AB 94

This bill makes a number of changes to the Milwaukee Parental Choice

Program (MPCP), including the following:

1. Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) pays a pupil's

cost of attending a private school participating in the MPCP by making the check out

to the pupil's parent but sending it to the private school. The pupil's parent must

endorse the check for the use of the school.

This bill directs DPI to make the payment directly to the private school on

behalf of the pupil's parent, and allows DPI to combine payments for all pupils

attending a private school under the MPCP into a single check. Payment for summer

school programs must be made in November and be by separate check.

2. The bill provides that if more than one pupil from the same family applies

to attend the same private school, the pupils may use a single application.

3. DPI's administrative rules provide that, in determining a private school's per

pupil operating and debt service cost for the purpose of determining the amount of

the state's payment to the private school, certain revenues, such as fees charged

pupils for books, are subtracted. This bill codifies this administrative rule, but

provides that the amount of each subtraction may not be more than the actual cost

to the school of the service or material related to that revenue.

The bill also allows a private school to include in its cost an amount equal to 10.5

percent of the fair market value of the private school's buildings and premises if legal

title to the private school's buildings and premises is held in the name of the private

school's parent organization or a related party. Once a private school chooses to

include this amount in its cost, it must be included in each subsequent school year.

4. Currently, each private school participating in the MPCP is subject to

uniform financial accounting standards established by DPI and annually must

submit to DPI an independent financial audit of the private school conducted by a

certified public accountant and provide evidence of sound fiscal practices. Each

private school must also provide to DPI evidence of the school's financial viability.

This bill requires that the private school's audit must be conducted using the

auditing standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public

Accountants (AICPA) and that the audit of the private school's fiscal and internal

control practices must be conducted in accordance with attestation standards

established by the AICPA.

5. Under current law, the state payment for each full-time equivalent (FTE)

summer school pupil is approximately 40 percent of the payment for each FTE

regular school year pupil. This bill eliminates this reduction.