SB 3

This bill makes a number of changes to the law governing the Milwaukee

Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, and the statewide

parental choice program (parental choice programs). The changes are to take effect

in the 2015-16 school year.

Family income for pupil eligibility

Current law permits a pupil to attend a participating private school under the

Racine Parental Choice Program or the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program if the

pupil resides in the Racine Unified School District (RUSD) or the Milwaukee Public

School District (MPS), respectively, and the family income of the pupil does not

exceed three times the federal poverty level. Current law also permits a pupil who

resides in a school district other than RUSD or MPS to attend a participating private

school if the family income of the pupil does not exceed 1.85 times the federal poverty

level. Under each parental choice program, if the family income of a pupil who is

attending a private school under the program increases, the pupil may continue to

attend a private school under the program.

Under this bill, beginning in the 2015-16 school year, no pupil whose family

income exceeds 1.85 times the federal poverty level may attend a participating

private school under any of the parental choice programs. The bill makes no changes

to the provisions governing a pupil who is attending a private school under the

program and whose family income increases.

Per pupil payments

Under current law, in the 2014-15 school year, for each pupil enrolled in a

private school under a parental choice program, the department must pay to the

private school an amount equal to the the lesser of the private school's per pupil

operating and debt service cost that is related to educational programming

(educational costs) or $7,210 for a pupil enrolled in a grade from kindergarten to 8

and to $7,856 for a pupil enrolled in a grade from 9 to 12 (the maximum payment per

pupil).

Under current law, if a private school enrolls pupils under a parental choice

program in any grade from K to 8 and also in any grade from 9 to 12, current law

prohibits the department from determining separate educational costs for pupils

enrolled in grades K to 8 and for pupils enrolled in grades 9 to 12. Instead, the

maximum payment per pupil for that school would be an amount determined by: (a)

multiplying the number of pupils enrolled in the school under a choice program in

any grade from K to 8 by the maximum payment amount for those grades; (b)

multiplying the number of pupils enrolled in the school under a choice program in

any grade from 9 to 12 by the maximum payment amount for those grades; (c) adding

those two amounts together; and (d) dividing that sum by the total number of pupils

enrolled in the school under a parental choice program.

Finally, under current law, beginning in the 2015-16 school year, the maximum