Current through August 26, 2024
(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 35.04(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 file with the department a notice of
intent to participate. The notice shall include all of the following:
(a) 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.
119.23(3) (a), Stats. The school's plan shall be one of
the following:
1. The plan provided by the
department.
2. A plan provided by
the school and approved by the department. A school using this option shall
file the plan with 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 file, with the school's notice of intent to participate,
the revised plan for approval.
(b) The number of spaces the school has
available for pupils participating in the choice program.
(bm) The expected number of choice program
pupils that will participate in summer school under s.
PI 35.08.
(c)
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.
(d)
For first time participants, 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.
119.23(2) (c) 2, Stats.
(e) The signature and mailing address of the
choice administrator.
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.
(5) DISCLOSURE OF
INFORMATION.
(a) By January 10 prior to the
school's initial school year in the choice program, a first time participant
shall file with the department the information required under s.
119.23(6p) (a), 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
file with the department any changes to the school's governing body members,
including signatures required under s.
119.23(6m) (c), Stats., and the mailing addresses for
each new governing body member on a form provided by the department.
Note: The disclosure of information form and
school update form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department
of public instruction's webpage at
http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
(6) ACCREDITATION
REQUIREMENTS. A school participating in the choice program shall be accredited
by an accrediting agency under s.
119.23(1) (ab), Stats. Annually by August 1, a school
that is fully accredited under s.
119.23(2) (a) 7, Stats., shall file with the department a
notice from the school's accrediting agency under s.
119.23(1) (ab), Stats., stating that the school is
accredited as of the date of the notice. The notice shall meet all of the
following requirements:
(a) The notice 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 by the
agency.
4. Notification that the
school is accredited at the time the notice is filed.
(b) The notice shall be filed no earlier than
the beginning of the school year.
(c) The notice shall be completed by an
authorized member of the accrediting agency.
(7) HOURS OF INSTRUCTION AND ANNUAL SCHOOL
BOARD MEETINGS.
(a) By the first weekday in
May of the school year immediately preceding the first school year in which a
first time participant intends to participate in the choice program, a first
time participant shall file with 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.
119.23(2) (a)
8, Stats., and s.
PI 35.06(6).
(b) Annually by the last weekday in
September, as part of the pupil count report for the third Friday in September
required under s.
PI 35.06(8) or another manner prescribed
by the department, a school shall file all of the following with the
department:
1. The school's start and end date
for the current school term.
2. The
dates of the two governing body meetings for the current school year required
under s.
119.23(7) (b) 3m, Stats.
3. The hours of instruction for the current
school term. The hours of instruction shall comply with the requirements under
s.
119.23(2) (a)
8, Stats., and s.
PI 35.06(6).
Note: 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.
(f) Upon request by the
department, a school shall provide documentation showing how the school meets
the hours of instruction requirements under s.
119.23(2) (a)
8, Stats., and s.
PI 35.06(6).
(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.
(9) ALL
STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.
(a) By the
first weekday in August of the school year in which a first time participant
intends to participate in the choice program, a first time participant shall
file a form with the department identifying whether the school will provide the
data required under s.
115.385(3) (b), Stats., to the department.
(b) Annually by the first weekday in August,
a school may file a form with the department identifying changes to whether the
school will provide the data required under s.
115.385(3) (b), Stats., to the department. After the
first weekday in August, the school may not make changes for that school
year.
The form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin
department of public instruction's webpage at
http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
