Chapter 118

118.40(4)(ar)1. 1. If the charter school replaces a public school in whole or in part, give preference in admission to any pupil who resides within the attendance area or former attendance area of that public school.

118.40(4)(ar)2. 2. Be nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices and all other operations.

118.40(4)(b) (b) Restrictions. A charter school governing board may not do any of the following:

118.40(4)(b)1. 1. Charge tuition, except as otherwise provided in s. 121.83 (4).

118.40(4)(b)2. 2. Except as provided in sub. (3) (h), discriminate in admission or deny participation in any program or activity on the basis of a person’s sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.

118.40(4)(d) (d) Powers. Subject to the terms of its contract, a charter school governing board has all the powers necessary to carry out the terms of its contract, including all of the following:

118.40(4)(d)1. 1. To receive and disburse funds for school purposes.

118.40(4)(d)2. 2. To secure appropriate insurance.

118.40(4)(d)3. 3. To enter into contracts, including contracts with a University of Wisconsin institution or college campus, technical college district board, or private college or university, for technical or financial assistance, academic support, curriculum review, or other services.

118.40(4)(d)4. 4. To incur debt in reasonable anticipation of the receipt of funds.

118.40(4)(d)5. 5. To pledge, assign, or encumber its assets to be used as collateral for loans or extensions of credit.

118.40(4)(d)6. 6. To solicit and accept gifts or grants for school purposes.

118.40(4)(d)7. 7. To acquire real property for its use.

118.40(4)(d)8. 8. To sue and be sued in its own name.

118.40(5) (5) Charter revocation. A charter may be revoked by the school board, the entity under sub. (2r) (b), or the director under sub. (2x) that contracted with the charter school if the school board or, if applicable, the entity under sub. (2r) (b) or the director under sub. (2x) finds that any of the following occurred:

118.40(5)(a) (a) The charter school violated its contract with the school board, the entity under sub. (2r) (b), or the director under sub. (2x).

118.40(5)(b) (b) The pupils enrolled in the charter school failed to make sufficient progress toward attaining the educational goals under s. 118.01.

118.40(5)(c) (c) The charter school failed to comply with generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management.

118.40(5)(d) (d) The charter school violated this section.

118.40(6) (6) Program voluntary. No pupil may be required to attend a charter school without his or her approval, if the pupil is an adult, or the approval of his or her parents or legal guardian, if the pupil is a minor.

118.40(7) (7) Legal status; applicability of school laws.

118.40(7)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (am), the school board of the school district in which a charter school is located shall determine whether or not the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district. If the school board determines that the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district, the school board shall employ all personnel for the charter school. If the school board determines that the charter school is not an instrumentality of the school district, the school board may not employ any personnel for the charter school.

118.40(7)(am) (am)

118.40(7)(am)1. 1. Except as provided in subds. 2. and 3., if a charter school is established under sub. (2m) and located in the school district operating under ch. 119, the school board of that school district shall determine whether or not the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district. If the school board determines that a charter school is an instrumentality of the school district, the school board shall employ all personnel for the charter school. If the school board determines that a charter school is not an instrumentality of the school district, the school board may not employ any personnel for the charter school.

118.40(7)(am)2. 2. A charter school established under sub. (2r) or (2x) or a private school located in the school district operating under ch. 119 that is converted to a charter school is not an instrumentality of any school district and no school board may employ any personnel for the charter school. If the chancellor of an institution in the University of Wisconsin System other than the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee contracts for the establishment of a charter school under sub. (2r), the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System may employ instructional staff for the charter school. If a technical college district board other than the Milwaukee area technical college district board contracts for the establishment of a charter school under sub. (2r), the technical college may employ instructional staff for the charter school.

118.40(7)(am)3. 3. Notwithstanding subd. 2., if the city of Milwaukee contracts with an individual or group operating for profit to operate a school as a charter school, the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district operating under ch. 119 and the board of the school district operating under ch. 119 shall employ all personnel for the charter school.

118.40(7)(am)4. 4. If a school board enters into an agreement with a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in this state to establish a charter school under sub. (3) (c) 1. c., that school board shall determine whether the charter school is an instrumentality of the school district regardless of the location of the charter school.

118.40(7)(ar) (ar) Nothing in this section affects the rights of personnel of a charter school that is an instrumentality of a school district to engage in collective bargaining pursuant to subch. IV of ch. 111.

118.40(7)(b) (b) Except as otherwise explicitly provided, chs. 115 to 121 do not apply to charter schools.

118.40(8) (8) Virtual charter schools.

118.40(8)(a) (a) Location. For the purposes of sub. (7) (a), (am), and (ar), a virtual charter school is considered to be located in the following school district:

118.40(8)(a)1. 1. If a school board contracts with a person to establish the virtual charter school, in the school district governed by that school board.

118.40(8)(a)2. 2. If 2 or more school boards enter into an agreement under s. 66.0301 to establish the virtual charter school, or if one or more school boards enter into an agreement with the board of control of a cooperative educational service agency to establish the virtual charter school, in the school district specified in the agreement.

118.40(8)(b) (b) Licensure.

118.40(8)(b)1. 1. The governing body of a virtual charter school shall assign an appropriately licensed teacher for each online course offered by the virtual charter school. In this subsection, an individual who holds a license or permit to teach a subject and level in the state from which the online course is provided is appropriately licensed to teach the subject and level in this state.

118.40(8)(b)1g. 1g. The governing body of a virtual charter school may not permit a person holding both a license to teach exclusively in a charter school and a license to teach in other public schools to teach, in the virtual charter school, a subject or at a level that is not authorized by the latter license.

118.40(8)(b)1r. 1r. The governing body of a virtual charter school may not permit a person holding only a permit to teach exclusively in a charter school to teach in a virtual charter school.

118.40(8)(b)2. 2. If a pupil attends a virtual charter school, any person providing educational services to the pupil in the pupil’s home, other than instructional staff of the virtual charter school, is not required to hold a license or permit to teach issued by the department.

118.40(8)(b)3. 3. The department may not require a person licensed as provided under subd. 1. to complete professional development not required of any other individual required to be licensed under s. 118.19.

118.40(8)(c) (c) Staff duties. In a virtual charter school, an instructional staff member is responsible for all of the following for each pupil the instructional staff member teaches:

118.40(8)(c)1. 1. Improving learning by planned instruction.

118.40(8)(c)2. 2. Diagnosing learning needs.

118.40(8)(c)3. 3. Prescribing content delivery through class activities.

118.40(8)(c)4. 4. Assessing learning.

118.40(8)(c)5. 5. Reporting outcomes to administrators and parents and guardians.

118.40(8)(c)6. 6. Evaluating the effects of instruction.

118.40(8)(d) (d) Required days and hours. A virtual charter school shall do all of the following:

118.40(8)(d)1. 1. Provide educational services to its pupils for at least 150 days each school year.

118.40(8)(d)2. 2. Ensure that its teachers are available to provide direct pupil instruction for at least the applicable number of hours specified in s. 121.02 (1) (f) each school year. No more than 10 hours in any 24-hour period may count toward the requirement under this subdivision.

118.40(8)(d)3. 3. Ensure that its teachers respond to inquiries from pupils and from parents or guardians of pupils by the end of the first school day following the day on which the inquiry is received.

118.40(8)(e) (e) Parent advisory council. The governing body of a virtual charter school shall ensure that a parent advisory council is established for the school and that it meets on a regular basis. The governing body shall determine the selection process for members of the parent advisory council.

118.40(8)(f) (f) Required notices. At the beginning of each school term, the governing body of a virtual charter school shall inform the parent or guardian of each pupil attending the virtual charter school, in writing, the name of, and how to contact, each of the following persons:

118.40(8)(f)1. 1. The members of the school board that contracted for the establishment of the virtual charter school and the administrators of that school district.

118.40(8)(f)2. 2. The members of the virtual charter school’s governing body, if different than the persons under subd. 1.

118.40(8)(f)3. 3. The members of the virtual charter school’s parent advisory council established under par. (e).

118.40(8)(f)4. 4. The staff of the virtual charter school.

118.40(8)(g) (g) Pupil’s failure to participate.

118.40(8)(g)1. 1. Whenever a pupil attending a virtual charter school fails to respond appropriately to a school assignment or directive from instructional staff within 5 school days, the governing body of the virtual charter school shall notify the pupil’s parent or guardian.

118.40(8)(g)2. 2. Subject to subd. 2m., the third time in the same semester that a pupil attending a virtual charter school fails to respond appropriately to a school assignment or directive from instructional staff within 5 school days, the governing body of the virtual charter school shall also notify the school board that contracted for the establishment of the virtual charter school, the school board of the pupil’s resident school district, and the department. The school board that contracted for the establishment of the virtual charter school may transfer the pupil to his or her resident school district. If the pupil is a resident of the school district that contracted for the establishment of the virtual charter school, the school board may assign the pupil to another school or program within that school district. If the school board transfers or assigns a pupil, it shall notify the pupil’s parent or guardian and the department.

118.40(8)(g)2m. 2m. If the parent or guardian of a pupil attending a virtual charter school notifies the virtual charter school in writing before a school assignment or directive is given that the pupil will not be available to respond to the assignment or directive during a specified period, the school days during that period do not count for purposes of subd. 2. The virtual charter school shall require the pupil to complete any assignment missed during the period. This subdivision applies to no more than 10 school days in a school year.

118.40(8)(g)3. 3. The parent or guardian of a pupil transferred to the pupil’s resident school district under subd. 2. may appeal the transfer to the department within 30 days after receipt of the notice of transfer. The department shall affirm the school board’s decision unless the department finds that the decision was arbitrary or unreasonable.

118.40 History History: 1993 a. 16, 490; 1995 a. 27 ss. 3983m to 3992m, 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27, 238, 252; 1999 a. 9; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2001 a. 16, 105; 2003 a. 33, 156; 2005 a. 25, 111, 346; 2007 a. 222; 2009 a. 28, 61, 276; 2011 a. 10, 32, 105; 2013 a. 20; 2013 a. 173 s. 33; 2013 a. 257; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 30, 59, 364; 2017 a. 365 s. 111; 2017 a. 366; 2019 a. 9, 83; 2021 a. 30, 219; 2021 a. 238 s. 45; 2021 a. 239 s. 74; 2021 a. 240 s. 30; 2023 a. 11.

118.40 Annotation Sub. (4) (d) 8. grants a charter school governing board authority to sue its authorizing school district in order to enforce the terms of the parties’ contract. Nothing in the contract at issue in this case limited the governing board’s ability to sue the district. Friends of Maple Grove, Inc. v. Merrill Area Common Public School District, 2021 WI App 26, 397 Wis. 2d 139, 959 N.W.2d 362, 20-1179.

118.40 Annotation A public school district did not violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by refusing to bus the students of a charter school created under sub. (2r) located within its geographical boundaries. Racine Charter One, Inc. v. Racine Unified School District, 424 F.3d 677 (2005).

118.42 118.42 Low-performing school districts and schools; state superintendent interventions.

118.42(1) (1) If the state superintendent determines that a school district has been in need of improvement for 4 consecutive school years, the school board shall do all of the following:

118.42(1)(a) (a) Employ a standard, consistent, research-based curriculum that is aligned with the state’s model academic standards, as determined by the state superintendent, and across grades in all schools.

118.42(1)(b) (b) Use pupil academic performance data, including data indicating improvement in pupil academic achievement and English language acquisition, to differentiate instruction to meet individual pupil needs. To the extent practicable, the school board shall assess pupils in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data.

118.42(1)(c) (c) Implement for all pupils a system of academic and behavioral supports and early interventions, including diagnostic assessments, instruction in core academic subjects, different instructional strategies for different pupils, and strategies to improve reading and mathematics instruction and promote positive behavior.

118.42(1)(d) (d) Provide additional learning time to address the academic needs of pupils who are struggling academically, including pupils whose proficiency in English is limited. The additional learning time may include an extended school day, an extended school year, summer school, or intersession courses.

118.42(2) (2) If the state superintendent determines that a public school was in the lowest performing 5 percent of all public schools in the state in the previous school year and is located in a school district that has been in need of improvement for 4 consecutive school years, the school board shall do all of the following in the school:

118.42(2)(a) (a) Use rigorous and equitable performance evaluation systems for teachers and principals that include all of the following:

118.42(2)(a)1. 1. Annual performance evaluations; multiple rating categories; multiple rating criteria, including improvement in pupil academic achievement as a significant factor; observation-based performance assessments; and an up-to-date collection of professional practice materials. The school board shall ensure that improvement in pupil academic achievement is based on at least 2 measures.

118.42(2)(a)2. 2. A method of identifying mitigating factors, such as a high rate of pupil mobility, large class size, insufficient preparation time, insufficient paraprofessional support, insufficient professional development, and insufficient resources or support, that could affect a teacher’s or principal’s performance.

118.42(2)(b) (b) Adopt a policy establishing criteria for evaluating whether the distribution of teachers and principals within the affected schools relative to the distribution of teachers and principals throughout the school district, based upon their qualifications and effectiveness, is equitable. Using the criteria, the school board shall determine whether the distribution of principals and teachers is equitable. If the school board determines that the distribution is inequitable, the school board shall do all of the following:

118.42(2)(b)1. 1. Perform a comprehensive review of current policies and constraints that prevent low-performing schools from recruiting, placing, and retaining effective teachers and principals, and implement strategies to eliminate those policies and constraints.

118.42(2)(b)2. 2. Provide additional support to teachers and principals, which may include professional development that is incorporated into their work and tuition reimbursement for courses related to their professional duties.

118.42(2)(c) (c) Establish teacher and principal improvement programs that include all of the following:

118.42(2)(c)1. 1. Supplemental mentoring for those with emergency licenses or permits.

118.42(2)(c)2. 2. Opportunities to pursue other professional certifications, including certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

118.42(2)(c)3. 3. Annually, at least 60 hours of professional development that is incorporated into their work. The school board shall consult with teachers and principals on the content of the professional development.

118.42(2)(c)4. 4. A joint labor-management program designed to objectively identify teachers and principals who demonstrate serious performance deficiencies and provide them with opportunities for improvement, including weekly observation, mentoring, ongoing conferences, modeling, and professional development. The school board shall offer career counseling and other career transition benefits to those teachers and principals who continue to demonstrate performance deficiencies.

118.42(2)(d) (d) Adopt placement criteria for principals that include performance evaluations and measures of pupil academic achievement.

118.42(3) (3) 

118.42(3)(a) (a) If the state superintendent determines that a school district has been in need of improvement for 4 consecutive school years, the state superintendent may, after consulting with the school board, the school district superintendent, and representatives of each labor organization representing school district employees, direct the school board to do one or more of the following in the school district:

118.42(3)(a)1. 1. Implement or modify activities described in sub. (1) (a) to (d).

118.42(3)(a)2. 2. Implement a new or modified instructional design, which may include expanded school hours or additional pupil supports and services.

118.42(3)(a)3. 3. Implement professional development programs that focus on improving pupil academic achievement.

118.42(3)(a)4. 4. Implement changes in administrative and personnel structures.