Section PI 35.03 - School requirements(1) PRIVATE SCHOOL. A school participating in the choice program shall be a private school as defined in s. 118.165, Stats.(2) CHOICE ADMINISTRATOR. The choice administrator shall be one of the following: (a) An owner of the school.(b) An individual appointed as the school's choice administrator by the governing body of the organization operating the school.(3) NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE. Except as provided under s. PI 35.04(1) for new private schools, annually by January 10, a school that intends to participate in the choice program in the following school year shall file with the department a notice of intent to participate. The notice shall include all of the following: (a) The school's plan for ensuring it will select pupils on a random basis from a new pool of applicants each school year, as required under s. 119.23(3) (a), Stats. The school's plan shall be one of the following:1. The plan provided by the department.2. A plan provided by the school and approved by the department. A school using this option shall file the plan with the department for approval by January 10. If the school does not provide a plan by January 10 or the plan is not approved by the department by January 31, the school shall use the plan provided by the department. If the school makes a change to the plan in a subsequent school year, the school shall file, with the school's notice of intent to participate, the revised plan for approval.(b) The number of spaces the school has available for pupils participating in the choice program.(bm) The expected number of choice program pupils that will participate in summer school under s. PI 35.08.(c) The open application periods during which the school will accept choice program pupil applications. After January 10, a school may not amend the open application periods it selects.(d) For first time participants, the name and location of the accredited institution of higher education from which the choice administrator received at least a bachelor's degree and the date the degree was received, the number of the choice administrator's teaching or administrator license issued by the department, or an indication that the administrator is excluded from the requirement under s. 119.23(2) (c) 2, Stats.(e) The signature and mailing address of the choice administrator. Note: The notice of school's intent to participate form, which includes the department's random selection plan, may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
(5) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. (a) By January 10 prior to the school's initial school year in the choice program, a first time participant shall file with the department the information required under s. 119.23(6p) (a), Stats., and the mailing addresses for each governing body member on a form provided by the department.(b) Annually by August 1, a school participating in the choice program that is not a first time participant shall file with the department any changes to the school's governing body members, including signatures required under s. 119.23(6m) (c), Stats., and the mailing addresses for each new governing body member on a form provided by the department. Note: The disclosure of information form and school update form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
(6) ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS. A school participating in the choice program shall be accredited by an accrediting agency under s. 119.23(1) (ab), Stats. Annually by August 1, a school that is fully accredited under s. 119.23(2) (a) 7, Stats., shall file with the department a notice from the school's accrediting agency under s. 119.23(1) (ab), Stats., stating that the school is accredited as of the date of the notice. The notice shall meet all of the following requirements: (a) The notice shall include the following information:2. The school's address for each location included in the accreditation.3. The grades accredited by the agency.4. Notification that the school is accredited at the time the notice is filed.(b) The notice shall be filed no earlier than the beginning of the school year.(c) The notice shall be completed by an authorized member of the accrediting agency.(7) HOURS OF INSTRUCTION AND ANNUAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS.(a) By the first weekday in May of the school year immediately preceding the first school year in which a first time participant intends to participate in the choice program, a first time participant shall file with the department the hours of instruction for the upcoming school year on a form provided by the department. The hours of instruction shall comply with the requirements under s. 119.23(2) (a) 8, Stats., and s. PI 35.06(6).(b) Annually by the last weekday in September, as part of the pupil count report for the third Friday in September required under s. PI 35.06(8) or another manner prescribed by the department, a school shall file all of the following with the department:1. The school's start and end date for the current school term.2. The dates of the two governing body meetings for the current school year required under s. 119.23(7) (b) 3m, Stats.3. The hours of instruction for the current school term. The hours of instruction shall comply with the requirements under s. 119.23(2) (a) 8, Stats., and s. PI 35.06(6). Note: The hours of instruction form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.
(f) Upon request by the department, a school shall provide documentation showing how the school meets the hours of instruction requirements under s. 119.23(2) (a) 8, Stats., and s. PI 35.06(6).(8) SCHOOL FEES. (a) A school may not charge pupils participating in a choice program for a field trip if the trip is required for a class, is part of the school's curriculum, or is part of the hours of instruction.(b) A school may have a written policy indicating it will charge a fine for lost, damaged, or unreturned school property. The amount of the fine may not exceed the cost of the item.(c) A school may not impose any fee or other sanction on a parent or pupil for failure to engage in fund raising.(9) ALL STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.(a) By the first weekday in August of the school year in which a first time participant intends to participate in the choice program, a first time participant shall file a form with the department identifying whether the school will provide the data required under s. 115.385(3) (b), Stats., to the department.(b) Annually by the first weekday in August, a school may file a form with the department identifying changes to whether the school will provide the data required under s. 115.385(3) (b), Stats., to the department. After the first weekday in August, the school may not make changes for that school year.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Public Instruction PI 35.03
Cr. Register, May, 1991, No. 425, eff. 6-1-91; am. (1) (intro.) and (3) (b), Register, July, 1994, No. 463, eff. 8-1-94; am. (1) (a), cr. (6), Register, May, 1996, No. 485, eff. 6-1-96; emerg. am. (1) (a), r. and recr. (1) (c) and (2), r. (3) and (4), eff. 8-5-98; am. (1) (a), r. and recr. (1) (c) and (2), r. (3) and (4), Register, February, 1999, No. 518, eff. 3-1-99; emerg. am. (1) (a) and (2) (e), cr. (3), renum. (5) (intro.) to be (5) (a) and am., eff. 1-4-00; am. (1) (a) and (2) (e), cr. (3), renum. (5) (intro.) to (d) to be (5) (a) and (b) and am., Register, July, 2000, No. 535, eff. 8-1-00; emerg. am. (1) (intro.), (c), (2) (intro.), (3), (5), (6) (a) (intro.), cr. (1) (d), eff. 1-28-02; CR 02-023: am. (1) (intro.), (c), (2) (intro.), (3), (5), (6) (a) (intro.), cr. (1) (d); Register August 2002 No. 560, eff. 9-1-02; CR 04-076: renum. (3) to be (3) (a), cr. (3) (b) Register October 2005 No. 598, eff. 11-1-05; EmR0916: emerg. cr. (1m), eff. 1-1-09; CR 09-074: cr. (1m) Register May 2010 No. 653, eff. 6-1-10.Amended by, CR 16-004: cr. Register July 2016 No. 727, eff. 8-1-16; correction in (5) (a) 1., (b) 1. made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register July 2016 No. 727, eff. 8/1/2016Amended by, CR 19-120: am. (3) (intro.), (a) 2., cr. (3) (bm), am. (3) (d), r. (4), renu. (5) (a) (intro.) to (5) (a) and am., r. (5) (a) 1., 2., renum. (5) (b) (intro.) to (5) (b) and am., r. (5) (b) 1., 2., am. (6) (intro.), (a) (intro.), 3., 4., (b), (c), (7) (a), renum. (7) (b) to (7) (b) (intro.) and am., cr. (7) (b) 1. to 3., r. (7) (c) to (e), cr. (7) (f), (9) Register May 2020 No. 773, eff. 6/1/2020The form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction's webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/choice-programs.