Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Senate Bill SB605 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 SENATE BILL 605
5	5	October 30, 2023 - Introduced by Senator KNODL, cosponsored by Representatives
6	6	PENTERMAN, MELOTIK, BRANDTJEN, DITTRICH, DONOVAN, S. JOHNSON, KITCHENS,
7	7	MICHALSKI, MURPHY, O'CONNOR, RETTINGER, ROZAR and GOEBEN. Referred to
8	8	Committee on Education.
9	9	AN ACT to amend 118.51 (3) (intro.), 118.51 (3) (a) 1d., 118.51 (3m) (a), 118.51 (8),
10	10	118.51 (9), 118.51 (15) (a) and 118.51 (15) (c) 2. and 4.; and to create 118.51 (3p)
11	11	and 118.51 (5) (a) 7. of the statutes; relating to: applications for full-time open
12	12	enrollment.
13	13	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
14	14	Under the full-time open enrollment program (OEP), a pupil may attend a
15	15	public school in a school district other than the pupil's resident school district
16	16	(nonresident school district). Under current law, the standard OEP application
17	17	procedure requires a pupil's parent to apply to a nonresident school district during
18	18	the spring semester immediately preceding the school year in which the pupil wishes
19	19	to attend the nonresident school district. Current law also provides an alternative
20	20	application procedure that allows a pupil's parent to apply to a nonresident school
21	21	district at any time during the school year, if certain circumstances apply, such as the
22	22	pupil moved into this state, the pupil has been the victim of repeated bullying or
23	23	harassment, or the pupil's parent, the resident school board, and the nonresident
24	24	school board agree that attending school in the nonresident school district is in the
25	25	best interests of the pupil.
26	26	This bill creates an alternative OEP application procedure for pupils who have
27	27	a parent who is employed as a teacher in the nonresident school district to which the
28	28	application is made. The application procedure created in the bill is available at any
29	29	time during the school year and, if a pupil is accepted under the procedure, the pupil
30	30	may immediately begin attending public school in the nonresident school district.
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36	36	SENATE BILL 605
37	37	However, under the bill, if the pupil's parent is no longer employed by the
38	38	nonresident school board as a teacher or an administrator, the nonresident school
39	39	board may require the pupil to reapply using the standard or existing alternative
40	40	OEP application procedure.
41	41	Current law limits the criteria that a nonresident school district may use to
42	42	accept or reject applications under the OEP. One of the criteria that a nonresident
43	43	school district may use is the availability of space in the schools, programs, classes,
44	44	or grades in the nonresident school district. Current law requires each school board
45	45	to determine the availability of regular and special education spaces it has for
46	46	nonresident pupils to attend school under the OEP at the school board's regular
47	47	January meeting in the preceding school year. Under the application procedure
48	48	created in the bill, a nonresident school board may accept a pupil's application even
49	49	if the result is that the nonresident school board exceeds the number of spaces it
50	50	determined were available for nonresident pupils in a school, program, class, or
51	51	grade in the nonresident school district. In other words, the space limitations
52	52	determined by the nonresident school board do not apply to these applications. The
53	53	bill also adds whether a pupil's parent is employed as a teacher by the nonresident
54	54	school district to the criteria that a nonresident school district may use to accept or
55	55	reject OEP applications.
56	56	Finally, current law limits the number of nonresident school boards to which
57	57	a pupil may apply to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under the
58	58	OEP. Specifically, under current law, OEP applications for a pupil may be submitted
59	59	to no more than three nonresident school boards in any school year. However,
60	60	applications submitted to a nonresident school board for a pupil to attend a virtual
61	61	charter school under the OEP does not count towards this limitation. Under the bill,
62	62	applications submitted under the new application procedure also do not count
63	63	towards this limitation and may be submitted even if applications for the pupil have
64	64	already been submitted to nonresident school boards in that school year.
65	65	For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
66	66	an appendix to this bill.
67	67	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
68	68	enact as follows:
69	69	SECTION 1. 118.51 (3) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
70	70	118.51 (3) APPLICATION PROCEDURES. (intro.) Except as provided under sub.
71	71	subs. (3m) and (3p), the following procedures govern pupil applications to attend a
72	72	public school in a nonresident school district under this section:
73	73	SECTION 2. 118.51 (3) (a) 1d. of the statutes is amended to read:
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81	81	SECTION 2
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83	83	118.51 (3) (a) 1d. For purposes of determining whether applications have been
84	84	submitted to more than 3 nonresident school boards, the department may not count
85	85	an application submitted to a nonresident school board for a pupil to attend a virtual
86	86	charter school or an application under sub. (3p).
87	87	SECTION 3. 118.51 (3m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
88	88	118.51 (3m) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (3), the parent of a pupil who wishes to
89	89	attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section may, in lieu
90	90	of applying under sub. (3), submit an application under this subsection, on a form
91	91	provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the school board of the nonresident
92	92	school district that the pupil wants to attend if the pupil satisfies at least one of the
93	93	criteria under par. (b). Applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident
94	94	school boards in any school year. For purposes of determining whether applications
95	95	have been submitted to more than 3 nonresident school boards, the department may
96	96	not count an application submitted to a nonresident school board for a pupil to attend
97	97	a virtual charter school or an application under sub. (3p).
98	98	SECTION 4. 118.51 (3p) of the statutes is created to read:
99	99	118.51 (3p) ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION; PARENT'S EMPLOYMENT STATUS. (a) If a
100	100	pupil's parent is employed as a teacher in a nonresident school district and the pupil
101	101	wishes to attend a public school in the nonresident school district under this section,
102	102	the pupil's parent may, in lieu of applying under sub. (3), submit an application under
103	103	this subsection, on a form provided by the department under sub. (15) (a), to the
104	104	school board of the nonresident school district. Notwithstanding subs. (3) (a) 1. and
105	105	(3m) (a), an application may be submitted under this subsection regardless of the
106	106	number of applications that have been submitted to nonresident school boards in a
107	107	school year.
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134	134	SECTION 4 SENATE BILL 605
135	135	(b) If a nonresident school board receives an application under par. (a), the
136	136	nonresident school board shall immediately forward a copy of the application to the
137	137	resident school board, and shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has
138	138	accepted the application no later than 20 days after receiving the application. If the
139	139	nonresident school board has accepted the application, the nonresident school board
140	140	shall identify the specific school or program that the pupil may attend. A nonresident
141	141	school board may accept an application under par. (a) even if in doing so the
142	142	nonresident school district exceeds the space available in the school, program, class,
143	143	or grade within the nonresident school district, as determined under sub. (5) (a) 1.
144	144	(c) If an application is accepted by the nonresident school board under par. (b),
145	145	the pupil may immediately begin attending the school or program in the nonresident
146	146	school district and shall begin attending the school or program no later than the 15th
147	147	day following receipt by the parent of the pupil of the notice of acceptance under par.
148	148	(b). If the pupil has not enrolled in or attended school in the nonresident school
149	149	district by the day specified in this paragraph, the nonresident school district may
150	150	notify the pupil's parent, in writing, that the pupil is no longer authorized to attend
151	151	the school or program in the nonresident school district.
152	152	(d) If an application is accepted by the nonresident school board under par. (b)
153	153	and the pupil begins attending a public school in the nonresident school district, the
154	154	pupil may continue to attend a public school in the nonresident school district in the
155	155	following school year and may continue to attend a public school in the nonresident
156	156	school district in succeeding school years without reapplying, except that the
157	157	nonresident school board may require the pupil to reapply under sub. (3) or (3m) if
158	158	the pupil's parent is no longer employed as a teacher or an administrator in the
159	159	nonresident school district.
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187	187	SECTION 5
188	188	SENATE BILL 605
189	189	SECTION 5. 118.51 (5) (a) 7. of the statutes is created to read:
190	190	118.51 (5) (a) 7. Whether the pupil's parent is employed as a teacher by the
191	191	nonresident school board.
192	192	SECTION 6. 118.51 (8) of the statutes is amended to read:
193	193	118.51 (8) DISCIPLINARY RECORDS. Notwithstanding s. 118.125, for an
194	194	application submitted under sub. (3) (a), by the first Friday following the first
195	195	Monday in May, and within 10 days of receiving a copy of an application under sub.
196	196	(3m) (c) or (3p) (b), the resident school board shall provide to the nonresident school
197	197	board to which a pupil has applied under this section a copy of any expulsion findings
198	198	and orders pertaining to the pupil, a copy of records of any pending disciplinary
199	199	proceeding involving the pupil, a written explanation of the reasons for the expulsion
200	200	or pending disciplinary proceeding and the length of the term of the expulsion or the
201	201	possible outcomes of the pending disciplinary proceeding.
202	202	SECTION 7. 118.51 (9) of the statutes is amended to read:
203	203	118.51 (9) APPEAL OF REJECTION. If the nonresident school board rejects an
204	204	application under sub. (3) (a), (3p) (a), or (7), the resident school board prohibits a
205	205	pupil from attending public school in a nonresident school district under sub. (3m)
206	206	(d) or the nonresident school board prohibits a pupil from attending public school in
207	207	the nonresident school district under sub. (11), the pupil's parent may appeal the
208	208	decision to the department within 30 days after the decision. If the nonresident
209	209	school board provides notice that the special education or related service is not
210	210	available under sub. (12) (b), the pupil's parent may appeal the required transfer to
211	211	the department within 30 days after receipt of the notice. The department shall
212	212	affirm the school board's decision unless the department finds that the decision was
213	213	arbitrary or unreasonable.
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240	240	SECTION 8 SENATE BILL 605
241	241	SECTION 8. 118.51 (15) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
242	242	118.51 (15) (a) Application form. Prepare, distribute to school districts, and
243	243	make available to parents an application form to be used by parents under sub. (3)
244	244	(a) and, an application form to be used by parents under sub. (3m) (a), and an
245	245	application form to be used by parents under sub. (3p) (a). The form shall include
246	246	provisions that permit a parent to apply for transportation reimbursement under
247	247	sub. (14) (b). The form shall require an applicant who is applying to attend a virtual
248	248	charter school to indicate that he or she is applying to attend a virtual charter school,
249	249	the number of virtual charter schools to which he or she is applying, and whether he
250	250	or she is a sibling of a pupil currently enrolled in a virtual charter school through the
251	251	open enrollment program.
252	252	SECTION 9. 118.51 (15) (c) 2. and 4. of the statutes are amended to read:
253	253	118.51 (15) (c) 2. The number of applications received under subs. (3) (a) and
254	254	(3m) (a), and (3p) (a) and, for the applications received under sub. (3m) (a), the
255	255	number of applications received under each of the criteria listed in sub. (3m) (b).
256	256	4. The number of pupils attending public school in a nonresident school district
257	257	under this section. The department shall specify, separately, the number of pupils
258	258	attending public school in a nonresident school district whose applications were
259	259	accepted under subs. (3) (a) 3. and, (3m) (c), and (3p) (b), and, for the applications
260	260	accepted under sub. (3m) (c), the number of pupils attending under each of the
261	261	criteria listed in sub. (3m) (b).
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