Senate Bill 22

Creating a Charter School Authorizing Board, providing additional charter school authorizers, eliminating the limit on the number of pupils who may attend virtual charter schools, modifying teacher licensure requirements, eliminating the limit on the reduction in general school aid used to fund independent charter schools, covering certain charter school employees under the Group Insurance Board health coverage plan for local government employees, allowing a charter school to elect to participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation

Topics: Corporation, Educational Service Agency, Cooperative, Group Insurance Board, Public Instruction, Department of, Retirement System, Wisconsin, School, School: State aid, Teacher: Certificate

Stopped before the full Senate voted

The recommended passing it, but the full Senate never voted on it. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

Introduced, passed

Feb 23, 2011
Committee, passed

Approved
Senate vote, stopped here

Stopped here. The full Senate never voted on it.
Assembly vote, not reached
Governor, not reached
Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2012: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

Read the bill

Following saves it on this device. New actions show on your Following page. You can also get updates in a feed reader.

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

Roll call

A vote where each lawmaker's yes or no is recorded by name.

Official term: Roll call vote. More in the glossary

What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, school boards may enter into contracts with individuals, groups, businesses, or governmental bodies to establish charter schools, which operate with fewer constraints than traditional public schools. Current law also permits the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside, the Milwaukee Area Technical College, and the city of Milwaukee to operate charter schools (independent charter schools) directly or to contract for the operation of charter schools. In general, only pupils who reside in the school district in which an independent charter school is located may attend the charter school. No entity authorized to establish an independent charter school may establish a virtual charter school.

This bill allows a cooperative educational service agency to establish an independent charter school. The bill also creates an independent state agency, the Charter School Authorizing Board (CSAB), and authorizes it to contract for the establishment of independent charter schools. The CSAB consists of nine members, of whom three are appointed by the governor, three by the senate majority leader, and three by the speaker of the assembly. The bill prohibits the CSAB from promulgating administrative rules.

Read the full summary

The bill requires that every charter school be operated by a governing board and that every contract for the establishment of a charter school be with a nonprofit corporation. The bill removes the restrictions that limit who may attend an independent charter school and allows an entity that is authorized to establish an independent charter school to establish a virtual charter school. The bill eliminates the cap on the number of pupils who may attend virtual charter schools through the Open Enrollment Program, currently set at 5,250.

The bill allows a charter school contract to provide for more than one charter school, and allows a charter school governing board to enter into more than one contract. The bill provides that a charter school authorizer is immune from civil and criminal liability for the activities of the charter schools with which it has contracted.

The bill requires every charter school under contract with the CSAB to pay an annual fee to the CSAB. The bill allows every charter school under contract with the CSAB to provide health care for its employees under the Group Insurance Board health coverage plan for local government employees. Although a charter school's employees are not state employees and may not be local government employees, the bill provides that a charter school's governing board may elect to become a participating employer under the Wisconsin Retirement System.

The bill directs the Department of Public Instruction to promulgate rules establishing a charter school teaching license that allows the licensee to teach multiple subjects in a charter school. The rules must require the applicant to demonstrate competence in each subject and must provide the applicant several means of doing so.

Under current law, state aid to independent charter schools is funded by a reduction in general school aid, applied on a prorated basis to all school districts.

Current law provides that beginning in the 2011-12 school year, instead of reducing general school aid by the amount of charter school aid paid in the same school year, general school aid will be reduced by the amount of charter school aid paid in the 2010-11 school year. This bill eliminates this cap on the reduction in general school aid described above.

Who's behind it

5 senators are its ⁠. All 5 are Republicans.

12 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 17 names

Authors (5)

Alberta Darling · Republican, Senate
Pam Galloway · Republican, Senate
Mary Lazich · Republican, Senate
Luther S. Olsen · Republican, Senate
Leah Vukmir · Republican, Senate

Signed on in support (12)

Joan Ballweg · Republican, Senate
Garey Bies · Republican, Assembly
Mark Honadel · Republican, Assembly
Steve Kestell · Republican, Assembly
Joel Kleefisch · Republican, Assembly
Dan Knodl · Republican, Assembly
Howard Marklein · Republican, Senate
Jeff Mursau · Republican, Assembly
Steve Nass · Republican, Senate
Don Pridemore · Republican, Assembly
Karl Van Roy · Republican, Assembly
Robin Vos · Republican, Assembly

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

Versions and amendments

Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.