The bill restores a private individual’s authority to bring a qui tam claim against a person who makes a false or fraudulent claim for Medical Assistance, which was eliminated in 2015 Wisconsin Act 55, and further expands qui tam actions to include any false or fraudulent claims to a state agency. A qui tam claim is a claim initiated by a private individual on his or her own behalf and on behalf of the state against a person who makes a false claim relating to Medical Assistance or other moneys from a state agency. The bill provides that a private individual may be awarded up to 30 percent of the amount of moneys recovered as a result of a qui tam claim, depending upon the extent of the individual’s contribution to the prosecution of the action. The individual may also be entitled to reasonable expenses incurred in bringing the action, as well as attorney fees. The bill includes additional changes not included in the prior law to incorporate provisions enacted in the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and conform state law to the federal False Claims Act, including expanding provisions to facilitate qui tam actions and modifying the bases for liability to parallel the liability provisions under the federal False Claims Act. In addition to qui tam claims, DOJ has independent authority to bring a claim against a person for making a false claim for Medical Assistance. The bill modifies provisions relating to DOJ’s authority to parallel the liability and penalty standards relating to qui tam claims and to parallel the forfeiture amounts provided under the federal False Claims Act.
DOT data sharing
Under current law, DOT annually transmits to the director of state courts a list of persons residing in the state that includes certain information about those persons. Each year, the director of state courts uses that information, along with other information available to the director of state courts, to compile a master list of potential jurors for use by the state circuit courts. The bill requires DOT to also send that list to the clerks of court for the federal district courts within this state.
County law libraries
The bill creates an appropriation account to receive any amounts from counties for providing materials or other services under contracts for county law libraries.
CRIMES
Expungement
Under current law, a court may order a person’s criminal record expunged of a crime if all of the following apply:
1. The maximum term of imprisonment for the crime is six years or less (Class H felony and below).
2. The person committed the crime before the age of 25.
3. The person had not been previously convicted of a felony.
4. The crime was not a violent felony.
Current law specifies that the expungement order must be made only at sentencing and then the record is expunged when the person completes his or her sentence. If the court does not order a criminal record expunged at sentencing, current law generally does not provide for another means to expunge the criminal record.
The bill makes several changes to the expungement process. The bill removes the condition that the person committed the crime before the age of 25. (The bill retains the requirements that the crime be no greater than a Class H felony, the person had no previous felony convictions, and the crime was not a violent felony.) The bill makes certain crimes ineligible for expungement, such as traffic crimes, the crime of violating a domestic abuse restraining order or injunction, criminal trespass, and criminal damage to a business. The bill also allows the sentencing court to order that a person’s record not be eligible for expungement.
The bill continues to allow the court to order at sentencing that the record be expunged when the person completes his or her sentence. The bill also provides that, if the court did not make an order at sentencing, the person may file a petition with the sentencing court after he or she completes his or her sentence. Upon receipt of the petition, the court must review the petition and then may order the record expunged or may deny the petition. If the court denies the petition, the person may not file another petition for two years. The person must pay a $100 fee to the county for a second petition, and no person may file more than two petitions per crime. The bill limits a person to one expungement. The changes described in this paragraph retroactively apply to persons who were convicted of a crime before the bill takes effect.
The bill provides that, if a record is expunged of a crime, that crime is not considered a conviction for employment purposes and specifies that employment discrimination because of a conviction record includes requesting a person to supply information regarding a crime if the record has been expunged of the crime. Finally, the bill provides that it is not employment discrimination because of conviction record for the Law Enforcement Standards Board to consider a conviction that has been expunged with respect to applying any standard or requirement for the certification, decertification, or required training of law enforcement officers, tribal law enforcement officers, jail officers, and juvenile detention officers.
Immunity for certain controlled substances offenses
Current law grants immunity from prosecution for possessing a controlled substance to a person, called an aider, who summons or provides emergency medical assistance to another person because the aider believes the other person is suffering from an overdose or other adverse reaction to a controlled substance. Under 2017 Wisconsin Act 33, an aider was also immune from having probation, parole, or extended supervision revoked for possessing a controlled substance under the same circumstances. Act 33 also granted the aided person immunity from having probation, parole, or extended supervision revoked for possessing a controlled substance when an aider seeks assistance for the aided person. The immunity applied only if the aided person completes a treatment program as part of his or her probation, parole, or extended supervision. Act 33 also provided that a prosecutor must offer an aided person who is subject to prosecution for possessing a controlled substance a deferred prosecution agreement if the aided person completes a treatment program. The expanded immunities under Act 33 were temporary, and expired on August 1, 2020. The bill permanently restores these expanded immunities from Act 33.
Alternatives to prosecution for disorderly conduct
The bill requires a prosecutor to offer to certain disorderly conduct defendants a deferred prosecution agreement or an agreement in which the defendant stipulates to his or her guilt of a noncriminal ordinance violation. Under the bill, a prosecutor must offer alternatives to prosecution to a person who has committed a disorderly conduct violation if it is the person’s first disorderly conduct violation, the person has not committed a similar violation previously, and the person has not committed a felony in the previous three years. Under the bill, if the person is offered a deferred prosecution agreement, he or she must be required to pay restitution, if applicable.
EDUCATION
Primary and secondary education: general school aids and revenue limits
School district revenue limits; per pupil increase
Current law generally limits the total amount of revenue per pupil that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes in a school year to the amount of revenue allowed per pupil in the previous school year plus a per pupil adjustment, if any, as provided by law. Current law does not provide a per pupil adjustment in the 2021-22 school year and any school year thereafter.
For purposes of calculating school district revenue limits, the bill provides a per pupil increase of $350 for the 2023-24 school year and $650 for the 2024-25 school year. Under the bill, in the 2025-26 school year and thereafter, the per pupil adjustment is the per pupil increase for the previous school year as adjusted for any increase in the consumer price index.
Low revenue ceiling; per pupil amount and restrictions
Current law provides a minimum per pupil revenue limit for school districts, known as the revenue ceiling. Under current law, the per pupil revenue ceiling is $10,000 in the 2020-21 school year and each school year thereafter. The bill increases the per pupil revenue ceiling to $10,450 for the 2023-24 school year and to $11,200 for the 2024-25 school year and, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, annually adjusts the revenue ceiling for any increase in the consumer price index.
Current law also provides that during the three school years following a school year in which an operating referendum fails in a school district, the school district’s revenue ceiling is the revenue ceiling that applied in the school year during which the referendum was held. The bill eliminates the provision under which a school district’s revenue ceiling is the revenue ceiling from a previous school year because an operating referendum failed in the school district.
Counting pupils enrolled in four-year-old kindergarten
The bill changes how a pupil enrolled in a four-year-old kindergarten is counted by a school district for purposes of state aid and revenue limits. Under current law, beginning with state aid paid in the 2024-25 school year and revenue limits calculated for the 2024-25 school year, a pupil enrolled in a four-year-old kindergarten program is counted as 0.5 pupil unless the program provides at least 87.5 additional hours of outreach activities, in which case the pupil is counted as 0.6 pupil. Under the bill, if the four-year-old kindergarten program requires full-day attendance by pupils for five days a week, a pupil enrolled in the program is counted as one pupil.
High poverty aid
Under current law, if at least 50 percent of a school district’s enrollment is eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program, the school district is eligible for a prorated share of the amount appropriated as high poverty aid. For school districts other than a first class city school district (currently only Milwaukee Public Schools), high poverty aid is considered state aid for purposes of revenue limits. For MPS, high poverty aid must be used to reduce the school property tax levied for the purpose of offsetting the aid reduction attributable to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. The bill eliminates high poverty aid beginning in the 2023-24 school year.
Primary and secondary education: categorical aids
Per pupil aid
Under current law, per pupil aid is a categorical aid paid to school districts. Per pupil aid is funded from a sum sufficient appropriation and is not considered for purposes of revenue limits. Under current law, the amount of per pupil aid paid to a school district is calculated using a three-year average of the number of pupils enrolled in the school district and a per pupil amount set by law. Under current law, in the 2022-23 school year and each school year thereafter, the per pupil amount is $742. Under the bill, the per pupil amount is $766 in the 2023-24 school year and $811 in the 2024-25 school year and each year thereafter.
Funding for special education and school age parents programs
The bill changes the rate at which the state reimburses school boards, operators of independent charter schools, cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs), and county children with disabilities education boards (CCDEBs) for costs incurred to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities and for school age parents programs (eligible costs). Under current law, the state reimburses the full cost of special education for children in hospitals and convalescent homes for orthopedically disabled children. After those costs are paid, the state reimburses remaining eligible costs from the amount remaining in the appropriation account at a rate that distributes the full amount appropriated. DPI estimates that, in the 2022-23 school year, the reimbursement rate is 31.7 percent.
The bill changes the appropriation to a sum sufficient and provides that, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, after full payment of hospital and convalescent home costs, the remaining costs are reimbursed at 60 percent of eligible costs.
Currently, DPI provides 1) special education aid to school districts, independent charter schools, CESAs, and CCDEBs; 2) aid to school districts, CESAs, and CCDEBs for providing physical or mental health treatment services to private school and tribal school pupils; and 3) aid for school age parents programs to school districts only.
High-cost special education aid
The bill changes the rate at which the state reimburses school boards, operators of independent charter schools, CESAs, and CCDEBs for nonadministrative costs in excess of $30,000 incurred for providing special education and related costs to a child (aidable costs). Under current law, 90 percent of aidable costs are paid from a sum certain appropriation. If the amount of the appropriation is insufficient to pay the full 90 percent of aidable costs, DPI prorates payments among eligible applicants. For the 2022-23 school year, DPI estimates that the reimbursement rate is 39.5 percent of aidable costs under this aid program.
The bill changes the appropriation to a sum sufficient appropriation and provides that aidable costs are reimbursed at the following rates:
1. In the 2023-24 school year, 45 percent of aidable costs.
2. In the 2024-25 school year and in each school year thereafter, 60 percent of aidable costs.
Bilingual-bicultural education aids
The bill increases the reimbursement rate for a bilingual-bicultural education program to 15 percent of qualifying costs in the 2023-24 school year and 20 percent of qualifying costs in the 2024-25 school year and each school year thereafter.
Under current law, a bilingual-bicultural education program is a program designed to improve the comprehension and the speaking, reading, and writing ability of a limited-English proficient (LEP) pupil in the English language. A school district is required to establish a bilingual-bicultural education program if it has a certain amount of LEP pupils from the same language group within an individual school in the district, described below. If DPI determines that a school district’s bilingual-bicultural education program meets all statutory requirements, DPI reimburses the school district a percentage of qualifying costs of the bilingual-bicultural education program. Under current law, the percentage that is reimbursed is calculated by dividing the amount allocated in the biennial budget act among all qualifying school districts. DPI estimates that qualifying school districts received reimbursement for bilingual-bicultural education programs in the amount of 7.7 percent of qualifying costs for the 2021-22 school year.
Aid for English language acquisition
The bill creates a new categorical aid for school districts and independent charter schools to offset the costs of educating LEP pupils.
Under current law, a school board is required to provide a bilingual-bicultural education program to LEP pupils who attend a school in the school district if the school meets any of the following thresholds:
1. Within a language group, 10 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in kindergarten to grade 3.
2. Within a language group, 20 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in grades 4 to 8.
3. Within a language group, 20 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in grades 9 to 12.
All school boards are required to educate all LEP pupils, but only school boards that are required to provide bilingual-bicultural education programs are eligible under current law for categorical aid targeted toward educating LEP pupils. Under current law, in each school year, DPI distributes $250,000 among eligible school districts whose enrollments in the previous school year were at least 15 percent LEP pupils, and DPI distributes the amount remaining in the appropriation account to eligible school districts on the basis of the school districts’ expenditures on the required bilingual-bicultural education programs during the prior school year.
Under the bill, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, DPI must annually pay each school district and each operator of an independent charter school an amount equal to $500 times the number of LEP pupils enrolled in the school district or at the charter school in the previous school year. Under the bill, DPI must pay a school district or independent charter school that had at least one but no more than 20 LEP pupils in the previous school year $10,000. This new categorical aid is in addition to aid already paid under current law and is not conditioned on whether the school board or independent charter school is required to provide a bilingual-bicultural education program.
Pupil transportation aid
Under current law, a school district or an operator of a charter school that provides transportation to and from a school receives a state aid payment for transportation. The amount of the aid payment depends on the number of pupils transported and the distance of each pupil’s residence from the school. The bill increases aid payments for pupils who reside more than 12 miles from the school from $375 per pupil to $400 per pupil, beginning in the 2023-24 school year.
High cost transportation aid; stop-gap payments
Under current law, a school district is eligible for high cost transportation aid if 1) the school district has a pupil population density of 50 or fewer pupils per square mile and 2) the school district’s per pupil transportation cost exceeds 140 percent of the statewide average per pupil transportation cost. Current law also provides aid, known as a “stop-gap payment,” to any school district that qualified for high cost transportation aid in the immediately preceding school year but is ineligible to receive aid in the current school year. The stop-gap payment is equal to 50 percent of the amount the school district received in the preceding school year. Current law specifies that no more than a total of $200,000 may be paid in stop-gap payments in any fiscal year. The bill removes the $200,000 limitation on high cost transportation aid stop-gap payments. The bill also specifies that, if the amount appropriated for all high cost transportation aid payments, including stop-gap payments, in any fiscal year is insufficient, all high cost transportation aid payments must be prorated.
Sparsity aid; stop-gap payments
Under current law, a school district is eligible for sparsity aid if the number of pupils per square mile in the school district is less than 10 and the school district’s membership in the previous school year did not exceed 1,000 pupils. The amount of aid is $400 per pupil if the school district’s membership in the previous school year did not exceed 745 pupils and $100 per pupil if the if the school district’s membership in the previous school year was between 745 and 1,000 pupils. Current law also provides a reduced payment, known as a stop-gap payment, to a school district that was eligible to receive sparsity aid in the previous school year but is not eligible to receive sparsity aid in the current school year because it no longer satisfies the pupils-per-square-mile requirement. The amount of the stop-gap payment is 50 percent of the amount of sparsity aid the school district received in the previous school year.
Under the bill, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, a school district is eligible for a sparsity aid stop-gap payment if the school district is ineligible for sparsity aid in the current school year because it no longer satisfies the pupils-per-square-mile requirement or the membership requirement.
School mental health and pupil wellness; categorical aid
The bill changes the types of expenditures that are eligible for reimbursement under the state categorical aid program related to pupil mental health.
Under current law, DPI must make payments to school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in parental choice programs (local education agency) that increased the amount they spent to employ, hire, or retain social workers. Under current law, DPI first pays each eligible local education agency 50 percent of the amount by which the eligible local education agency increased its expenditures for social workers in the preceding school year over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year. If, after making those payments, there is money remaining in the appropriation account for that aid program, DPI makes additional payments to eligible local education agencies. The amount of those additional payments is determined based on the amount remaining in the appropriation account and the amount spent by eligible local education agencies to employ, hire, and retain social workers during the previous school year.
The bill expands eligibility for the payments under the aid program to include spending on school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses (pupil services professionals). The bill also eliminates the two-tier reimbursement structure of the aid program and eliminates the requirement that a local education agency is eligible for the aid only if the local education agency increased its spending. Under the bill, any local education agency that made expenditures to employ, hire, or retain pupil services professionals during the previous school year is eligible for reimbursement under the aid program.
Aid for comprehensive school mental health services
Under current law, DPI administers a $10,000,000 annual competitive grant program to school districts and independent charter schools for the purpose of collaborating with community mental health agencies to provide mental health services to pupils. The bill eliminates this grant program and replaces it with new categorical aid for comprehensive school mental health services to school districts and independent charter schools.
Under the bill, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, DPI must annually reimburse a school board or the operator of an independent charter school for costs incurred for mental health services during in-school or out-of-school time, up to $100,000 plus $100 per pupil who was enrolled in the school district or independent charter school in the prior year. If the amount appropriated for this purpose is insufficient, DPI must prorate the reimbursements.
Supplemental nutrition aid
The bill creates supplemental nutrition aid, a categorical aid to reimburse educational agencies for school meals provided to pupils who satisfy the income criteria for a reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program and pupils who do not satisfy the income criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program. An educational agency is eligible for supplemental nutrition aid if the educational agency does not charge pupils for school meals for which the educational agency receives reimbursement from the federal government. Under the bill, the amount of aid is equal to the sum of 1) the number of school meals provided in the previous school year to pupils who satisfy the income criteria for a reduced-price lunch multiplied by the difference between the free-meal reimbursement amount and the reduced-price-meal reimbursement amount and 2) the number of school meals provided in the previous year to pupils who do not satisfy the income criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch multiplied by the difference between the free-meal reimbursement amount and the reimbursement amount for a paid school meal. Supplemental nutrition aid is first paid to educational agencies in the 2024-25 school year for school meals provided during the 2023-24 school year. Under the bill, supplemental nutrition aid is funded by a sum sufficient appropriation, which ensures that educational agencies receive the full amount of aid to which they are entitled.
The bill defines a “school meal” as a school lunch or snack under the federal school lunch program and a breakfast under the federal school breakfast program and an “educational agency” as a school board, an operator of an independent charter school, the director of the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an operator of a residential care center for children and youth, a tribal school, or a private school.
School breakfast program
The bill expands eligibility for reimbursement under the school breakfast program to include operators of independent charter schools, the director of the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and operators of residential care centers for children and youth. The bill also prohibits DPI from making a reimbursement for a breakfast served at a school in the previous school year if that school ceased operations during the prior school year. This prohibition does not apply to reimbursements to a school district.
Locally sourced food incentive payments
The bill requires DPI to reimburse a school food authority 10 cents for each school meal it provided in the previous school year that contained locally sourced food. Under the bill, a “school food authority” is an educational entity that participates in the federal school lunch program and a “school meal” is a lunch or snack provided under the federal school lunch program or a breakfast provided under the federal school breakfast program. Finally, the bill defines “locally sourced food” as food that is raised, produced, aggregated, sorted, processed, and distributed within this state.
Driver education; state aid
The bill creates a new aid program for driver schools and for school boards, independent charter schools, and CESAs that offer a driver education program to pupils who meet the income eligibility standard for a free or reduced-price lunch in the federal school lunch program. To be eligible for this aid, a driver school, school board, independent charter school, or CESA must demonstrate to DPI that it waived its program participation fees for eligible pupils. Under the bill, DPI pays the driver school, school board, operator of the independent charter school, or CESA an amount equal to its program participation fee multiplied by the number of eligible pupils who completed the driver education program in the previous school year.
Computer science course requirement and grants
The bill requires school boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program to make available to pupils in grades 9 to 12 at least one computer science course, which must include concepts in computer programming or coding.
The bill also requires DPI to annually award grants to school districts for the purpose of expanding computer science educational opportunities in all grade levels in the school district.
Financial literacy curriculum grants
The bill requires DPI to awards grants to school boards and independent charter schools for the purpose of developing, implementing, or improving financial literacy curricula. The bill further requires DPI to prioritize grants that support innovative financial literacy curricula. Current law requires school boards to adopt academic standards for financial literacy and incorporate financial literacy instruction into the curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12.
Primary and secondary education: choice, charter, and open enrollment
Parental choice program caps
The bill caps the total number of pupils who may participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, or the statewide parental choice program (parental choice program) at the number of pupils who attended a private school under the parental choice program in the 2023-24 school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2024-25 school year, if the number of applications to participate in a parental choice program exceeds the program cap, DPI must determine which applications to accept on a random basis, subject to certain admission preferences that exist under current law.
