Chapter 121

121.15(1) (1) Except as provided under sub. (1g), state aid under s. 121.08 shall be paid to school districts according to the following distribution schedule:

121.15(1)(a) (a) Each school district shall receive 15 percent of its total aid entitlement in September, 25 percent of its total aid entitlement in December, 25 percent of its total aid entitlement in March and 35 percent of its total aid entitlement in June.

121.15(1)(b) (b) For the September payment, the total aid entitlement for each district shall be estimated based upon the total aid payment in the previous year.

121.15(1)(c) (c) For the payments from December to June, the total aid entitlement for each district shall be computed on the basis of the school district’s membership, as calculated under s. 121.07 (2).

121.15(1)(e) (e) Payments under this subsection shall be made on the first Monday of the month for the December payment, on the 3rd Monday of the month for the September and June payments and on the 4th Monday of the month for the March payment.

121.15(1g) (1g) 

121.15(1g)(a) (a) If a school board submits a written request to the department before May 1, in the following school year the department shall pay to that school district an amount equal to 10 percent of the school district’s total aid entitlement under s. 121.08 in each month from September to June.

121.15(1g)(b) (b) For the September and October payments, the total aid entitlement shall be estimated based upon the total aid payment in the previous year.

121.15(1g)(c) (c) For the payments from November to June, the total aid entitlement shall be computed on the basis of the school district’s membership, as calculated under s. 121.07 (2).

121.15(1g)(d) (d) Payments under this subsection shall be made on the 3rd Monday of the month, except that payment shall be made on the first Monday of the month for the December payment and on the 4th Monday of the month for the March payment.

121.15(1g)(e) (e) If a school board chooses the distribution schedule under this subsection, it shall pay to the department of public instruction an amount equal to the earnings that the school district’s aid entitlement would have accrued had the school district’s aid been distributed under sub. (1), as determined by the department of administration.

121.15(1m) (1m) 

121.15(1m)(a) (a) Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (1g), beginning in the 1999-2000 school year and ending in the 2020-21 school year, annually the state shall distribute a portion of state aid to school districts by paying to school districts, from the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (ac), $75,000,000 on the 4th Monday in July of the following school year.

121.15(1m)(b) (b) The percentages under subs. (1) (a) and (1g) (a) shall be reduced proportionally to reflect the payments made under par. (a). School districts shall treat the payments made in July under par. (a) as if they had been received in the previous school year.

121.15(2) (2) 

121.15(2)(a) (a) No state aid payments may be made to any district until the annual report under s. 120.18 has been filed with the department.

121.15(2)(b) (b) No state aid payments may be made to any district in the months of November to June until the budget and membership report under s. 121.05 is filed with the department.

121.15(2)(c) (c) If the state superintendent notifies a school district that a state aid payment may be withheld under par. (a) or (b), the state superintendent shall notify each member of the school board or the school district clerk. If the state superintendent notifies the school district clerk, the school district clerk shall promptly distribute a copy of the notice to each member of the school board.

121.15(4) (4) 

121.15(4)(a) (a) In this subsection, “state aid” has the meaning given in s. 121.90 (2) except that it excludes aid paid to school districts under ss. 79.095 (4) and 79.096.

121.15(4)(b) (b) On July 1 and October 15, using the most accurate data available, the state superintendent shall provide the department of revenue and each school district with an estimate of the total amount of state aid the school district will receive in the current school year. On October 15, using the most accurate data available, the state superintendent shall calculate the total amount of state aid that each school district will receive in the current school year. Any adjustments to that calculation shall be made by increasing or decreasing the payment made in September of the following school year.

121.15 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1098; 1977 c. 273; Stats. 1977 s. 121.15; 1979 c. 34; 1985 a. 29, 120; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 207; 1993 a. 16, 437; 1995 a. 27 ss. 4073 to 4075m, 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27, 113, 228; 1997 a. 237 ss. 368v to 369, 727p; 1999 a. 9, 17; 2001 a. 16, 106, 109; 2003 a. 33; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 59; 2021 a. 58.

121.17 121.17 Use of federal revenue sharing funds. It is the intent of the legislature that school districts receiving federal revenue sharing funds through the state under this subchapter shall utilize these funds in compliance with the federal revenue sharing requirements as defined in the state and local fiscal assistance act of 1972 (P.L. 92-512), as amended by P.L. 94-488. The department shall assure compliance with this section.

121.17 History History: 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29 s. 1101; Stats. 1977 s. 121.17; 1995 a. 27; 1997 a. 27.

121.23 121.23 Payment of aids in school district labor disputes.

121.23(1) (1) In the event that the state superintendent finds that school is not held, or educational standards are not maintained in accordance with s. 121.02 (1) (f) as the result of a strike by school district employees, make-up days are authorized to be scheduled but no make-up days are required.

121.23(2) (2) If a school district fails to provide the number of hours of direct pupil instruction specified under s. 121.02 (1) (f) as the result of a strike by school district employees, for the purposes of computing general aid, the state superintendent shall compute the school district’s primary and secondary ceiling costs per member in accordance with the procedure specified in pars. (a) to (e). In making the calculation, the state superintendent shall:

121.23(2)(a) (a) Determine the amount of shared cost not incurred by the school district because of the strike.

121.23(2)(b) (b) Determine the amount of shared cost that the school district would have incurred had the strike not occurred.

121.23(2)(c) (c) Divide the amount determined under par. (a) by the amount determined under par. (b).

121.23(2)(d) (d) Multiply the quotient determined under par. (c) by the amount determined under s. 121.07 (6) (b).

121.23(2)(e) (e) Subtract the product determined under par. (d) from the amount determined under s. 121.07 (6) (b).

121.23 History History: 1977 c. 178; 1979 c. 221 s. 2202 (43); 1995 a. 27 ss. 4077, 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 2013 a. 257.

subch. III of ch. 121 SUBCHAPTER III

DRIVER EDUCATION AID AND FEES

121.41 121.41 Driver education programs. A school board or the technical college system board may establish and collect reasonable fees for any driver education program or part of a program which is neither required for nor credited toward graduation. The school board or the technical college system board may waive any fee established under this subsection for any indigent pupil.

121.41 History History: 1971 c. 125 s. 522 (1); 1971 c. 154, 211; 1973 c. 89, 90, 309, 336; 1977 c. 29 s. 1096; Stats. 1977 s. 121.41; 1983 a. 22; 1983 a. 27 s. 2202 (42); 1985 a. 29, 218; 1991 a. 269; 1993 a. 399, 455, 491; 1997 a. 27, 164; 1999 a. 9; 2003 a. 33.

121.41 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. PI 21, Wis. adm. code.

subch. IV of ch. 121 SUBCHAPTER IV

TRANSPORTATION AID

121.51 121.51 Definitions. In this subchapter:

121.51(1) (1) “Attendance area” is the geographic area designated by the governing body of a private school as the area from which its pupils attend and approved by the school board of the district in which the private school is located. If the private school and the school board cannot agree on the attendance area, the state superintendent shall, upon the request of the private school and the board, make a final determination of the attendance area. The attendance areas of private schools affiliated with the same religious denomination shall not overlap unless one school limits its enrollment to pupils of the same sex and the other school limits its enrollment to pupils of the opposite sex or admits pupils of both sexes.

121.51(3) (3) “School board” has the meaning designated in s. 115.001 (7) and includes any governmental agency transporting children to and from public schools.

121.51(4) (4) “School bus” has the meaning designated in s. 340.01 (56).

121.51 History History: 1975 c. 120; 1983 a. 189 ss. 185, 329 (17); 1983 a. 512; 1989 a. 31; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27.

121.51 Annotation The provision for the transportation, at public expense, of students to and from private schools on an attendance area basis is constitutional. State ex rel. Vanko v. Kahl, 52 Wis. 2d 206, 188 N.W.2d 460 (1971).

121.51 Annotation For purposes of sub. (4) [now sub. (1)], and in the absence of fraud or collusion, when a religious school demonstrates by its corporate charter and bylaws that it is independent of, and unaffiliated with, a religious denomination, further inquiry by the state would violate article I, section 18, of the Wisconsin Constitution. Holy Trinity Community School, Inc. v. Kahl, 82 Wis. 2d 139, 262 N.W.2d 210 (1978). But see St. Augustine School v. Taylor, 2021 WI 70, 398 Wis. 2d 92, 961 N.W.2d 635, 21-0265.

121.51 Annotation In determining whether schools are “affiliated with the same religious denomination” under sub. (1), the state superintendent is not limited to consideration of a school’s corporate documents exclusively. In conducting a neutral and secular inquiry, the state superintendent may also consider the professions of the school with regard to the school’s self-identification and affiliation, but the state superintendent may not conduct any investigation or surveillance with respect to the school’s religious beliefs, practices, or teachings. St. Augustine School v. Taylor, 2021 WI 70, 398 Wis. 2d 92, 961 N.W.2d 635, 21-0265.

121.51 Annotation The Wisconsin statutes do not permit a finding of affiliation under sub. (1) based on a public official’s assessment of how close in doctrine two sectarian schools may be. However difficult it may be, that decision must be made on neutral and secular grounds. The state superintendent may not delve into the nuances of the religious differences that pervade our country and withhold state benefits for reasons that can be tied to the religious preference of the disfavored group. Yet that is what reliance on the label “Catholic” entailed in this case, even if only modestly. Given the fluidity of religious labels and this country’s firm commitment to personal choice and religious diversity, it may be impossible to decide that two entities are affiliated by looking solely at the fact that they both use the same label. Moreover, the state superintendent was not entitled to accept the private school’s self-characterization as Catholic, while at the same time to reject its vociferous insistence that its understanding of what it means to be Catholic is significantly different from that of the diocesan schools. Neither representation was more or less important to the private school’s self-identification. St. Augustine School v. Underly, 21 F.4th 446 (2021).

121.51 Annotation First Amendment-Based Attacks on Wisconsin “Attendance Area” Statutes. Woessner. 1980 WLR 409.

121.52 121.52 Vehicle, operator and driver requirements.

121.52(1) (1) 

121.52(1)(a) (a) Rules governing the design, construction, inspection and operation of school buses adopted by the secretary of transportation under s. 110.06 (2) shall by reference be made part of any contract for the transportation of pupils.

121.52(1)(b) (b) The school board may adopt additional rules, not inconsistent with law or with rules of the secretary of transportation or the state superintendent, for the protection of the pupils or to govern the conduct of the person in charge of the motor vehicle used for transportation of pupils for compensation.

121.52(2) (2) 

121.52(2)(a) (a) All drivers of motor vehicles owned by the school district and used for the transportation of pupils shall be under written contract with the school board of the district.

121.52(2)(b) (b) The owner or lessee of all privately owned motor vehicles transporting pupils for compensation shall be under written contract with the school board of the district for which such transportation is provided. The contract shall require the owner or lessee to perform any action necessary for the owner or lessee or the school board to fulfill any obligation specified in sub. (5) or s. 121.555.

121.52(2)(c) (c) The form of contract shall be prescribed by the department and shall provide that all parties to the contract are subject at all times to rules adopted by the secretary of transportation under s. 110.06 (2) and by the department.

121.52(3) (3) 

121.52(3)(a) (a) If the contract is made under sub. (2) (b), the contract shall provide that the owner or lessee require his or her bus drivers, as a condition of employment, to take a physical examination, including a chest X-ray or tuberculin test, and to submit the physical examination report to the school board. If the reaction to the tuberculin test is positive, a chest X-ray shall be required. Freedom from tuberculosis in a communicable form is a condition of employment as a bus driver. Additional physical examinations shall be required thereafter at intervals determined by the school board.

121.52(3)(b) (b) The contract shall provide that a physical examination report may be submitted on forms prescribed by the federal authority regulating motor carriers or the department and that a copy of a physical examination report obtained for other purposes within one year of the date of the contract may be substituted for the examination, if the report contains substantially the same information required by the department.

121.52(3)(c) (c) Such physical examinations, chest X-rays or tuberculin tests shall not be required of a bus driver who files with the school board an affidavit setting forth that the bus driver depends exclusively upon prayer or spiritual means for healing in accordance with the teachings of a bona fide religious sect, denomination or organization and that the bus driver is to the best of the bus driver’s knowledge and belief in good health and that the bus driver claims exemption from health examination on these grounds. Notwithstanding the filing of such affidavit, if there is reasonable cause to believe that the bus driver is suffering from an illness detrimental to the health of the pupils, the school board may require a health examination of the bus driver sufficient to indicate whether or not the bus driver is suffering from such an illness. No bus driver may be discriminated against by reason of filing such affidavit.

121.52(4) (4) The use of any motor vehicle to transport pupils shall be discontinued upon receipt of an order signed by the state superintendent or the secretary of transportation ordering such discontinuance. Personnel under the state superintendent or the secretary of transportation may ride any school bus at any time for the purpose of inspection.

121.52(5) (5) Upon written request of a parent or guardian of a pupil for whom the school district provides transportation, the school board shall disclose the name of each driver who transports the pupil under sub. (2) (a) or (b).

121.52 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (d); 1985 a. 218; 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 27 ss. 4079, 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 2003 a. 280.

121.52 Annotation Sub. (1) (b) is permissive. It neither governs driver conduct nor requires school districts to adopt rules to that end. It merely allows districts to do so. Reuter v. Murphy, 2000 WI App 276, 240 Wis. 2d 110, 622 N.W.2d 464, 99-3349.

121.53 121.53 School bus insurance.

121.53(1) (1) No motor vehicle may be used as a school bus unless a policy of bodily injury and property damage liability insurance, issued by an insurer authorized to transact business in this state, is maintained thereon. The policy shall provide property damage liability coverage with a limit of not less than $10,000. The policy also shall provide bodily injury liability coverage with limits of not less than $75,000 for each person and, subject to such limit for each person, total limits as follows:

121.53(1)(a) (a) $150,000 for each accident for each such motor vehicle having a seating capacity of 7 passengers or less.

121.53(1)(b) (b) $200,000 for each accident for each such motor vehicle having a seating capacity of 8 to 15 passengers.

121.53(1)(c) (c) $250,000 for each accident for each such motor vehicle having a seating capacity of 16 to 24 passengers.

121.53(1)(d) (d) $375,000 for each accident for each such motor vehicle having a seating capacity of 25 to 36 passengers.

121.53(1)(e) (e) $1,000,000 for each accident for each such motor vehicle having a seating capacity of 37 or more passengers.

121.53(2) (2) The policy under this section shall cover the transportation of pupils, their parents or guardians, authorized chaperones, school district officers, faculty and employees and school doctors, dentists and nurses:

121.53(2)(a) (a) To and from the school or school district which operates the school bus or contracts for its operation.

121.53(2)(b) (b) In connection with any extracurricular school activity authorized by and made in compliance with s. 121.54 (7).

121.53(3) (3) An insurer issuing a policy under this section may exclude coverage for public or livery use of the school bus, but any such exclusion does not apply:

121.53(3)(a) (a) When the school bus, while regularly used as such, also is used to transport pupils of another public or private school, whether or not a charge is made for such transportation.

121.53(3)(b) (b) When used in accordance with sub. (2), whether or not any person lawfully transported is required to pay a charge therefor.

121.53(3)(c) (c) When the school bus is used as specified in s. 340.01 (56) (am) for the purpose of transporting seniors or individuals with disabilities in connection with a transportation assistance program for such persons.

121.53(4) (4) Every school board shall require that there be filed with it and with the department of transportation a certificate of insurance showing that an insurance policy has been procured and is in effect which covers the owner and operator of the school bus and the school board or shall procure an insurance policy and file such certificate with the department of transportation. Unless such certificate is on file with the department of transportation, no registration plates for a school bus may be issued by the department of transportation. No such policy may be terminated prior to its expiration or canceled for any reason, unless a notice thereof is filed with the department of transportation and with the school board by the insurer at least 10 days prior to the date of termination or cancellation. The department of transportation shall revoke the registration of a school bus on which the policy has been terminated or canceled, effective on the date of termination or cancellation.

121.53(5) (5) Subsections (1) to (4) do not apply to:

121.53(5)(a) (a) A motor vehicle owned or operated by a parent or guardian transporting only the parent’s or guardian’s own children, whether or not any contract is made with or compensation paid to the parent or guardian for such transportation by a school board.

121.53(5)(b) (b) A motor vehicle operated by a common carrier certificated under ch. 194, where such motor vehicle is used under contract pursuant to this subchapter, if the common carrier has complied with s. 194.41 or 194.42.

121.53(5)(c) (c) A taxicab regulated by a municipal ordinance under s. 349.24 when used to transport pupils.

121.53(6) (6) Within 10 days after its occurrence, every accident involving a motor vehicle while providing transportation under this subchapter shall be reported to the appropriate school board.

121.53 History History: 1975 c. 60; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (7) (b); 1979 c. 281; 1981 c. 25; 1985 a. 287; 1991 a. 239; 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 2005 a. 220; 2015 a. 55.

121.54 121.54 Transportation by school districts.

121.54(1) (1) City option.