AB 59

For the 2021-22 school year, this bill increases the income eligibility for the

Wisconsin Parental Choice Program to 300 percent of the federal poverty level,

allows a pupil to submit full-time open enrollment applications to an unlimited

number of nonresident school districts, and prohibits a resident school district from

denying a full-time open enrollment (OEP) application submitted under the

alternative application process if the basis for the application is that the pupil's

parent and nonresident school board agree that attending school in the nonresident

school district is in the best interests of the pupil. Under the bill, the prohibition on

resident school districts denying OEP applications submitted under the alternative

application process also applies to an OEP application for the 2020-21 school year

that is submitted on or after the date on which the bill becomes law.

Wisconsin parental choice program; family income requirement for the

2021-22 school year

For purposes of attending a private school participating in the WPCP in the

2021-22 school year, this bill changes the family income eligibility requirement for

the WPCP to a family income that is no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty

level, which is the same as the family income eligibility requirement for the Racine

and Milwaukee Parental Choice Programs. Under current law, the income eligibility

requirement for the WPCP is a family income of no more than 220 percent of the

federal poverty level.

Full-time open enrollment; applications for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school

years

Under current law, a pupil may attend a public school, including a virtual

charter school, in a nonresident school district under the full-time open enrollment

program (OEP). For purposes of the OEP, a virtual charter school is located in the

school district that authorized the virtual charter school.

The standard OEP application procedure requires a pupil's parent to apply to

a nonresident school district during the spring semester immediately preceding the

school year in which the pupil wishes to attend the nonresident school district.

However, current law provides an alternative application procedure that allows a

pupil's parent to apply to a nonresident school district at any time during the school

year if certain circumstances apply. One of the circumstances under which a pupil

may apply using the alternative application procedure is if the parent of the pupil

and the nonresident school board agree that attending school in the nonresident

school district is in the best interests of the pupil. Current law allows a resident

school board to deny a pupil's application if the resident school board determines the

circumstance relied upon by the pupil to use the alternative application procedure

does not apply to the pupil. Current law also provides an appeal process in the event

the resident school board denies a pupil's application.

Under the bill, during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, if a pupil submits