(26) “State superintendent” means the state superintendent of public instruction.
(27) “Wisconsin parental choice program” means the program established under s. 118.60 Stats., for pupils who reside in Wisconsin but do not reside in the Racine Unified School District or in the city of Milwaukee.
PI 35.03 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. Annually by January 10, a school that intends to participate in the private school choice programs in the following school year shall submit to 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 as required under s. 119.23 (3) (a), Stats., from a new pool of applicants each school year. The school’s plan shall be one of the following: 1. The plan provided by the department.
2. The plan provided by the school and approved by the state superintendent. If the school makes a change to the random selection plan in a subsequent school year, the school shall submit, with the school’s notice of intent to participate, the revised plan to the state superintendent for approval.
3. The number of spaces the school has available for pupils participating in each private school choice program in which the school participates.
(b) The open application periods during which the school will accept private school choice program pupil applications. After January 10, a school may not amend the open application periods it selects.
(c) 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. (d) The signature and mailing address of the choice administrator.
(4) NEW PRIVATE SCHOOLS NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE. A new private school shall submit to the department a new private school’s notice of intent to participate no later than August 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year that the school intends to participate in the private school choice programs. The notice shall include all of the following:
(a) The mailing address of the choice administrator of the school, if the school does not have a physical property where the school plans to operate.
(b) 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. (c) The signature and mailing address of the choice administrator.
Note: The Notice of School’s Intent to Participate forms may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction’s webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs. (5) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.
(a) Annually by August 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the school intends to participate, a new private school shall submit a statement to the department in the manner prescribed by the department stating which standard under s. 119.23 (7) (a), Stats., the school intends to meet. (b) 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 the school intends to meet and the criteria the school will use to meet the continuing eligibility standards specified under s. 119.23 (7) (a), Stats.,: 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, the participating school 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 criterion 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 .08 grade equivalent increase for each month between the spring or fall and the spring administration of the standardized achievement test. A school using this criterion shall do all of the following: report, by October 15, 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.
4. At least 70% of the families of choice program pupils meet parental involvement criteria established by the school.
(c) 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 in par. (b) using the criteria submitted in par. (b) during that school year.
(d) A school shall ensure that test security is maintained and pay all costs of administering, scoring, ensuring test security, and reporting results of academic achievement tests if the school uses the results to meet the requirement under s. 119.23 (7) (a) 3., Stats. (6) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.
(a) Annually by August 1 of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which a school intends to participate in the private schools choice programs, a new private school shall submit to the department the information specified under s. 119.23 (6m) (a), Stats., and the form specified under par. (d). (b) Annually by August 1 of the school’s initial school year in the private schools choice programs, a first time participant shall submit to the department the information specified under ss. 119.23 (6m) (a) and (6m) (b) 4., Stats., and the form specified under par. (d). (c) Annually by August 1, a school participating in the choice program that is not a first time participant shall submit to the department updates to any of the information submitted under s. 119.23 (6m) (a) or (6m) (b) 4., Stats. Also, the school shall submit to the department the form specified in par. (d). (d) The board signatures required under s. 119.23 (6m) (c), Stats., and the mailing addresses of board members shall be submitted to the department on a form provided by the department. (7) ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS. Annually by January 15, a school that is fully accredited under s. 119.23 (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.
(8) HOURS OF INSTRUCTION AND ANNUAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS.
(a) Annually by May 1, a school continuing in the private school choice programs shall report to the department the hours of instruction for the upcoming school year on a form provided by the department.
(b) Notwithstanding par. (a), by January 10 of the school year immediately preceding a school’s first year of participation in the private school choice programs, a 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 school board meetings for the current school year required under s. 119.23 (7) (b) 3m., Stats. (e) A school shall revise the reports in pars. (a) to (d) 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.
PI 35.04 School Fees.
(1) A school may not charge pupils participating in a choice program for field trips if the school requires the trip for a class, is a part of the school’s curriculum, or is part of the hours of instruction.
(2) 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.
(3) A school may not impose any fee or other sanction on a parent or pupil for failure to engage in fund raising.
PI 35.05 Pupil application requirements.
(1) DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(a) “Continuing pupil” means an applicant who participated in the Milwaukee parental choice program on the immediately preceding count date or participated in the Wisconsin parental choice program on one of the count dates in the immediately preceding school year.
(b) “Prior year” means the calendar year prior to the school year for which the applicant is applying.
(c) “Family Size” means the number of people who reside together as part of the same household and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Family size includes parents, pupil applicants, and other children who share at least one parent by birth, adoption or by a parent’s current marriage. A parent on military duty is considered to be residing in the household.
(d) “Family income” means the federal adjusted gross income of the parents included in the family size.
(2) RESIDENCY ELIGIBILITY. A school shall obtain one of the residency documents specified by the department from an applicant’s parent that shows the applicant resides at the address on the application at the time of application. The residency document shall be dated no earlier than three months prior to the start of the open application period in which an applicant applies. If a school receives a lease agreement as a residency document, the lease term shall include the date the application was received. The document shall contain the parent name and match the address on the application.
(3) ADDRESS VERIFICATION. A school shall verify that the address on a pupil’s application is in the city of Milwaukee using the city of Milwaukee assessor website, the state of Wisconsin’s Statewide Voter Registration System or another manner permitted by the department.
(4) INCOME ELIGIBILITY. A continuing pupil or a pupil on a choice program waiting list in the preceding school year is not subject to the income requirements for the choice program. A school shall determine if all other applicants meet the income eligibility requirements under s. 119.23(2)(a), Stats., as follows: (a) A school shall obtain the income documentation required by the parent application from the parent. The school shall ensure the information on the income documentation matches the information provided in the online parent application.
(b) A school shall determine whether a pupil is income eligible for the program based on the family size and prior year family income.
(c) A pupil shall be determined ineligible if the application indicates the parent did not receive any income and the application does not contain a sufficient explanation of how basic needs are met.
(d) A pupil shall be determined ineligible if the explanation of how basic needs are met states that income or government assistance was received, but the application states the parent listed on the application did not receive income or participate in government assistance programs.
(5) AGE REQUIREMENT. In order to be eligible for the choice program, a 4-year-old kindergarten pupil, 5-year-old kindergarten pupil, and a first grade pupil shall attain the ages specified in s. 118.14, Stats. (6) APPLICATION RECEIPT. A school may only receive an application during an open application period selected by the school under s. PI 35.03 (3) (b). The school shall receive all documentation, including the documentation required under subs. (2) and (4), during the same open application period in which the school receives the application. (7) INELIGIBLE APPLICATIONS. An application shall be determined ineligible if any of the following apply:
(a) The application does not comply with this section or s. 119.23, Stats., and a correction of the application under sub. (8) is not allowable. (b) The application contains contradictory information.
(8) CORRECTING APPLICATIONS. A school shall correct an application in the following circumstances and manner:
(a) The school shall correct an application by December 15 for applications received during an open application period prior to the third Friday in September and by May 1 for applications received during an open application period after the third Friday in September. If the school does not correct the application as required in this subsection by the specified date, the application is ineligible.
(b) The school shall obtain additional residency documentation after the open application period in which the application was received that meets the requirements in sub. (2) if all of the following apply:
1. The school received residency documentation from the parent during the open application period in which the application was received and the residency documentation contained an address and the name of the parent, even if the parent’s name is misspelled or is a different legal name for the parent.
