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.
Under current law, pupils may submit applications to attend a private school
under the statewide parental choice program for the following school year from the
first weekday in February to the third Thursday in April, and a private school that
receives applications must, no later than the first weekday in May immediately
following the application period, report the number of applicants to DPI so that DPI
may determine whether a pupil participation limitation has been exceeded. The bill
provides that, beginning with applications for the 2024-25 school year, DPI must
establish one or more application periods during which pupils may submit
applications to attend a private school under the MPCP or RPCP. The bill provides
that a private school that receives applications during an application period must,
no later than 10 days after the application period ends, report the number of
applicants to DPI so that DPI may determine whether a program cap has been
exceeded. The bill does not change the application period for the statewide parental
choice program and requires DPI to use the information required to be reported
under current law to determine whether the program cap for the statewide parental
choice program has been exceeded.
The bill also requires DPI to establish a waiting list for a parental choice
program if the program cap for the parental choice program has been exceeded.
Special Needs Scholarship Program cap
Under current law, a child with a disability who meets certain eligibility criteria
may receive a scholarship to attend a private school participating in the Special
Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP). The bill caps the total number of children who
may receive an SNSP scholarship at the number of children who received an SNSP
scholarship in the 2023-24 school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2024-25
school year, if the number of applications for SNSP scholarships exceeds the program
cap, DPI must determine which applications to accept on a random basis, subject to
certain admission preferences set forth in the bill.
Under current law, a child may apply for an SNSP scholarship at any time
during a school year and may begin attending the school at any time during the
school year. The bill provides that, beginning with applications for the 2024-25
school year, children may submit applications for SNSP scholarships for the school
year from the first weekday in April to the third Thursday in June of the prior school
year, and a private school that receives applications for SNSP scholarships must, no
later than the first weekday in May immediately following the application period,
report the number of applicants to DPI so that DPI may determine whether the
program cap has been exceeded.
The bill also requires DPI to establish a waiting list if the program cap for the
SNSP has been exceeded.
Per pupil payment and transfer amount based on actual costs; SNSP and
full-time open enrollment program
Under current law, the per pupil payment amount for a child participating in
the SNSP and the transfer amount for a child with a disability in the full-time open
enrollment program (OEP) is one of the following:
1. A per pupil amount set by law. The SNSP per pupil payment amount and
transfer amount for a child with a disability in the OEP for the 2022-23 school year
is $13,076.
2. An alternative amount based on the actual costs to educate the pupil in the
previous school year, as reported by the private school or nonresident school district,
whichever is applicable. For example, under this option, the amount paid to a private
school in the SNSP or nonresident school district in the 2022-23 school year is based
on the actual costs to educate the pupil in the 2021-22 school year, as reported by the
private school or nonresident school district.
The bill repeals the alternative SNSP per pupil payment amount and OEP
transfer amount based on the actual costs to educate the pupil and the processes for
setting these alternative amounts. Under the bill, the SNSP per pupil payment
amount and the OEP transfer amount for children with disabilities is the same for
all pupils and is set by law. In the 2022-23 school year, the amount set by law is
$13,076.
Payment indexing: parental choice programs, the SNSP, independent
charter schools, full-time open enrollment program, and whole grade
sharing agreements
Under current law, the per pupil payment amounts under parental choice
programs and the SNSP, the per pupil payment amount to independent charter
schools, the transfer amounts under the full-time OEP, and the required transfer
amount for a child with a disability in a whole grade sharing agreement (collectively,
per pupil payments) are adjusted annually. The annual adjustment for per pupil
payments is an amount equal to the sum of any per member revenue limit increase
that applies to school districts in that school year and any per member increase in
categorical aids between the current school year and the previous school year. Under
the bill, beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the annual adjustment for per pupil
payments is the sum of the per member revenue limit increase that applies to school
districts in that school year, if any, and the increase in the per member amount of per
pupil aid paid to school districts between the previous school year and the current
school year, if any.
Teacher licensure in parental choice programs and in the SNSP
With certain exceptions, the bill requires that, beginning on July 1, 2026,
teachers at private schools participating in a parental choice program or in the SNSP
must hold a license or permit issued by DPI. Under current law, teachers at choice
schools must have at least a bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally
accredited institution of higher education, but they are not required to be licensed
by DPI. There are no current law requirements regarding who may teach at SNSP
schools.
The bill provides an exception for a teacher who teaches only courses in
rabbinical studies. In addition, the bill provides a grace period for a teacher who has
been teaching for at least the five consecutive years immediately preceding July 1,
2026, which allows the teacher to apply for a temporary, nonrenewable waiver of the
licensure requirement. An applicant for a waiver must submit a plan for becoming
licensed as required under the bill.
