119.23(2)(a)6.a.a. Except as provided in subd.
6. c., all of the private school's teachers have a teaching license issued by the department or a bachelor's degree or a degree or educational credential higher than a bachelor's degree, including a masters or doctorate, from a nationally or regionally accredited institution of higher education.
119.23(2)(a)6.b.
b. All of the private school's administrators have at least a bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution of higher education or a teaching license or administrator's license issued by the department.
119.23(2)(a)6.c.
c. Any teacher employed by the private school on July 1, 2010, who has been teaching for at least the 5 consecutive years immediately preceding July 1, 2010, and who does not satisfy the requirements under subd.
6. a. on July 1, 2010, applies to the department on a form prepared by the department for a temporary, nonrenewable waiver from the requirements under subd.
6. a. The department shall promulgate rules to implement this subd.
6. c., including the form of the application and the process by which the waiver application will be reviewed. The application form shall require the applicant to submit a plan for satisfying the requirements under subd.
6. a., including the name of the accredited institution of higher education at which the teacher is pursuing or will pursue the bachelor's degree and the anticipated date on which the teacher expects to complete the bachelor's degree. No waiver granted under this subd.
6. c. is valid after July 31, 2015.
119.23(2)(a)7.a.a. Subject to subd.
7. c. and
d., for a private school participating in the program under this section on July 1, 2009, the private school achieves accreditation by an accrediting entity by December 31 of the 3rd school year following the first school year that begins after June 30, 2006, in which it participates in the program under this section. If the private school is accredited as provided under this subd.
7. a., the private school is not required to obtain preaccreditation under subd.
7. bg. as a prerequisite to providing instruction under this section in additional grades or in an additional or new school.
119.23(2)(a)7.b.
b. Subject to subd.
7. c. and
d., for a private school that was a first-time participant in the program under this section before April 10, 2014, and that is not accredited by an accrediting entity, the private school obtains accreditation from an accrediting entity by December 31 of the 3rd school year following the first school year in which the private school began participating in the program under this section. If the private school is accredited under this subd.
7. b., the private school is not required to obtain preaccreditation under subd.
7. bg. as a prerequisite to providing instruction under this section in additional grades or in an additional or new school.
119.23(2)(a)7.bg.
bg. Each private school that begins participation in the program under this section on or after April 10, 2014, and that is not accredited by an accrediting entity, shall obtain preaccreditation by a preaccrediting entity by August 1 before the first school term in which the private school begins participation in the program under this section, or by May 1 if the private school begins participating in the program during summer school. In any school year, a private school to which this subd.
7. bg. applies may apply for and seek to obtain preaccreditation from only one preaccrediting entity. A private school to which this subd.
7. bg. applies that fails to obtain preaccreditation as required under this subd.
7. bg. may not participate in the program under this section or under s.
118.60 until preaccreditation has been obtained, but the private school may apply for and seek to obtain preaccreditation from a preaccrediting entity for the following school year.
119.23(2)(a)7.br.
br. A private school to which subd.
7. bg. applies shall apply for accreditation by an accrediting entity by December 31 of the first school year that begins after April 10, 2014, in which the private school begins participation in the program under this section, and shall achieve accreditation by an accrediting entity by December 31 of the 3rd school year following the school year in which the private school begins participation in the program under this section. If the private school is accredited under this subd.
7. br., the private school is not required to obtain preaccreditation as a prerequisite to providing instruction under this section in additional grades or in an additional or new school.
119.23(2)(a)7.c.
c. On or after July 1, 2009, a private school participating or seeking to participate in the program under this section or in the program under s.
118.60 may not apply for accreditation by the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, except that a private school that has applied for accreditation to the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University before July 1, 2009, and that is participating in the program under this section on April 10, 2014, may, subject to subd.
7. e., complete the accreditation process with the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, and may, subject to subd.
7. e., seek renewal of accreditation from the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University.
119.23(2)(a)7.d.
d. For a private school that was approved for scholarship funding for the 2005-06 school year by Partners Advancing Values in Education and is participating in the program under this section on November 19, 2011, the private school achieves accreditation by an accrediting entity by December 31, 2015. If the private school is accredited as provided under this subd.
7. d., the private school is not required to obtain preaccreditation under subd.
7. bg. as a prerequisite to providing instruction under this section in additional grades or in an additional or new school.
119.23(2)(a)7.e.
e. For a private school that is accredited by the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University and that is participating in the program under this section on April 10, 2014, the private school achieves accreditation by an accrediting entity under sub.
(1) (ab) 1. by December 31, 2014. If the private school is accredited as provided under this subd.
7. e., the private school is not required to obtain preaccreditation under subd.
7. bg. as a prerequisite to providing instruction under this section in additional grades or in an additional or new school.
119.23(2)(a)8.
8. Notwithstanding s.
118.165 (1) (c), the private school annually provides at least 1,050 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 1 to 6 and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil instruction in grades 7 to 12. Hours provided under this subdivision include recess and time for pupils to transfer between classes but do not include the lunch periods. Annually, no more than 140 hours of work under s.
118.56 may be counted as hours of direct pupil instruction.
119.23(2)(ag)
(ag) The governing body of a new private school shall comply with all of the following before the new private school may participate in the program under this section:
119.23(2)(ag)1.
1. By August 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the new private school intends to participate in the program under this section, complete and submit to the department the following on forms provided by the department:
119.23(2)(ag)1.a.
a. A notice of intent to participate and agreement to comply with procedural requirements.
119.23(2)(ag)1.b.
b. A complete anticipated budget for the first fiscal period of participation in the program under this section showing that the private school will have a positive cash flow in each month of the fiscal period and no operating deficit. The governing body shall include on the completed form anticipated enrollments for all pupils enrolled in the new private school and for pupils enrolled in the new private school under this section; estimated revenues and costs; a schedule of anticipated beginning and ending net choice program assets; and a schedule of monthly cash flow requirements. The governing body shall include in the budget contingent funding sources the new private school will use in the event that actual enrollments are less than expected.
119.23(2)(ag)1.c.
c. The nonrefundable fee established by the department, as required under s.
119.23 (2) (a) 3., for the school year in which the fee is paid by the new private school. If the amount of the fee paid by the new private school under this subd.
1. c. increases for the school year in which the new private school will first participate in the program under this section, the new private school shall pay the difference between the fee paid and the fee due to the department. If the amount of the fee paid by the new private school under this subd.
1. c. decreases for the school year in which the new private school will first participate in the program under this section, the department shall refund the new private school the difference between the fee paid and the fee due to the department.
119.23(2)(ag)2.a.a. By August 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the new private school intends to participate in the program under this section, submit to the department the information under sub.
(6p) (a) and
(b).
119.23(2)(ag)2.b.
b. If, at the time the new private school submits the information required under subd.
2. a., the new private school does not have a physical property within which the private school intends to operate, submit a mailing address of an administrator of the private school.
119.23(2)(ag)4.
4. Notwithstanding the deadline to obtain preaccreditation under sub.
(2) (a) 7. bg., by December 15 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the new private school intends to participate in the program under this section, obtain preaccreditation from a preaccrediting entity.
119.23(2)(ag)5.
5. By August 1 of the first school year in which the new private school intends to participate in the program under this section, demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the new private school has contracted with a 3rd-party payroll service that will remit federal and state payroll taxes for each employee of the new private school for the duration of the school year.
119.23(2)(ar)
(ar) By December 31 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which a new private school intends to participate in the program under this section, the department shall notify the new private school in writing whether it has satisfied those requirements under par.
(ag) that must be satisfied before December 31. If the department determines that the new private school has not satisfied those requirements, the new private school may not participate in the program under this section in the following school year, but may reinitiate the process under par.
(ag) for the next following school year.
119.23(2)(c)1.1. Notwithstanding par.
(a) 6., a teacher employed by a private school participating in the program under this section who teaches only courses in rabbinical studies is not required to have a bachelor's degree.
119.23(2)(c)2.
2. Notwithstanding par.
(a) 6., an administrator of a private school participating in the program under this section that prepares and trains pupils attending the school in rabbinical studies is not required to have a bachelor's degree.
119.23(3)(a)(a) The pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian shall submit an application, on a form provided by the state superintendent, to the participating private school that the pupil wishes to attend. If more than one pupil from the same family applies to attend the same private school, the pupils may use a single application. No later than 60 days after the end of the application period during which an application is received, the private school shall notify each applicant, in writing, whether his or her application has been accepted. If the private school rejects an application, the notice shall include the reason. A private school may reject an applicant only if it has reached its maximum general capacity or seating capacity. The state superintendent shall ensure that the private school determines which pupils to accept on a random basis, except that the private school may give preference to the following in accepting applications, in order of preference listed:
119.23(3)(a)1.
1. Pupils who attended the private school under this section or s.
118.60 during the previous school year.
119.23(3)(a)3.
3. Pupils who attended a different private school under this section or s.
118.60 during the previous school year.
119.23(3)(a)5.
5. Siblings of those pupils who have been randomly accepted to attend the private school under this section and who did not attend a private school under this section or s.
118.60 during the previous school year.
119.23(3)(b)
(b) If the private school rejects an applicant because it has too few available spaces, the applicant may transfer his or her application to a participating private school that has space available. An applicant rejected under this paragraph may be admitted to a private school participating in the program under this section for the following school year, provided that the applicant continues to reside within the city. The department may not require, in that following school year, the private school to submit financial information regarding the applicant or to verify the eligibility of the applicant to participate in the program under this section on the basis of family income.
119.23(3m)(a)(a) A private school participating in the program under this section may not charge or receive any additional tuition payment for a pupil participating in the program under this section other than the payment the school receives under sub.
(4) and, if applicable, sub.
(4m), if either of the following applies:
119.23(3m)(a)1.
1. The pupil is enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to 8.
119.23(3m)(a)2.
2. The pupil is enrolled in a grade from 9 to 12 and the family income of the pupil, as determined under sub.
(2) (a) 1., does not exceed an amount equal to 2.2 times the poverty level determined in accordance with criteria established by the director of the federal office of management and budget.
119.23(3m)(am)1.1. Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, a private school participating in the program under this section may recover the cost of providing the following to a pupil participating in the program under this section through reasonable fees in an amount determined by the private school and charged to the pupil, except that no participating private school may retroactively recover any uncollected costs incurred prior to November 19, 2011:
119.23(3m)(am)1.b.
b. Social and extracurricular activities if not necessary to the private school's curriculum.
119.23(3m)(am)1.e.
e. High school classes that are not required for graduation and for which no credits toward graduation are given.
119.23(3m)(am)2.
2. A private school may not prohibit an eligible pupil from attending the private school, expel or otherwise discipline the pupil, or withhold or reduce the pupil's grades because the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian cannot pay or has not paid fees charged under subd.
1. 119.23(3m)(b)
(b) Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, a private school participating in the program under this section may, in addition to the payment it receives for a pupil under sub.
(4) and, if applicable, sub.
(4m), charge the pupil tuition in an amount determined by the school if both of the following apply:
119.23(3m)(b)2.
2. The family income of the pupil, as determined under sub.
(2) (a) 1., exceeds an amount equal to 2.2 times the poverty level determined in accordance with criteria established by the director of the federal office of management and budget.
119.23(3m)(c)
(c) A private school participating in the program under this section shall determine whether the private school may charge additional tuition to a pupil on the basis of the pupil's family income as permitted under par.
(b). The private school shall establish a process for accepting an appeal to the governing body of the private school of the determination made under this paragraph.
119.23(4)(a)(a) Annually, on or before September 15, a private school participating in the program under this section shall file with the department a report stating its summer daily attendance for each day of summer school for the purpose of sub.
(4m).
119.23(4)(bg)1.1. In the 2013-14 school year, upon receipt from the pupil's parent or guardian of proof of the pupil's enrollment in the private school during a school term, the state superintendent shall pay to the private school in which the pupil is enrolled on behalf of the pupil's parent or guardian, from the appropriation under s.
20.255 (2) (fu), an amount equal to the private school's operating and debt service cost per pupil that is related to educational programming, as determined by the department, or $6,442, whichever is less.
119.23(4)(bg)2.
2. Except as provided in subd.
4., in the 2014-15 school year, upon receipt from the pupil's parent or guardian of proof of the pupil's enrollment in the private school during a school term, the state superintendent shall pay to the private school in which the pupil is enrolled on behalf of the pupil's parent or guardian, from the appropriation under s.
20.255 (2) (fu), the lesser of an amount equal to the private school's operating and debt service cost per pupil that is related to educational programming, as determined by the department, or an amount either of $7,210, if the pupil is enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to 8, or of $7,856, if the pupil is enrolled in a grade from 9 to 12.
119.23(4)(bg)3.
3. In the 2015-16 school year and in each school year thereafter, upon receipt from the pupil's parent or guardian of proof of the pupil's enrollment in the private school during a school term, except as provided in subd.
5., the state superintendent shall pay to the private school in which the pupil is enrolled on behalf of the pupil's parent or guardian, from the appropriation under s.
20.255 (2) (fu), an amount equal to the sum of the maximum amount per pupil the state superintendent paid a private school under this section in the previous school year for the grade in which the pupil is enrolled; the amount of the per pupil revenue adjustment under s.
121.91 (2m) for the current school year, if positive; and the change in the amount of statewide categorical aid per pupil between the previous school year and the current school year, as determined under s.
118.40 (2r) (e) 2p., if positive.
119.23(4)(bg)4.
4. If the pupil described in subd.
2. is enrolled in a private school that enrolls pupils under the program in any grade between kindergarten to 8 and also in any grade between 9 to 12, the state superintendent shall pay to the private school in which the pupil is enrolled on behalf of the pupil's parent or guardian, from the appropriation under s.
20.255 (2) (fu), the lesser of an amount equal to the private school's operating and debt service cost per pupil that is related to educational programming, as determined by the department, or an amount determined as follows:
119.23(4)(bg)4.a.
a. Multiply the number of pupils participating in the program under this section who are enrolled in the private school in any grade between kindergarten to 8 by $7,210.
119.23(4)(bg)4.b.
b. Multiply the number of pupils participating in the program under this section who are enrolled in the private school in any grade between 9 to 12 by $7,856.
119.23(4)(bg)4.d.
d. Divide the amount determined under subd.
4. c. by the total number of pupils participating in the program under this section who are enrolled at the private school.
119.23(4)(bg)5.
5. If the pupil described in subd.
3. is enrolled in a private school that enrolls pupils under the program in any grade between kindergarten to 8 and also in any grade between 9 to 12, the state superintendent shall substitute for the amount described in subd.
3. the amount determined under subd.
4. a. to
d., with the following modifications:
119.23(4)(bg)5.a.
a. Multiply the number of pupils participating in the program who are enrolled in the private school in any grade between kindergarten to 8 by the sum of the maximum amount per pupil the state superintendent paid a private school under this section in the previous school year for the grade in which the pupil is enrolled; the amount of the per pupil revenue adjustment under s.
121.91 (2m) for the current school year, if positive; and the change in the amount of statewide categorical aid per pupil between the previous school year and the current school year, as determined under s.
118.40 (2r) (e) 2p., if positive.
119.23(4)(bg)5.b.
b. Multiply the number of pupils participating in the program who are enrolled in the private school in any grade between 9 to 12 by the sum of the maximum amount per pupil the state superintendent paid a private school under this section in the previous school year for the grade in which the pupil is enrolled; the amount of the per pupil revenue adjustment under s.
121.91 (2m) for the current school year, if positive; and the change in the amount of statewide categorical aid per pupil between the previous school year and the current school year, as determined under s.
118.40 (2r) (e) 2p., if positive.
119.23(4)(c)
(c) The state superintendent shall pay 25 percent of the total amount under this subsection in September, 25 percent in November, 25 percent in February, and 25 percent in May. Each installment may consist of a single check for all pupils attending the private school under this section. The state superintendent shall include the entire amount under sub.
(4m) in the November installment, but the payment shall be made in a separate check from the payment under this subsection.
119.23(4m)(a)(a) In addition to the payment under sub.
(4), the state superintendent shall, subject to par.
(b), pay to each private school participating in the program under this section, on behalf of the parent or guardian of each pupil attending summer school in the private school under this section during a summer and in the manner described in sub.
(4) (c), an amount determined as follows:
119.23(4m)(a)1.
1. Determine the maximum amount that could have been paid, at the end of the immediately preceding school term, per pupil under sub.
(4) (bg) for the grade in which the pupil is attending summer school under this section.
119.23(4m)(a)2.
2. If the pupil attended summer school for at least 15 days of summer instruction at the private school during that summer, multiply the amount under subd.
1. by 0.05.
119.23(4m)(a)3.
3. If the pupil attended summer school for less than 15 days of summer instruction at the private school during that summer, multiply the amount under subd.
1. by 0.05 by the quotient determined by dividing the number of days of summer instruction the pupil attended during that summer by 15.
119.23(4m)(b)
(b) A participating private school may receive a per pupil payment under par.
(a) if all of the following are satisfied:
119.23(4m)(b)1.
1. The private school offers no fewer than 19 summer days of instruction during that summer.
119.23(4m)(b)2.
2. Each summer day of instruction offered by the private school under subd.
1. is comprised of no fewer than 270 minutes of instruction.
119.23(4r)
(4r) If, after the 3rd Friday in September in any school year, a private school participating in the program under this section closes, for each installment under sub.
(4) (c) that was not paid to the private school in that school year, the state superintendent shall pay to the board, from the appropriation under s.
20.255 (2) (fv), the amount determined as follows for each pupil who had been attending the private school under this section in that school year and who enrolls in the school district operating under this chapter in that school year:
119.23(4s)
(4s) Notwithstanding subs.
(4),
(4m), and
(4r), a pupil attending a private school participating in the program under this section who is receiving a scholarship under s.
115.7915 shall not be counted as a pupil attending the private school under this section under sub.
(4),
(4m), or
(4r).
119.23(4v)(a)(a) The department may consider a pupil enrolled in a private school participating in the program under this section who satisfies all of the following as a resident of the city who is enrolled in the private school under this section:
119.23(4v)(a)1.
1. The pupil was a resident of a school district, other than an eligible school district, as defined in s.
118.60 (1) (am), or a 1st class city school district, when the pupil applied to attend the private school under the program under s.
118.60.
119.23(4v)(a)2.
2. The pupil accepted a space at a private school participating in the program under s.
118.60 as a resident of a school district, other than an eligible school district, as defined in s.
118.60 (1) (am), or a 1st class city school district.
119.23(4v)(a)3.
3. The pupil resides in the city on the 3rd Friday in September.
119.23(4v)(a)4.
4. The private school at which the pupil accepted a space under s.
118.60 is participating in the program under this section.
119.23(4v)(b)
(b) If the department considers a pupil as a resident of the city under par.
(a), the department shall ensure that the pupil is not counted for purposes of determining whether a school district has exceeded its pupil participation limit under s.
118.60 (2) (be).
119.23(5)
(5) The state superintendent shall ensure that pupils and parents and guardians of pupils who reside in the city are informed annually of the private schools participating in the program under this section and in the program under s.
118.60.
119.23(6)
(6) The board shall provide transportation to pupils attending a private school under this section if required under s.
121.54 and may claim transportation aid under s.
121.58 for pupils so transported.
