13 (4) The department may use only the following information for each measure specified in sub. (2) (a):

AB379,11,15 (a) For measuring pupil achievement in reading and mathematics under sub. (2) (a) 1.:

AB379,11,17 1. Scores on the reading and mathematics examinations administered under s. 118.30, other than the scores under subd. 2.

AB379,11,19 2. Scores on the alternate reading and mathematics examinations administered under s. 118.30 to children with significant cognitive disabilities.

AB379,11,20 3. The disability status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,11,21 4. The grade level of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,11,22 5. The race or ethnicity of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,11,24 6. The English proficiency status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,12,2 7. The eligibility for a free or reduced-price lunch under 42 USC 1758 (b) of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,12,4 8. The United States residency status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB379,12,6 9. The enrollment status and history of pupils attending the school or school district.

AB379,12,9 (b) For measuring growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics under sub. (2) (a) 2., the information under par. (a) 1. and 3. to 9. for at least 2 consecutive school years.

AB379,12,15 (c) For measuring gap closure in pupil academic achievement and graduation rates under sub. (2) (a) 4., the information under par. (a) and the information under par. (d) 2. and 6. When measuring gap closure in pupil academic achievement and graduation rates, the department shall ensure that a subgroup with a sufficient number of pupils within a school or school district is compared to the statewide performance of pupils who are not in that subgroup.

AB379,12,21 (d) For measuring college and career readiness under sub. (2) (a) 3. and pupil engagement in school under sub. (2) (a) 5., the information under par. (a); the assessment records of pupils who are eligible to take the examinations administered under s. 118.30; scores on the examinations administered to pupils under s. 118.30; pupil performance on postsecondary entrance or placement examinations; and pupil-level data about all of the following:

AB379,12,22 1. Pupils who are dropouts, as defined in s. 118.153 (1) (b).

AB379,12,25 2. Pupils who graduate from high school with a regular diploma within 4 school years and pupils who graduate from high school with a regular diploma within 5 or 6 school years.

AB379,13,2 3. Pupils and high school graduates enrolled in postsecondary educational programs.

AB379,13,4 4. Pupils participating in courses in which they can earn postsecondary credit and their pass rates and performance in those courses.

AB379,13,5 5. High school graduates entering the workforce.

AB379,13,10 6. Pupils who are suspended or expelled; the reasons for the suspension or expulsion; the length of time for which pupils are expelled; whether pupils return to school after being expelled; the educational programs and services provided to expelled pupils, except for pupils attending a private school under s. 118.60 or 119.23; and the schools attended by pupils who are suspended or expelled.