AB64: Bill Text

AB64,685,17 (12) (a) If a respondent's settlement offer is not accepted and the complainant fails to obtain a more favorable award, the complainant shall not recover any post-offer costs and shall pay the respondent's post-offer costs from the date of the offer. In addition, the complainant shall be required to pay a reasonable sum to cover the costs of services of any expert witness who is not a regular employee of any party that are actually incurred and reasonably necessary in preparation for the hearing or during the hearing. This subsection supersedes any statute awarding post-offer costs and fees to a prevailing complainant.

AB64,685,22 (b) If a respondent's settlement offer is not accepted and the complainant fails to obtain a more favorable award, the amounts under par. (a) shall be deducted from any award made in favor of the complainant. If the post-offer costs of the respondent exceed the amount awarded to the complainant, the net amount shall be awarded to the respondent and the award shall be entered accordingly.

AB64,685,24 (13) If a complainant's settlement offer is not accepted and the complainant obtains a more favorable award, the department shall do all of the following:

AB64,685,25 (a) Award prejudgment interest on the final award from the date of the offer.

AB64,686,4 (b) Require the respondent to pay a reasonable sum to cover the costs of services of any expert witness who is not a regular employee of any party that are actually incurred and reasonably necessary in preparation for the hearing or during the hearing, in addition to the complainant's costs.

AB64,686,11 (14) (a) After the department makes an order under s. 111.39 (4) (c), either party may make a subsequent motion to introduce evidence of a valid settlement offer made under this section that was declined. The motion shall be made within 10 business days after the date of the award and shall identify the parties in the offer, who made the offer, the amount of the offer, the date of the offer, and the date it was declined. The motion shall also identify the effect the declined offer has on the final award and how the department should proceed.

AB64,686,13 (b) A nonmoving party may file a response to a motion under par. (a) within 5 business days after the movant files the motion.

AB64,686,16 (15) Police officers shall be permitted to testify as expert witnesses for the purposes of this section. For purposes of this section, “complainant” includes a cross-complainant and “respondent” includes a cross-respondent.

AB64,1460 Section 1460 . 111.395 of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,686,25 111.395 Judicial review. Findings and orders of the commission administrator under this subchapter are subject to judicial review under ch. 227. Orders of the commission shall have the same force as orders of the department under chs. 103 to 106 and may be enforced as provided in s. 103.005 (11) and (12) or specifically by a suit in equity. In any enforcement action the merits of any order of the commission are not subject to judicial review. Upon such review, or in any enforcement action, the department of justice shall represent the commission department.

AB64,1461 Section 1461. 115.001 (3m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,687,7 115.001 (3m) Interim session. “Interim session" means a period of time in a school year when school is held by a school in a school district to provide hours of direct pupil instruction in addition to the hours of direct pupil instruction provided by the school district as required under s. 121.02 (1) (f) providing 437 hours of direct pupil instruction in kindergarten, 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1 to 6, and 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7 to 12.

AB64,1462 Section 1462 . 115.28 (7) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,687,14 115.28 (7) (g) Notwithstanding s. 118.19 (3), (4m), (6) to (9), and (12) to (14), grant a charter school teaching license to any person who has a bachelor's degree and demonstrates, based upon criteria established by the department, that the person is proficient in the subject or subjects that he or she intends to teach. The license authorizes the person to teach that subject or those subjects in a charter school. The license is valid for 3 years and is renewable for 3-year periods.

AB64,1463 Section 1463. 115.28 (7) (gm) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,687,22 115.28 (7) (gm) Notwithstanding s. 118.19 (8), (9), and (11), grant an initial charter school principal license to any person who is licensed, or otherwise credentialed, to be a school principal in another state if the person holds the license or other credential in good standing, has completed at least 3 years of full-time classroom teaching, and is eligible for licensure under s. 118.19 (4) and (10). The license authorizes the person to be a principal of a charter school. The license is valid for 5 years and is renewable for 5-year periods.

AB64,1464 Section 1464. 115.28 (45) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,688,2 115.28 (45) Grants for bullying prevention. From the appropriation under s. 20.255 (3) (eb), award grants to a nonprofit organization, as defined in s. 108.02 (19), to provide training and an online bullying prevention curriculum for pupils in grades kindergarten to 8.

AB64,1465 Section 1465 . 115.28 (54m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,688,11 115.28 (54m) Notice of educational options. Include on the home page of the department's Internet site a link to information about all of the educational options available to children in the state who are at least 3 years old but not yet 18 years old, including public schools, private schools participating in a parental choice program, charter schools, virtual schools, full-time or part-time open enrollment, youth options, course options in a nonresident school district, the early college credit program, and options for pupils enrolled in a home-based private educational program.

AB64,1466 Section 1466. 115.28 (59) (am) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,688,23 115.28 (59) (am) Work with the department of children and families to develop success sequence-related instruction and materials to be incorporated into the academic and career planning services provided to pupils under par. (a), and ensure that, beginning in the 2019-20 school year, every school board incorporates the success sequence information in its academic and career planning services. The department of children and families shall approve any instruction and materials developed under this paragraph before the instruction and materials are provided to pupils. In this paragraph, success sequence refers to the idea that economic success is more likely if an individual follows 3 norms: graduating high school; maintaining a full-time job or having a partner who does; and having children while married and after age 21, if the decision is made to become parents.

AB64,1467 Section 1467. 115.28 (59) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,689,2 115.28 (59) (d) Promulgate Subject to par. (am), promulgate rules to implement this subsection.

AB64,1468 Section 1468. 115.28 (63) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,689,9 115.28 (63) Mental health training program. Establish a mental health training support program under which the department provides training on evidence-based strategies related to addressing mental health issues in schools to school district staff and instructional staff of charter schools under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x). The state superintendent shall ensure that at least all of the following evidence-based strategies are included in training provided under this subsection:

AB64,689,10 (a) Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment.

AB64,689,11 (b) Trauma sensitive schools.

AB64,689,12 (c) Youth mental health first aid.

AB64,1469 Section 1469. 115.353 of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,689,19 115.353 Community and school mental health collaboration grants. (1) The department shall develop, implement, and, beginning in the 2018-19 school year, administer a grant program under which the department awards grants to school districts and charter schools under s. 118.40 (2r) and (2x) for the purpose of collaborating with community mental health providers to provide mental health services to pupils.

AB64,689,21 (2) The department shall award grants under sub. (1) from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (db).

AB64,689,23 (3) The department shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this section.

AB64,1470 Section 1470. 115.364 of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,689,25 115.364 Aid for school mental health programs. (1) In this section:

AB64,690,5 (a) “Eligible independent charter school” is a school under contract with one of the entities under s. 118.40 (2r) (b) 1. or with the director under s. 118.40 (2x) that increased the amount it expended in the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers.

AB64,690,9 (b) “Eligible school district” is a school district that increased the amount it expended in the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers.

AB64,690,11 (2) (a) Beginning in the 2018-19 school year and annually thereafter, the state superintendent shall do all of the following:

AB64,690,16 1. Subject to par. (b), from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (da), pay to an eligible school district an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount by which the school district increased its expenditures in the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers.

AB64,690,22 2. Subject to par. (b), from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (da), pay to an eligible independent charter school an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount by which the independent charter school increased its expenditures in the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers.

AB64,691,2 (b) 1. If the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (da) in any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the full amount of aid under par. (a), the state superintendent shall prorate state aid payments among the school districts and independent charter schools eligible for the aid.

AB64,691,9 2. a. Subject to subd. 2. b., if, after making the payments required under par. (a), moneys remain in the appropriation account under s. 20.255 (2) (da), the state superintendent shall reimburse eligible school districts and independent charter schools for an amount equal to expenditures made by the school district or independent charter school in the preceding school year to employ, hire, or retain social workers less the amount of increased expenditures for which the school district or independent charter school was reimbursed under par. (a).

AB64,691,13 b. If the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (da) in any fiscal year is insufficient to pay the full amount of aid under subd. 2. a., the state superintendent shall prorate state aid payments among the school districts and independent charter schools eligible for the aid.

AB64,691,15 (3) The department shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this section.

AB64,1471 Section 1471 . 115.38 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,691,20 115.38 (1) (d) The number and percentage of resident pupils attending a course at an educational institution in a nonresident school district under s. 118.52, the number of nonresident pupils attending a course in the school district under s. 118.52, and the courses taken by those pupils.

AB64,1472 Section 1472. 115.385 (1) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,691,23 115.385 (1) (d) For a school district and for each high school in that school district, all of the following information:

AB64,691,25 1. The number and percentage of pupils participating in the program under s. 118.55.

AB64,692,2 2. The number and percentage of pupils participating in a youth apprenticeship under s. 106.13.

AB64,692,3 3. The number of community service hours provided by pupils.

AB64,692,5 4. The number of advanced placement courses offered to and the number of advanced placement credits earned by pupils.

AB64,692,8 5. The number of pupils earning industry-recognized credentials through a technical education program established by a school board as described in s. 118.33 (1) (g) 1. c.

AB64,1473 Section 1473 . 115.385 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,692,20 115.385 (4) Annually, each public school, including a charter school, and each private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 shall provide a copy of the school's accountability report to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled in or attending the school. Each school shall simultaneously provide to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled in the school a list of the educational options available to children who reside in the pupil's resident school district, including public schools, private schools participating in a parental choice program, charter schools, virtual schools, full-time or part-time open enrollment, youth options, course options in a nonresident school district, the early college credit program, and options for pupils enrolled in a home-based private educational program.

AB64,1474 Section 1474. 115.42 (3) of the statutes is repealed.

AB64,1475 Section 1475. 115.42 (4) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

AB64,1476 Section 1476. 115.436 (2) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,693,2 115.436 (2) (intro.) A school district is eligible for sparsity aid under this section if it the school district's membership in the previous school year divided by the school district's area in square miles is less than 10 and if the school district satisfies all one of the following criteria:

AB64,1477 Section 1477. 115.436 (2) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,693,5 115.436 (2) (b) The school district's membership in the previous school year was greater than 745 but no more than 1,000.

AB64,1478 Section 1478. 115.436 (2) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

AB64,1479 Section 1479. 115.436 (3) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 115.436 (3) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB64,693,11 115.436 (3) (a) (intro.) Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (ae) and subject to pars. par. (b) and (c), the department shall pay do the following:

AB64,693,13 1. Pay to each school district eligible for sparsity aid $300 under sub. (2) (a) $400 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous school year.

AB64,1480 Section 1480. 115.436 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,693,17 115.436 (3) (a) 2. Pay to each school district eligible for sparsity aid under sub. (2) (b) $100 multiplied by the school district's membership in the previous school year.

AB64,1481 Section 1481. 115.436 (3) (c) of the statutes is repealed.

AB64,1482 Section 1482. 115.437 (3) of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,694,4 115.437 (3) From the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (aq), the department shall pay to a school district that satisfies the conditions under this subsection an amount equal to the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the school district in the current and 2 preceding school years multiplied by $188 in the 2017-18 school year and by $380 in the 2018-19 school year and in each school year thereafter. The department shall annually require a school board to submit as a condition for receiving aid under this subsection a statement certifying that, in each school year in which the school district receives aid under this subsection, the school board will distribute the aid to the school administrator of a school in the school district in an amount equal to the amount determined as follows:

AB64,694,6 (a) Determine the average of the number of pupils enrolled in the school in the current and 2 preceding school years.

AB64,694,8 (b) Multiply the product under par. (a) by $188 in the 2017-18 school year and by $380 in the 2018-19 school year and in each school year thereafter.

AB64,1483 Section 1483. 115.745 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,694,14 115.745 (1) A school board or, a cooperative educational service agency, or an agency determined by the state superintendent to be eligible for designation under 42 USC 9836 as a head start agency, in conjunction with a tribal education authority, may apply to the department for a grant for the purpose of supporting innovative, effective instruction in one or more American Indian languages.

AB64,1484 Section 1484. 115.77 (1m) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,694,22 115.77 (1m) (e) To Subject to s. 115.7913, to the extent consistent with the number and location of children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private elementary and secondary schools located within the local educational agency, ensures that those children have an opportunity to participate in special education and related services and that the amount spent to provide those services by the local educational agency is equal to a proportionate amount of federal funds made available under this subchapter.

AB64,1485 Section 1485. 115.78 (1m) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,695,2 115.78 (1m) (h) If the child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.50, 118.51, or 121.84 (1) (a) or (4), at least one person designated by the school board of the child's school district of residence who has knowledge or special expertise about the child.

AB64,1486 Section 1486. 115.7913 of the statutes is created to read:

AB64,695,13 115.7913 Equitable services at parentally placed private school children. (1) (a) The ombudsman designated under 20 USC 6320 (a) (3) shall identify a fiscal agent to receive federal funding for providing special education services and other benefits to private school children, teachers, and other educational personnel under 20 USC 7881. The fiscal agent identified under this section shall distribute the federal funding it receives under this section to private schools in accordance with 20 USC 7881. A private school may direct the fiscal agent to distribute any federal funding the private school is eligible to receive under 20 USC 7881 to the school board of the school district in which the private school is geographically located.

AB64,695,14 (2) Subsection (1) applies only if any of the following occurs:

AB64,695,16 (a) Federal law does not require federal funding under 20 USC 7881 to be received and administered by a public entity.

AB64,695,19 (b) A waiver of the requirements under 20 USC 7881 (d) is granted by the federal department of education that allows funds provided under 20 USC 7881 to be received by a private entity.

AB64,695,23 (c) The federal department of education creates a nationwide bypass under which the federal department of education directly provides equitable services to children, teachers, and other educational personnel under 20 USC 7881 through a private entity.

AB64,1487 Section 1487 . 115.7915 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,696,9 115.7915 (2) (f) The child's parent or guardian on behalf of the child, or, for a child with a disability who has reached the age of 18 and has not been adjudicated incompetent, the child, submitted an application for a scholarship under this section on a form prepared by the department that includes the document developed by the department under sub. (4) (a) to the eligible school that the child will attend. A child's parent or guardian or a child with a disability who has reached the age of 18 may apply for a scholarship at any time during a school year and, subject to sub. (3) (b), a child may begin attending a private school under this section at any time during the school year.

AB64,1488 Section 1488. 115.7915 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB64,697,2 115.7915 (2) (h) The child's parent or guardian consents to make the child available for a reevaluation, by the within 60 days following a request for a reevaluation under this paragraph. The individualized education program team appointed for the child by the resident school district, within 60 days following a request for a reevaluation under this paragraph shall conduct the reevaluation, except that, if the child is attending a private school under this section in a nonresident school district and the parent or guardian of the child provides written consent, an individualized education program team appointed for the child by that nonresident school district may conduct the reevaluation. Upon the request of the school board of the child's resident school district, the individualized education program team shall conduct the reevaluation required under this paragraph in the manner described under s. 115.782 (4) (a) 2. no more frequently than once every 3 years, determined from the date of the most recent evaluation or reevaluation conducted for the child under s. 115.782 or, for a child whose most recent evaluation or reevaluation was conducted more than 3 years before the child began attending a private school under this section, the date the child began attending a private school under this section.

AB64,1489 Section 1489. 115.7915 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read: