Wisconsin Legislature: 001 - EmR1619 Rule Text

1. Verification to the department that the child has an individualized education program or services plan in place for the child.

2. A copy of the child’s individualized education program or services plan to the school that received the transfer request.

Note: The transfer request form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction’s webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/special-needs-scholarship.

(6) Sibling preference.

(a) If a school receives an application under sub. (3) or a transfer request under sub. (5) from a sibling of a pupil who is already attending the school, the school may give the sibling preference over a pupil who has not yet been identified as eligible under sub. (4) (b) or (5) (c) 1.

(b) A school shall determine the eligibility of a sibling receiving preference under par. (a) before the date the school is required to determine the eligibility, under sub. (4) or (5), of any application or transfer request the sibling is given preference over.

(c) If the school is unable to determine if the sibling application or transfer request is eligible within the time period required under par. (b), the school must accept the applications in the order they were received in.

(7) individualized education program or services plan in effect.

(a) Except as provided in par. (d), a pupil shall have an individualized education program or services plan in effect at the time an applicant submits an application under sub. (3) or a transfer request under sub. (5).

(b) Upon the request of the department, the school district that developed a pupil’s individualized education program or services plan shall verify that the pupil meets the requirement under par. (a) or (d) and send a copy of the individualized education program to the private school. The department shall make the request if all of the following apply:

1. The pupil’s resident school district does not have a record that the pupil meets the requirement under par. (a) or (d).

2. The pupil’s individualized education program or services plan was developed by a school district that is different than the pupil’s resident school district.

(c) A school shall notify an applicant in writing if an application under sub. (3) or a transfer request under sub. (5) was determined eligible or ineligible. If the application or transfer request is determined ineligible, the school shall state in its letter the reasons why the application is ineligible. The notification shall be sent within 7 days of the school receiving one of the following:

A copy of the pupil’s individualized education program.

Notification from the department that a pupil has an individualized education program or service plan that meets the requirements under par. (a) or (d).

Notification from the department that a pupil does not have an individualized education program or services plan that meets the requirements under par. (a) or (d).

(d) If an applicant is applying to the special needs scholarship program under section 9134 (6q) of 2015 Act 55, a pupil shall have an individualized education program or services plan that was developed or had an implementation date between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2016.

(8) Scholarship continuance. A scholarship awarded to a pupil under this chapter shall continue until any of the following occur:

(a) The pupil graduates from high school.

(b) The pupil attains the age of 21. A pupil who attains the age of 21 shall receive the scholarship until the end of the school term in which the pupil attains the age of 21.

(d) The pupil is enrolled, in or out of Wisconsin, in another private school, a home-based private educational program, a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), Stats., or a public school district.

PI 49.06 School year enrollment.

(1) Document retention. A school shall retain all of the following records for at least 5 years from the end of the school year in which the pupil applies or 5 years after the pupil no longer attends the school, whichever occurs later, unless the department or a law enforcement agency requires the school to retain the records for a longer period:

(a) Copies of all documentation required under s. PI 49.05 for all accepted and non-accepted special needs scholarship program pupils who have submitted applications or transfer requests to the school.

(b) Copies of any documentation received for reevaluations under s. 115.7915 (2) (h), Stats.

(2) Simultaneously enrolled pupil. A pupil participating in the special needs scholarship program may not receive a scholarship and be simultaneously enrolled, in or out of Wisconsin, in another private school, a home-based private educational program, a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), Stats., or a public school district. A pupil receiving a scholarship under s. 115.7915, Stats., may not receive a payment under s. 118.60 or 119.23, Stats.

(3) Full-time equivalent. The amount paid by the department to a school under s. 115.7915 (4m), Stats., shall be based on the full-time equivalent for each pupil times the payment amount in s. 115.7915 (4m), Stats. The full-time equivalent shall be determined as follows:

(a) Pupils in grades one through 12 shall be one full-time equivalent.

(b) A kindergarten pupil shall be one-half full-time equivalent except as follows:

1. A pupil enrolled in a 5-year-old kindergarten program that requires full−day attendance by the pupil for 5 days a week, but not on any day of the week that pupils enrolled in other grades in the school do not attend school, for an entire school term shall be counted as one full-time equivalent.

2. The full-time equivalent for a pupil enrolled in a 5-year-old kindergarten program that requires full-day attendance by the pupil for less than 5 days a week for an entire school term shall be calculated as follows:

a. Multiply the number of hours in each day in which the pupil is enrolled by the total number of days for which the pupil is enrolled.

b. Divide the result under subd. 2. a. by the number of hours of attendance per day required of first grade pupils in the public school district in which the school is located.

3. A school may count a pupil enrolled in a 4-year-old kindergarten program that provides the required number of hours of direct pupil instruction under s. 121.02 (1) (f), Stats., as a 0.6 full-time equivalent if the program also annually provides at least 87.5 additional hours of 4-year-old kindergarten outreach activities.

4. For purposes of subds. 1. and 2., "full-day" means the length of the school day required for first grade pupils in the public school district in which a school is operating.

(4) September 1 application and class list submission. Annually by September 1, a school shall submit to the department, using the online application system or other manner specified by the department, all of the following:

(a) All applications determined eligible under s. PI 49.05 (4) and (7) or transfer requests accepted under s. PI 49.05 (5) and (7).

(b) A list of pupils enrolled in the special needs scholarship program at the school that identifies if each pupil was determined to no longer be a child with a disability under s. 115.7915 (4m) (e) 1., Stats., in a previous year.

(c) A class list of all pupils enrolled in the special needs scholarship program at the school by grade level. The class list may not include pupils that have withdrawn from the school.

(d) The school’s start and end date for the current school year.

(5) Application submission and pupil count reports. Annually by October 1 and February 1, a school shall submit to the department, using the online application system or other manner specified by the department, all of the following:

(a) All applications determined eligible under s. PI 49.05 (4) and (7) or transfer requests accepted under s. PI 49.05 (5) and (7) that have not previously been submitted to the department.

(b) A pupil count report stating all of the following:

1. The grade of each pupil participating in the special needs scholarship program on the immediately preceding count date. In order to be eligible for payment, a 4-year-old kindergarten pupil, 5-year-old kindergarten pupil, and first grade pupil shall attain the age specified in s. 118.14 (1), Stats.

2. Whether each pupil meets the requirements under sub. (6).

3. Whether each pupil is a full scholarship pupil or a partial scholarship pupil.

4. The total number of pupils in the school on the immediately preceding count date that meet the requirements under sub. (6).

(c) As part of the pupil count report for the third Friday in September, a school shall do all of the following for pupils that participated in the special needs scholarship program in the previous school year:

1. Obtain residency documentation for the pupil’s address on the third Friday in September that meets all of the following requirements:

a. The documentation is dated between the third Friday in August and October 1. If a school receives a lease agreement as a residency document, the lease term includes the third Friday in September.

b. The documentation is one of the residency documents specified by the department.

c. The document contains the name of the applicant.

d. The address on the document matches the pupil’s address as of the third Friday in September.

2. Determine whether the pupil has a different address than the previous school year. If a pupil has a different address, the school shall determine the pupil’s resident school district for the new address using the state of Wisconsin’s Statewide Voter Registration System or any other source permitted by the department.

(6) Count requirements. A school may include a pupil on its pupil count report under sub. (5) (b) only if one of the following applies:

(a) The pupil is in attendance for instruction on the count date.

(b) The pupil is absent on the count date but attended the school for instruction at least one day during the school term prior to the count date and at least one day after the count date, and the pupil was not enrolled in another school in or out of Wisconsin, including another private school, a home-based educational program, a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), Stats., or a public school district, during the period of absence from the school.

PI 49.07 Enrollment audits.

(1) Report completion and submission. A school shall engage an auditor to compile the enrollment audit using agreed upon procedures that identify ineligible pupils for whom the school has received payment under s. 115.7915 (4m), Stats., and additional eligible pupils qualifying the school for a payment. 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. A school shall submit an enrollment audit to the department for the following:

(a) The third Friday in September enrollment reported under s. PI 49.06 (5) (b). A school shall submit its third Friday in September enrollment audit to the department by December 15.

(b) The second Friday in January enrollment reported under s. PI 49.06 (5) (b). A school shall submit its second Friday in January enrollment audit to the department by May 1.

(2) School records. A school shall provide its auditor with the official attendance records and the original classroom records for the auditor’s use in conducting the enrollment audit. The official attendance records shall identify pupils participating in the special needs scholarship program.

(3) Required procedures. An auditor shall complete the procedures specified in the department’s audit guide, including all of the following:

(a) Determine the school’s process for preparing attendance records and accepting and reviewing applications.

(b) If a school counts any 4-year-old kindergarten pupil as a 0.6 full-time equivalent, as provided under s. PI 49.06 (3) (b) 3., verify that the 4-year-old kindergarten program is providing at least 87.5 hours of 4-year-old kindergarten outreach activities as documented by teacher logs.

(d) If the school uses a student information system, complete testing of the enrollment software using one of the following:

1. The department’s pupil enrollment software test plan.

2. A pupil enrollment software test plan developed by the auditor. The auditor shall annually submit the plan to the department for approval. The auditor shall not use the test plan until it is approved by the department.

(e) Verify that the total number of pupils participating in the special needs scholarship program on the official attendance records match the total number of pupils participating in the special needs scholarship program based on the original classroom records for each grade.

(f) Verify that the total number of pupils attending the school on the official attendance records match the total number of pupils based on the original classroom records for each grade.

(g) Verify the enrollment for all special needs scholarship program pupils reported on the pupil count report under s. PI 49.06 (5) (b) using the school's official attendance records.

(h) Verify all of the following:

1. That all special needs scholarship program pupils the school included on its official attendance records are also included on the original classroom records.

2. That all special needs scholarship program pupils the school included on the school's original classroom records are included on the official attendance records.

(i) Verify that the special needs scholarship program pupils meet the requirements of s. PI 49.06 (6).

(j) Verify that the school did not receive a payment under s. 115.7915 (4m), Stats., for any of the following:

1. Pupils for whom the school is receiving a childcare payment for all day care.

2. Pupils who are enrolled in a public school district.

3. Pupils participating in a program under ss. 118.60 or 119.23, Stats.

(k) Select a sample of at least 60 pupils not participating in the special needs scholarship program from original classroom records and verify the school included the selected pupils in the pupil count report under s. PI 49.06 (5) (b). The sample shall include pupils from each classroom. If the pupils are in different classrooms during the day, the auditor may select one period and select pupils from each classroom for that period. If the auditor identifies an auditing exception, the auditor shall increase the sample size in increments of 60 pupils until the auditor finds no additional exceptions or until the auditor verifies that all pupils have been properly included in reported enrollments. If the school has an enrollment of fewer than 60 pupils who did not participate in the special needs scholarship program, the auditor shall examine records for all pupils who did not participate in the special needs scholarship program.

(L) Reconcile the enrollment the school reported to the department under s. 115.30 (3), Stats., with the official attendance records of the school.