SB 789

This bill expands the part-time open enrollment program and renames it the

course choice program.

Under the current part-time open enrollment program, a pupil enrolled in a

public school in the high school grades may attend a course at a public school in a

nonresident school district. Under the bill, a pupil enrolled in an educational

institution, as defined in the bill, in grades one to twelve may attend a course at

another educational institution. A pupil may attend no more than a total of two

courses at any one time under the current part-time open enrollment program or

under the bill's course choice program.

The bill defines an educational institution as any of the following:

1. A public school under the control of a pupil's resident school board, including

a charter school authorized by the resident school board.

2. A public school under the control of a pupil's nonresident school board,

including a charter school authorized by the nonresident school board.

3. An independent charter school.

4. A private school.

5. A nonprofit organization approved by the Department of Public Instruction.

Under the bill, participation in the course choice program is optional for an

educational institution that is a private school or a nonprofit organization approved

by DPI. If a private school or DPI-approved nonprofit organization wishes to

participate in the course choice program it must take certain actions by the June 1

preceding the school year in which it wishes to participate, including adopting a

written policy specifying the acceptance and rejection criteria it will use in the

following school year and posting on its Internet site a statement that it will

participate in the course choice program and the courses that will be available to

pupils under the program. If a private school or DPI-approved nonprofit

organization does not take these actions, a pupil attending the private school or

nonprofit organization may not attend courses at other educational institutions

under the course choice program and pupils attending other educational institutions

may not take courses at the private school or nonprofit organization under the course

choice program. Participation in both the part-time open enrollment program and

the course choice program is mandatory for public schools.

Under the bill, the educational institution that a pupil attends on a full-time

basis must pay the educational institution offering a course the pupil takes under the

course choice program an amount equal to the costs of providing the course to the

pupil, as determined by DPI. The bill prohibits an educational institution from

charging or receiving any additional payment from a pupil or a pupil's full-time

educational institution for attending a course at the educational institution under

the course choice program.

Under the current part-time open enrollment program, a pupil's resident