Section PI 23.06 - Victims of a violent criminal offense(1) A pupil may transfer to another appropriate grade level public school operated by the school district if he or she has been a victim of a violent criminal offense under either of the following circumstances and reports the incident to the appropriate law enforcement agency and to the building principal: (a) The pupil has been a victim of a violent criminal offense while on the school grounds of the school that the pupil attends during school hours or during a school-sponsored event at the school that the pupil attends that does not occur during school hours.(b) The pupil has been a victim of a violent criminal offense while being transported to school for the purpose of attending curricular programs during school hours or from school to home immediately following school hours on a school bus owned, leased, or contracted by the school district or by a motor vehicle operated as an alternative method of transportation under s. 121.555, Stats. For a pupil who has been a victim of a violent criminal offense while being transported to or from a school by a common carrier in a school district providing transportation under s. 121.54(1), Stats., transfer decisions under this section shall be made by the school board or the school board's designee on a case-by-case basis. Note: The department also encourages school boards and the community to promote safe pedestrian pathways for pupils walking to school for the purpose of attending curricular programs during school hours or from school to home immediately following school hours.
(2) A school board or the school board's designee that has a pupil who meets the provisions under sub. (1) shall do all of the following: (a) Within 10 working days of the incident being reported under sub. (1), do all of the following: 1. Determine, in consultation with law enforcement officers if necessary, if the incident is a violent criminal offense.2. Notify in writing the parents or guardians of the pupil of the choice to transfer to another appropriate grade level public school operated by the school district, including a public charter school if the incident is determined to be a violent criminal offense.(b) Within 30 working days of the pupil accepting the offer under par. (a) 2., complete the transfer. (3) A school board does not have to allow a pupil under sub. (1) to transfer to another school if the pupil was a victim of a violent criminal offense under any of the following circumstances: (a) While away from the school he or she attends but during a school sponsored activity or field trip.(b) While traveling on the school bus to or from a school-sponsored activity or field trip.(c) While on school grounds of the school he or she attends but not during school hours or during a school-sponsored event.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Public Instruction PI 23.06
CR 02-151: cr. Register July 2003 No. 571, eff. 8-1-03. Federal law does not require a criminal conviction to qualify a pupil as a victim, 20 USC 7912. Accordingly, the determination by the school board or its designee about whether a violent criminal offense has been committed under the statutory definitions found within Wisconsin's criminal code is not an adjudication of the elements of a crime, as found under Wisconsin law, but rather a determination by the school board or its designee about the nature of the alleged conduct at issue. This determination by the school board or its designee will be based upon the reports it receives from law enforcement and other school authorities, including the building principal.
Note: The transfer provision in this chapter only applies if the district has another appropriate grade level public school, including a public charter school. However, the U. S. Department of Education's Guidance encourages, but does not require, school districts to explore other appropriate options such as an agreement with a neighboring school district to accept transfer pupils if there is not another school in the school district for the transferring pupils.