Current through August 26, 2024
(1) FINANCIAL
ACCOUNTING SYSTEM. A school participating in the choice program shall use a
double entry financial accounting system organized in a manner that enables
preparation of the audit under ss.
PI 35.09 and 35.10 and contains any other information necessary to fiscally manage the
school. The accounting system shall identify all sources of funding a school
uses in the school's operation. The accounting system shall identify all of the
following if the school receives revenue from the specified source:
(a) Revenue from pupils participating in the
choice program.
(b) Revenue from
parents or other privately paid tuition pupils.
(c) Revenue from the school district in which
the school is located for instruction of pupils enrolled in the
school.
(d) Revenue from the school
district in which the school is located for transportation of the school's
pupils.
(e) Revenue from federal,
state, and local governments.
(2) SCHOOL BUDGET. A school shall complete
all of the following:
(a) Annually by June 30,
a budget for the following school year that contains all of the following:
1. Anticipated enrollments for all pupils
enrolled in the school.
2.
Anticipated enrollments for choice program pupils.
3. Estimated total revenues and
costs.
4. Estimated amounts
required under s.
PI 35.10(3)
(a).
5. A schedule of anticipated beginning and
ending net assets.
6.
Identification of the contingent funding sources the school will use should
actual enrollments be less than expected.
7. Anticipated beginning and ending reserve
balance.
(b) If a
school's actual third Friday in September enrollment for all pupils or for
choice program pupils varies by 20 percent or 20 pupils, whichever is less,
from the anticipated enrollments the school used in the budget required under
par. (a), the school shall, annually by November 1, complete a revised budget
containing all of the following:
1. The
information required in par. (a) that reflects revenues resulting from the
school's actual third Friday in September enrollment.
2. Any other required budget changes related
to the change in revenues resulting from the school's actual third Friday in
September enrollment.
(3) EXPENSE PAYMENT. A school shall pay in
full all of the following as required by the written agreement or, if there is
no written agreement, within 90 days of the receipt of the invoice or payment
request:
(a) Amounts owed to
vendors.
(b) Reimbursements to
employees and other persons for expenses incurred on behalf of the school. A
school may only reimburse an employee or other person if the employee or other
person submits receipts supporting the reimbursement to the school and the
request for reimbursement is made within the time period specified in the
school's written policy for reimbursement. The school shall retain a record of
all reimbursements, including supporting receipts.
(4) EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION. A school shall do
all of the following:
(a) Have a signed,
written agreement for each employee stating the employee's compensation. The
agreement shall be signed by the employee and a representative of the school
before the school makes the first payment to the employee for the school
year.
(b) Provide each employee
with a document that states the dates that the school will pay the employee.
The school shall provide a copy of this document to the employee before the
school makes the first payment required by the document.
(c) Provide a written document to the
employee specifying any changes to a document under par. (a) or (b) before any
change is effective. The written notification does not need to be signed. If
the change is to the compensation for the employee, the written notification
shall include all of the following:
1. The
dollar amount of the compensation change or how the compensation change will be
calculated.
2. If the compensation
change is a one time amount that will be paid to the employee, the written
notification shall specify when the one time compensation payment will be
paid.
3. If the compensation change
is an ongoing change, the written notification shall specify the date the
ongoing compensation change is effective.
(d) Make payments to employees based on the
documents in pars. (a) to (c).
(5) FINANCIAL INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM. A
school shall have an adequate system of financial internal controls which
requires a school to do all the following:
(a)
Deposit all receipts and pay all disbursements from a depository account
maintained solely for the school's purposes unless the operating organization's
financial accounting system separately identifies the school's transactions and
account balances. The depository account the school or its operating
organization uses for school purposes shall be located in the state of
Wisconsin.
(b) Maintain
documentation as to the nature and source of all cash receipts.
(c) Use pre-numbered checks for all
non-electronic school disbursements except those from a petty cash
fund.
(d) Maintain invoices and
payment requests supporting disbursements.
(e) Ensure that no checks or other
withdrawals are denied due to insufficient funds.
(f) Authorize electronic fund transfers by
the school in accordance with a policy established by the school.
(g) Reconcile the school's bank accounts on a
monthly basis.
(h) Establish a
policy indicating what expenses will be included in eligible education expenses
and the methods that will be used to allocate any expenses or government
assistance revenues that are related to eligible education expenses and other
activities.
(6)
GOVERNMENT AGENCY FILINGS AND PAYMENTS. A school shall be current with all of
the following:
(a) Filing, payments, and
withholdings payment requirements of the U.S. internal revenue
service.
(b) Filing, payments, and
withholdings payment requirements of the Wisconsin department of
revenue.
(c) Filing and payment
requirements of the Wisconsin department of workforce development.
(d) Filing and payment requirements of the
Wisconsin department of financial institutions.
(e) Filing requirements of the Wisconsin
department of safety and professional services.
(f) Auditing requirements of federal, state,
and local government entities. The school shall submit to the department a copy
of audit reports issued or revisions of such reports within 30 days of
submission to the requiring government agency.
(7) LIABILITY INSURANCE. A school shall have
insurance coverage provided by an insurance company licensed to do business in
the state of Wisconsin or by a non-profit, tax exempt mutual protective
organization covering risks of schools of, and controlled by, a religious
denomination. All coverage shall be on an occurrence form or a claims made
basis. A school's minimum insurance coverage shall be as follows:
(a) Worker's compensation insurance as
specified in ch. 102, Stats.
(b)
Commercial general liability insurance in the following amounts unless the
coverage amounts are based on a written recommendation of a risk or insurance
consultant.
1. For each occurrence, minimum
coverage in the amount of $1,000,000.
2. Personal injury coverage of not less than
$1,000,000.
(c) Umbrella
excess liability insurance with an aggregate limit minimum coverage of
$5,000,000, unless the coverage amount is based on a written recommendation of
a risk or insurance consultant.
(d)
Auto liability insurance with a combined single limit minimum coverage of
$1,000,000 for each accident unless the coverage amount is based on a written
recommendation of a risk or insurance consultant.
(e) Errors and omissions insurance for school
management with an aggregate limit minimum coverage of $1,000,000 unless the
coverage amount is based on a written recommendation of a risk or insurance
consultant.
(f) Sexual misconduct
liability insurance with an aggregate limit minimum coverage of $1,000,000
unless the coverage amount is based on a written recommendation of a risk or
insurance consultant.
(8) SCHOOL BUS. If a school operates or
contracts for the operation of school buses with an organization other than a
Wisconsin school district, the school or the contracted operator shall have
school bus insurance as required under s.
121.53,
Stats., and complete the inspections required under s.
Trans 300.87. The school may not contract for the school bus
operation with an organization other than a Wisconsin school district unless
the operator has provided the school with a certificate of insurance meeting
the requirements of s.
121.53,
Stats., and has completed the inspection report required under s.
Trans 300.87.
(9) ALTERNATIVE VEHICLE PUPIL TRANSPORTATION.
Any motor vehicle, other than school buses, used by a school to provide pupil
transportation shall comply with the conditions specified in s.
121.555,
Stats.
(10m) Background checks.
(a) In this subsection, "license" means a
valid license issued by the department under ch. PI 34.
(b) Schools shall conduct criminal background
investigations of all employees by completing one of the following:
1. Conduct a criminal background check prior
to employing any individual at the school and every 5 years after the date of
the previous background check.
2.
Complete all of the following procedures for an individual with a license:
a. Obtain and retain a copy of the
license.
b. Annually determine that
the individual has a license in advance of the employee working for the school
term.
(c) The
requirements under par. (b) shall be completed for all individuals defined as
employees under s.
108.02(12),
Stats., who are directly or indirectly related to educational programming. For
the purposes of this paragraph, an individual shall be determined to be
directly or indirectly related to educational programming if any of the
following apply:
1. Any compensation for the
individual is included as an eligible education expense in a financial audit
submitted under s.
115.7915,
118.60,
or
119.23,
Stats.
2. The individual interacts
with pupils.
3. The individual
performs financial, administrative, or academic duties for the
school.
(d) A school may
not employ any of the following individuals:
1. Individuals who have engaged in immoral
conduct as defined under s.
115.31(1) (c), Stats.
2. Individuals who are not eligible for a
teaching license under s.
118.19(4),
Stats.
(11)
FIDELITY BOND. A school shall have a fidelity bond indemnifying the school
against loss resulting from dishonesty, malfeasance, or neglect by owners,
officers, and employees.
(12)
EMPLOYEE EDUCATION. A school shall ensure all teachers, administrators, and
teacher aides meet the requirements of s.
119.23(2) (a) 6.
and (7) (b) 3, Stats., and s.
PI 35.16, unless a teacher or administrator is exempt
under s.
119.23(2) (c), Stats.
(13) MANAGEMENT LETTER REVIEW. An auditor
shall review the management letter required under s.
119.23(7) (am) 2m a., Stats., and determine whether a school
has properly remediated any concerns raised by the auditor in the letter. If
the auditor determines a concern has not been properly remediated by the
school, the auditor shall include the following in the report:
(a) The concern that has not been properly
remediated.
(b) The action the
school has taken to remediate the concern.
(c) The potential impact of not resolving the
concern.
(d) Recommendations for
resolving the concern.
(14) FISCAL AND INTERNAL CONTROL PRACTICES
REPORT. A school shall engage an auditor to submit a report to the department
by December 15 attesting to the school's compliance or non-compliance with the
fiscal and internal control practices required in this section. The report
shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) The report shall be prepared in
accordance with professional standards and identify the procedures agreed upon
by the auditor and the department that were used in determining compliance or
non-compliance. In making such a determination, the auditor shall not rely on
oral or written representations of the school's management or staff.
(b) If the auditor determines that the school
has not complied with the fiscal and internal control practices in subs. (1) to
(12), the report shall include a letter from the school describing the reasons
for noncompliance and the corrective action the school is taking.
The fiscal and internal control practices report may be
obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's
webpage at
http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
