118.40(2)(a)(a) Within 30 days after receiving a petition under
sub. (1m) the school board shall hold a public hearing on the petition. At the hearing, the school board shall consider the level of employe and parental support for the establishment of the charter school described in the petition. After the hearing, the school board may grant the petition.
118.40(2)(b)
(b) A school board may grant a petition that would result in the conversion of all of the public schools in the school district to charter schools if all of the following apply:
118.40(2)(b)1.
1. At least 50% of the teachers employed by the school district sign the petition.
118.40(2)(b)2.
2. The school board provides alternative public school attendance arrangements for pupils who do not wish to attend or are not admitted to a charter school.
118.40(2)(c)
(c) The school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119 shall either grant or deny the petition within 30 days after the public hearing. If the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119 denies a petition, the person seeking to establish the charter school may, within 30 days after the denial, appeal the denial to the department. The department shall issue a decision within 30 days after receiving the appeal. The department's decision is final and not subject to judicial review under
ch. 227.
118.40(2m)(a)(a) A school board may on its own initiative contract with an individual or group to operate a school as a charter school. The contract shall include all of the provisions specified under
sub. (1m) (b) and may include other provisions agreed to by the parties.
118.40(2m)(b)
(b) A school board may not enter into a contract under
par. (a) that would result in the conversion of all of the public schools in the school district to charter schools unless the school board complies with
sub. (2) (b) 2.
118.40(3)(a)(a) If the school board grants the petition under
sub. (2) (a), the school board shall contract with the person named in the petition under
sub. (1m) (b) 1. to operate the school as a charter school under this section. The contract shall include all of the provisions specified in the petition and may include other provisions agreed to by the parties.
118.40(3)(b)
(b) A contract under
par. (a) or under
sub. (2m) may be for any term not exceeding 5 school years and may be renewed for one or more terms not exceeding 5 school years. The contract shall specify the amount to be paid by the school board to the charter school during each school year of the contract.
118.40(3)(c)
(c) A school board may not enter into a contract for the establishment of a charter school located outside the school district, except that if 2 or more school boards enter into an agreement under
s. 66.30 to establish a charter school, the charter school shall be located within one of the school districts. A school board, other than the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119, may not enter into a contract that would result in the conversion of a private school to a charter school.
118.40(3)(d)
(d) A school board shall give preference in awarding contracts for the operation of charter schools to those charter schools that serve children at risk, as defined in
s. 118.153 (1) (a).
118.40(4)
(4) Charter school duties and restrictions. 118.40(4)(a)(a)
Duties. A charter school shall do all of the following:
118.40(4)(a)1.
1. If the charter school replaces a public school in whole or in part, give preference in admission to any pupil who resides within the attendance area or former attendance area of that public school.
118.40(4)(a)2.
2. Be nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices and all other operations.
118.40(4)(b)
(b)
Restrictions. A charter school may not do any of the following:
118.40(4)(b)2.
2. Discriminate in admission or deny participation in any program or activity on the basis of a person's sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.
118.40(5)
(5) Charter revocation. A charter may be revoked by the school board that contracted with the charter school if the school board finds that any of the following occurred:
118.40(5)(a)
(a) The charter school violated its contract with the school board.
118.40(5)(b)
(b) The pupils enrolled in the charter school failed to make sufficient progress toward attaining the educational goals under
s. 118.01.
118.40(5)(c)
(c) The charter school failed to comply with generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management.
118.40(6)
(6) Program voluntary. No pupil may be required to attend a charter school without his or her approval, if the pupil is an adult, or the approval of his or her parents or legal guardian, if the pupil is a minor.
118.40(7)
(7) Legal status; applicability of school laws. 118.40(7)(a)(a) A charter school is an instrumentality of the school district in which it is located and the school board of that school district shall employ all personnel for the charter school. This paragraph does not apply to charter schools located in the school district operating under
ch. 119.
118.40(7)(b)
(b) Except as otherwise explicitly provided,
chs. 115 to
121 do not apply to charter schools.
118.40(8)
(8) Audit. The joint legislative audit committee may direct the legislative audit bureau to perform a financial and performance evaluation audit of the charter school program under this section. The legislative audit bureau shall file its report as provided under
s. 13.94 (1) (b) by January 1, 2000.
118.42
118.42
Youth village program. 118.42(1)
(1) A nonprofit corporation may apply to the department for a grant to partially fund the costs of planning, developing and operating a youth village program that complies with all of the following:
Effective date note
NOTE: Sub. (1) (intro.) is shown as amended eff. 1-1-96 by
1995 Wis. Act 27. The treatment by Act 27 was held unconstitutional and declared void by the Supreme Court in Thompson v. Craney, case no.
95-2168-OA. Prior to Act 27 it read:
Effective date text
(1) A nonprofit corporation may apply to the state superintendent for a grant to partially fund the costs of planning, developing and operating a youth village program that complies with all of the following:
118.42(1)(a)
(a) The program is designed to begin operating by July 1, 1996.
118.42(1)(b)
(b) The program is designed to provide an alternative education experience for pupils whose home or social environment seriously interferes with their educational progress and who are functioning below their grade level in basic academic skills, are behind in academic credits for their grade level or have a record of poor grades or attendance problems.
118.42(1)(c)
(c) The program is designed to be residential and to provide occupational training, academic instruction and personal support services.
118.42(1)(d)
(d) The program is designed to be established in cooperation with a school board and a county department of social services or human services.
118.42(2)(a)(a) The department shall review the applications and determine which of the applicants shall receive the grant.
Effective date note
NOTE: Par. (a) is shown as amended eff. 1-1-96 by
1995 Wis. Act 27. The treatment by Act 27 was held unconstitutional and declared void by the Supreme Court in Thompson v. Craney, case no.
95-2168-OA. Prior to Act 27 it read:
Effective date text
(a) The state superintendent shall review the applications and determine which of the applicants shall receive the grant.
118.42(2)(b)
(b) Notwithstanding
sub. (1), up to $150,000 of the amount awarded each school year may be used by the grant recipient for acquisition or renovation, or both, of a facility for the program if the grant recipient contributes an equal amount for that purpose from other sources.
118.42(3)
(3) Any school board may contract with the grant recipient for the participation of pupils enrolled in the school district in the program. No pupil may be required to participate in the program without his or her approval, if the pupil is an adult, or the approval of his or her parents or legal guardian, if the pupil is a minor.
118.42 History
History: 1993 a. 377;
1995 a. 27 s.
9145 (1).
118.43
118.43
Achievement guarantee contracts; state aid. 118.43(1)(a)
(a) "Class size" means the number of pupils assigned to a regular classroom teacher on the 3rd Friday of September.
118.43(1)(b)
(b) "Low income" means the measure of low income that is used by the school district under
20 USC 2723.
118.43(2)(a)(a) The school board of any school district in which a school in the previous school year had an enrollment that was at least 50% low-income is eligible to participate in the program under this section.
118.43(2)(b)
(b) In the 1996-97 school year, the school board of an eligible school district may enter into a 5-year achievement guarantee contract with the department on behalf of one school in the school district if all of the following apply:
118.43(2)(b)1.
1. In the previous school year, the school had an enrollment that was at least 30% low-income.
118.43(2)(b)2.
2. The school board is not receiving a grant under the preschool to grade 5 program on behalf of the school under
s. 115.45.
118.43(2)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding
par. (b), the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119 may enter into an achievement guarantee contract on behalf of up to 10 schools.
118.43(2)(d)
(d) If an eligible school district has more than one school that qualifies under
par. (b), the school board shall apply on behalf of the school with the largest number of low-income pupils in grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(2)(e)1.1. If the school board of an eligible school district does not enter into an achievement guarantee contract with the department, a school board that has entered into such a contract, other than the school board of the school district operating under
ch. 119, may apply to the department to enter into such a contract on behalf of one additional school that meets the requirements under
par. (b).
118.43(2)(e)2.
2. If more than one school board applies under
subd. 1., the department shall determine which school board to contract with based on the number of low-income pupils in grades kindergarten and one enrolled in the schools and on the balance of rural and urban school districts currently participating in the program.
118.43(2)(f)
(f) The department may not enter into an achievement guarantee contract with a school board on behalf of a school after June 30, 1997.
118.43(3)
(3) Contract requirements. An achievement guarantee contract shall require the school board to do all of the following in each participating school:
118.43(3)(a)
(a) Class size. Reduce each class size to 15 in the following manner:
118.43(3)(a)1.
1. In the 1996-97 school year, in at least grades kindergarten and one.
118.43(3)(a)2.
2. In the 1997-98 school year, in at least grades kindergarten to 2.
118.43(3)(a)3.
3. In the 1998-99 to 2000-01 school years, in at least grades kindergarten to 3.
118.43(3)(b)1.1. Keep the school open every day from early in the morning until late in the day, as specified in the contract.
118.43(3)(b)2.
2. Collaborate with community organizations to make educational and recreational opportunities, as well as a variety of community and social services, available in the school to all school district residents.
118.43(3)(c)1.1. Provide a rigorous academic curriculum designed to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(c)2.
2. In consultation with the department and with the participation of the school's teachers and administrators and school district residents, review the school's current curriculum to determine how well it promotes pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(c)3.
3. If necessary, outline any changes to the curriculum to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(d)1.1. Develop a one-year program for all newly hired employes that helps them make the transition from their previous employment or school to their current employment.
118.43(3)(d)3.
3. Require that each teacher and administrator submit to the school board a professional development plan that focuses on how the individual will help improve pupil academic achievement. The plan shall include a method by which the individual will receive evaluations on the success of his or her efforts from a variety of sources.
118.43(3)(d)4.
4. Regularly review staff development plans to determine if they are effective in helping to improve pupil academic achievement.
118.43(3)(d)5.
5. Establish an evaluation process for professional staff members that does all of the following:
118.43(3)(d)5.c.
c. Includes a support plan that provides opportunities to learn and improve.
118.43(3)(d)5.d.
d. Systematically documents performance in accordance with the plan.
118.43(3)(d)5.e.
e. Allows professional staff members to comment on and contribute to revisions in the evaluation process.
118.43(3)(d)5.f.
f. Provides for the dismissal of professional staff members whose failure to learn and improve has been documented over a 2-year period.
118.43(4)
(4) Other contract provisions. Each achievement guarantee contract shall include all of the following:
118.43(4)(a)
(a) A description of how the school will implement each of the elements under
sub. (3), including any alternative class configurations for specific educational activities that may be used to meet the class size requirement under
sub. (3) (a).
118.43(4)(b)
(b) A description of the method that the school district will use to evaluate the academic achievement of the pupils enrolled in the school.
118.43(4)(c)
(c) A description of the school's performance objectives for the academic achievement of the pupils enrolled in the school and the means that will be used to evaluate success in attaining the objectives. Performance objectives shall include all of the following:
