Section 48.03. School requirements.

 

(1)   Private school. A school participating in the choice program shall be a private school as defined in s. 118.165 , Stats.

(2)   Choice administrator. The choice administrator shall be one of the following:

(a) An owner of the school.

(b) An individual appointed as the school's choice administrator by the governing body of the organization operating the school.

(3)   Notice of intent to participate. Except as provided under s. PI 48.04 (1) for new private schools, annually by January 10, a school that intends to participate in the choice program in the following school year shall submit to the department a notice of intent to participate.

(a) The notice shall include all of the following:

1. Except as provided under par. (b) , the school's plan for ensuring it will select pupils on a random basis from a new pool of applicants each school year, as required under s. 118.60 (3) (a) , Stats. The school's plan shall be one of the following:

a. The plan provided by the department.

b. A plan provided by the school and approved by the department. A school using this option shall submit the plan to the department for approval by January 10. If the school does not provide a plan by January 10 or the plan is not approved by the department by January 31, the school shall use the plan provided by the department. If the school makes a change to the plan in a subsequent school year, the school shall submit, with the school's notice of intent to participate, the revised plan to the department for approval.

2. The number of spaces the school has available for pupils participating in each choice program in which the school participates.

3. The open application periods during which the school will accept choice program pupil applications. After January 10, a school may not amend the open application periods it selects.

4. The name and location of the accredited institution of higher education from which the choice administrator received at least a bachelor's degree and the date the degree was received, the number of the choice administrator's teaching or administrator license issued by the department, or an indication that the administrator is excluded from the requirement under s. 118.60 (2) (c) 2. , Stats.

5. The signature and mailing address of the choice administrator.

(b) A school only participating in the Wisconsin parental choice program is not required to submit the random selection plan under par. (a) 1. in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

(4)   Continuing eligibility.

(a) Annually by October 15, a school participating in the choice program shall submit a report to the department for each choice program in which it participates that states which of the following standards under s. 118.60 (7) (a) , Stats., the school intends to meet:

1. At least 70% of the choice program pupils attending the school advance one grade level each school year. In this subdivision, “advance one grade level" means successful completion of at least four credits or the equivalent as approved by the state superintendent during each school year. For pupils in grades kindergarten through 8, a school using this standard shall ensure each pupil who has advanced one grade level has met one of the following criteria:

a. Achievement of 70% of the instructional objectives specific to each grade level in reading, mathematics and language arts that are introduced during each semester of the current school year. A school using this criteria shall do all of the following: establish written objectives and performance standards for reading, mathematics and language arts for each grade level in which choice program pupils are enrolled; document written criteria and methodology for evaluating pupil performance for each objective and document each pupil's performance using the evaluation method specified in this subparagraph in a written record; and maintain these records for 5 years.

b. Achievement of at least 0.08 grade equivalent increase for each month between the annual or semi-annual administration of the standardized achievement test. A school using this criteria shall do all of the following: by October 15, report to the department the tests to be administered and the dates on which they will be administered and maintain each pupil's answer sheets and score information for 5 years.

2. The school's average attendance rate for choice program pupils is at least 90%. The school shall use the official attendance records to determine attendance.

3. At least 80% of choice program pupils demonstrate significant academic progress. In this subdivision, “significant academic progress" means a pupil demonstrates the following:

a. Improvement in reading and mathematics in comparison to the pupil's performance level in the previous school year.

b. Satisfactory performance on at least 50% of any new instructional concepts in reading and mathematics the school introduced during each of the current school year semesters, and the level of attainment is documented in a written record of performance at the beginning, mid-point and end of each semester.

4. At least 70% of the families of choice program pupils meet parental involvement criteria established by the school.

(b) Annually by June 30, a school participating in the choice program shall submit a report to the department for each program in which it participates that establishes the school has met the standard selected under par. (a) during that school year.

(c) A school that uses academic achievement test results to meet the requirement under par. (a) shall do all of the following:

1. Ensure that test security is maintained.

2. Pay all costs of administering the test, scoring the test, ensuring test security, and reporting the results of the test.

(5)   Disclosure of information.

(a) Annually by August 1 of the school's initial school year in the choice program, a first time participant shall submit to the department all of the following:

1. The information specified under ss. 118.60 (6m) (a) and (b) 4. , Stats.

2. The governing body members' signatures required under s. 118.60 (6m) (c) , Stats., and the mailing addresses for each governing body member on a form provided by the department.

(b) Annually by August 1, a school participating in the choice program that is not a first time participant shall submit to the department all of the following:

1. Updates to any of the information submitted under s. 118.60 (6m) (a) or (b) 4. , Stats.

2. The governing body members' signatures required under s. 118.60 (6m) (c) , Stats., and the mailing addresses for each governing body member on a form provided by the department.

(6)   Accreditation requirements. Annually by January 15, a school that is fully accredited under s. 118.60 (2) (a) 7. , Stats., shall provide to the department a letter from the school's accrediting agency stating whether the school is accredited as of the date of the letter. The letter shall meet all of the following requirements:

(a) The letter shall include the following information:

1. The school's name.

2. The school's address for each location included in the accreditation.

3. The grades accredited.

4. A statement that the school is or is not accredited as of the date of the letter.

(b) The letter shall be dated no earlier than the beginning of the school year.

(c) The letter shall be signed by an authorized member of the accrediting agency.

(7)   Hours of instruction and annual school board meetings.

(a) Annually by May 1, a school continuing in the choice program shall report to the department the hours of instruction for the upcoming school year on a form provided by the department. The hours of instruction shall comply with the requirements under s. 118.60 (2) (a) 8. , Stats.

(b) Notwithstanding par. (a) , by January 10 a first time participant school shall report to the department the hours of instruction for the upcoming school year on a form provided by the department.

(c) Annually by October 15, a school shall report to the department the first and last dates of its current school term.

(d) Annually by October 15, a school shall report the dates of the two governing body meetings for the current school year required under s. 118.60 (7) (b) 3m. , Stats.

(e) A school shall revise the reports in par. (a) or (b) if it changes its hours of instruction. The school shall submit revisions to the department by May 15 of the current school year. A school may not shorten its school term after the start of the school term without prior written approval from the department.

(8)   School fees.

(a) A school may not charge pupils participating in a choice program for a field trip if the trip is required for a class, is part of the school's curriculum, or is part of the hours of instruction.

(b) A school may have a written policy indicating it will charge a fine for lost, damaged, or unreturned school property. The amount of the fine may not exceed the cost of the item.

(c) A school may not impose any fee or other sanction on a parent or pupil for failure to engage in fund raising.

History: EmR1608 : emerg. cr. eff. 1-30-16; CR 16-006 : cr. Register July 2016 No. 727 , eff. 8-1-16; correction in (5) (a) 1., (b) 1. made under s. 35.17 Stats., Register July 2016 No. 727 .

Note

The notice of school's intent to participate form, which includes the department's random selection plan, may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The disclosure of information form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The hours of instruction form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs . Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1