AB1: Bill Text

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB1,1 Section 1. 15.07 (1) (a) 6. of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,6,5 15.07 (1) (a) 6. Members of the academic review board appointed under s. 15.375 (3) shall be nominated as provided in that section, and with the advice of the senate education committee and consent of the senate appointed, to serve for terms prescribed by law.

AB1,2 Section 2. 15.07 (3) (bm) 8. of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,6,8 15.07 (3) (bm) 8. The academic review board shall meet at least 2 times each year.

AB1,3 Section 3. 15.375 (3) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,6,12 15.375 (3) Academic review board. (a) There is created an academic review board, attached to the department of public instruction under s. 15.03, consisting of the following members appointed as specified for staggered 4-year terms:

AB1,6,13 1. The state superintendent or his or her designee.

AB1,6,14 2. One principal of a public school, nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,2 3. One representative of a college or university in the University of Wisconsin System, nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,5 4. One individual employed as instructional staff, as defined in s. 118.40 (2r) (a), by a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,8 5. One administrator, as defined in s. 115.39 (1) (a), of a private school participating in a parental choice program, as defined in s. 115.39 (1) (d), nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,10 6. One teacher employed by a private school, participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23, nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,12 7. One representative of a technical college located in this state, nominated by the state superintendent.

AB1,7,14 8. One representative of a private college or university in this state, nominated by the governor.

AB1,7,15 9. One individual nominated by the governor.

AB1,7,17 10. One principal of a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), nominated by the minority leader of the assembly.

AB1,7,18 11. One individual nominated by the speaker of the assembly.

AB1,7,20 12. One teacher employed by a school district, nominated by the senate minority leader.

AB1,7,21 13. One individual nominated by the senate majority leader.

AB1,7,23 (b) The academic review board may appoint nonvoting members to serve on the board in an advisory capacity.

AB1,4 Section 4. 20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place, insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated: - See PDF for table

AB1,5 Section 5. 20.255 (1) (fm) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,8,4 20.255 (1) (fm) Value-Added Research Center. The amounts in the schedule to pay the costs of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Value-Added Research Center under s. 115.39 (4) (e).

AB1,6 Section 6. 115.28 (61) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,8,10 115.28 (61) Educational options. Annually, in January, inform the parent or guardian of each child who is at least 3 years old but not yet 18 years old who resides in the school district of the educational options available to the child, including public schools, private schools participating in a parental choice program, charter schools, full-time open enrollment, youth options, and course options.

AB1,7 Section 7. 115.28 (62) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,8,13 115.28 (62) Alternative tests. Publish on the department's Internet site a list of alternative tests approved by the academic review board under s. 115.39 (9) (a) 6.

AB1,8 Section 8. 115.385 (3) of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,8,15 115.385 (3) This section does not apply after September 30, 2017.

AB1,9 Section 9. 115.39 of the statutes is created to read:

AB1,8,17 115.39 School review system. (1) Definitions. In this section:

AB1,8,20 (a) "Administrator" means the superintendent, supervising principal, executive director, or other person who acts as the administrative head of a private school participating in a parental choice program.

AB1,9,1 (b) "Child at risk" has the meaning given in s. 118.153 (1) (a).

AB1,9,4 (c) "Focus school" means a Title I public school identified as a focus school by the department or by the school district as eligible to receive funding under 20 USC 6303 (g) for the purpose of developing and implementing a school reform plan.

AB1,9,5 (d) "Parental choice program" means the program under s. 118.60 or 119.23.

AB1,9,8 (e) "Priority school" means a Title I public school identified as a priority school by the department or by the school district as eligible to receive funding under 20 USC 6303 (g) for the purpose of implementing rigorous interventions in the school.

AB1,9,10 (f) "Research center" means the University of Wisconsin-Madison Value-Added Research Center.

AB1,9,11 (g) "Review board" means the academic review board.

AB1,9,13 (h) "School" means a public school, including a charter school, and a private school participating in a parental choice program.

AB1,9,15 (i) "Title I" means Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

AB1,9,20 (2) Review system; evaluation and grades. No later than 24 months after the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], the review board shall establish, by rule, a comprehensive school review system to be implemented by the department beginning in the 2017-18 school year. The review board shall include all of the following components in the review system:

AB1,9,23 (a) 1. Subject to subds. 2. and 3., multiple measures to determine a school's performance, including all of the following categorized by English language proficiency, disability, income level, and race or ethnicity:

AB1,9,24 a. Pupil achievement in reading and mathematics.

AB1,10,2 b. Growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics, calculated using a value-added methodology that includes demographic controls.

AB1,10,4 c. Gap closure in growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics and, when available, in graduation rates.

AB1,10,7 d. Rates of attendance or of high school graduation. The measure under this subd. 1. d. shall include a measure of improvement in addition to a measure of attainment.

AB1,10,13 2. Beginning 4 years after the effective date of this subdivision .... [LRB inserts date], and once every 2 years thereafter, the review board shall review the measures under subd. 1. to determine whether the measures sufficiently and accurately reflect the performance of a school. The review board shall prepare and furnish to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the senate majority leader, and the department a report summarizing the findings under this subdivision.

AB1,10,15 3. The department shall determine the appropriate weight to be given each of the measures under this paragraph for the grades under par. (c).

AB1,10,17 (b) Measures to ensure that all applicable data elements collected and calculations performed are done consistently and in a uniform manner for all schools.

AB1,10,19 (c) A grading system to rate a school's level of performance. The department shall use the following grading system consisting of a letter grade:

AB1,10,20 1. "A".

AB1,10,21 2. "B".

AB1,10,22 3. "C".

AB1,10,23 4. "D".

AB1,10,24 5. "F".

AB1,10,25 (3) Review report. The department shall do all of the following:

AB1,11,9 (a) Beginning with data collected from the 2015-16 school year for a public school other than a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), and with data collected from the 2016-17 school year for a private school participating in a parental choice program and a charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), except as provided in sub. (5) (c), annually grade the performance of each school using the grading system under sub. (2) (c) and issue a review report for the school that is clear and easily understandable. Except with regard to pupil achievement and attendance and high school graduation status, the department shall base the grade issued for each school year on data derived from the preceding school year.

AB1,11,12 (b) 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 without the private school's consent.

AB1,11,15 (c) On the review report for a private school participating in a parental choice program, specify the percentage of pupils attending the private school under a parental choice program and comply with one of the following:

AB1,11,18 1. For a private school that submits achievement data only for those pupils attending the private school under the parental choice program, identify the grade derived from data about those pupils as a choice pupil grade.

AB1,12,3 2. Notwithstanding sub. (5) (b), for a private school that submits achievement data under sub. (4) (a) or (e) for those pupils attending the private school under the parental choice program and for all other pupils attending the private school, identify the grade derived from data about pupils attending the school under a parental choice program as a choice pupil grade. The department shall also identify a 2nd grade, derived from data about all pupils attending the private school including pupils attending the private school under the parental choice program, as the private school grade. The department may use only the choice pupil grade identified under this subdivision in determining when a sanction may be imposed under this section.

AB1,12,5 (d) Include a data component in a school review report for a school year only if the component includes data from at least 20 pupils in that school year.

AB1,12,8 (e) At least 30 days before issuing a review report for a school under this section, provide the school an opportunity to review a preliminary version of the report and correct errors.

AB1,12,9 (f) Annually provide the review board with a copy of the review report.

AB1,12,12 (4) Data used to evaluate school performance. Subject to sub. (5) (b), the department may use only the following information for each measure specified in sub. (2) (a):

AB1,12,14 (a) For measuring pupil achievement in reading and mathematics under sub. (2) (a) 1. a.:

AB1,12,17 1. Scores on the reading and mathematics examinations administered under s. 118.30, including scores on the alternate reading and mathematics examinations administered to children with significant cognitive disabilities.

AB1,12,18 2. The disability status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB1,12,19 3. The grade level of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB1,12,20 4. The race or ethnicity of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB1,12,22 5. The English proficiency status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB1,12,23 6. The economic status of pupils taking the examinations under s. 118.30.

AB1,12,25 (b) For measuring growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics under sub. (2) (a) 1. b., the information under par. (a).

AB1,13,5 (c) For measuring gap closure in growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics and in graduation rates under sub. (2) (a) 1. c., the information under par. (d). When measuring gap closure, the department shall ensure that a subgroup with a sufficient number of pupils within a school is compared to the statewide performance of pupils who are not in that subgroup.

AB1,13,7 (d) For measuring rates of attendance and of high school graduation under sub. (2) (a) 1. d.:

AB1,13,8 1. The information under par. (a).

AB1,13,9 2. Attendance data.

AB1,13,11 3. Data about pupils who graduate from high school with a regular diploma within 4 school years, within 5 school years, and within 6 school years.

AB1,13,13 4. Data about pupils identified in sub. (5) (c) 1. who graduate from high school with a regular diploma within 6 school years.

AB1,13,20 (e) If a school administers a nationally recognized, norm-referenced test that has been approved by the review board under sub. (9) (a) 6. or 7. to pupils attending the school, achievement data derived from the test. The department shall submit the data to the research center, which shall statistically equate the scores so that the data may be used to measure the achievement and growth of pupils attending the school. The department shall then use the data to do so. The department shall pay the center's costs from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (1) (fm).

AB1,14,2 (5) Data to evaluate performance; sources and special circumstances. (a) To the extent practicable, the department shall use data obtained through the student information system under s. 115.383 for the purposes of this section and shall develop data submittal and collection procedures that reduce the administrative burden and cost for private schools participating in a parental choice program.

AB1,14,7 (b) For a private school participating in a parental choice program, the department may use for each measure specified in sub. (2) (a) only the information in this subsection that pertains to pupils attending the private school under the program unless the private school submits achievement data under sub. (4) (a) or (e) for pupils attending the private school other than under the parental choice program.

AB1,14,13 (c) 1. If the department determines that there is insufficient data about a school to grade its performance under sub. (3) (a) or that a grade under sub. (2) (c) is inappropriate because the mission of the school is to serve predominantly or exclusively pupils in any of the following categories, the department shall issue a review report for the school but grade the school as "satisfactory" or "needs improvement":

AB1,14,14 a. A child at risk.

AB1,14,16 b. A pupil for whom an individualized education program or individualized family service plan is in effect.

AB1,14,20 c. A pupil who has provided the school with a letter from a physician, a psychologist licensed under s. 455.04, or a professional counselor licensed under s. 457.12 that specifies the pupil's special needs and the accommodations necessary in order to enable the pupil to take standardized assessments.

AB1,14,25 2. If sub. (4) (e) applies to a private school participating in a parental choice program, but at which fewer than 20 pupils are attending the private school under the program, the private school may direct the department to display on the school's review report the percentile rank of pupil scores on the test instead of a grade under sub. (2) (c).

AB1,15,4 3. If the department determines that the percentage of pupils in a school who participate in the examinations administered under s. 118.30 is inadequate, the department may use that as a factor in determining the school's grade under sub. (3) (a).