Wis. Stat. § 118.51 — WI Code / Chapter 118 / Section 118.51
Full-time open enrollment.
Status: in_force

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(ad) “Charter school” excludes a school under contract with an entity under s. 118.40 (2r) (b) or the director under s. 118.40 (2x) .

(ag) “Child with a disability” has the meaning given in s. 115.76 (5) .

(aj) “Free appropriate public education” has the meaning given in s. 115.76 (7) .

(am) “Habitual truant” has the meaning given in s. 118.16 (1) (a) .

(b) “Nonresident school board” means the school board of a nonresident school district.

(c) “Nonresident school district” means a school district, other than a pupil’s resident school district, that the pupil is attending or has applied to attend under this section.

(d) “Parent” includes a guardian.

(e) “Resident school board” means the school board of a resident school district.

(f) “Resident school district” means the school district in which a pupil resides.

(2) Applicability. Except as provided in s. 118.50 (6) , a pupil may attend a public school, including a charter school, prekindergarten, 4-year-old kindergarten, or early childhood or school-operated child care program, in a nonresident school district under this section, except that a pupil may attend a prekindergarten, 4-year-old kindergarten, or early childhood or school-operated child care program in a nonresident school district only if the pupil’s resident school district offers the same type of program that the pupil wishes to attend and the pupil is eligible to attend that program in his or her resident school district.

(3) Application procedures. Except as provided under sub. (3m) , the following procedures govern pupil applications to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section:

(a) Submission and acceptance or rejection.

1. The parent of a pupil who wishes to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section shall submit an application, on a form provided by the department under sub. (15) (a) , to the school board of the nonresident school district that the pupil wishes to attend, not earlier than the first Monday in February and not later than the last weekday in April of the school year immediately preceding the school year in which the pupil wishes to attend. Except as provided in subd. 1d. , applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident school boards in any school year. The nonresident school board shall send a copy of the application to the pupil’s resident school board and the department by the end of the first weekday following the last weekday in April. The application may include a request to attend a specific school or program offered by the nonresident school district.

1d. For purposes of determining whether applications have been submitted to more than 3 nonresident school boards, the department may not count an application submitted to a nonresident school board for a pupil to attend a virtual charter school.

1m. By the first Friday following the first Monday in May, the resident school board shall send to the nonresident school district a copy of the individualized education program developed under s. 115.787 (2) for a child with a disability whose parent submitted an application under subd. 1.

2. A nonresident school board may not act on any application received under subd. 1. before May 1. If a nonresident school board receives more applications for a particular grade or program than there are spaces available in the grade or program, the nonresident school board shall determine which pupils to accept, including pupils accepted from a waiting list under sub. (5) (d) , on a random basis, after giving preference to pupils and to siblings of pupils who are already attending the nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high school district, to pupils who are attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district under this section. If a nonresident school board determines that space is not otherwise available for open enrollment pupils in the grade or program to which an individual has applied, the school board may nevertheless accept a pupil or the sibling of a pupil who is already attending the nonresident school district and, if the nonresident school district is a union high school district, a pupil who is attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district under this section.

3. Except as provided under sub. (5) (d) 1. , on or before the first Friday following the first Monday in June following receipt of the application, the nonresident school board shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has accepted the application. If the nonresident school board has accepted the applicant, the school board shall identify the specific school or program that the applicant may attend in the following school year. If the nonresident school board rejects an application, it shall include in the notice the reason for the rejection.

4. On or before the 2nd Friday following the first Monday in June following receipt of a copy of the application, if a resident school board denies a pupil’s enrollment in a nonresident school district, the resident school board shall notify the applicant and the nonresident school board, in writing, that the application has been denied and include in the notice the reason for the denial.

6. Except as provided in sub. (5) (d) 2. , if an application is accepted, on or before the last Friday in June following receipt of a notice of acceptance, or within 10 days of receiving a notice of acceptance if a pupil is selected from a waiting list under sub. (5) (d) , the pupil’s parent shall notify the nonresident school board of the pupil’s intent to attend school in that school district in the following school year.

(b) Notice to resident school district. Annually by July 7, each nonresident school board that has accepted a pupil under this section for attendance in the following school year shall report the name of the pupil to the pupil’s resident school board.

(c) Subsequent reapplication; when required.

1. If a pupil’s parent notifies a nonresident school board, under par. (a) 6. , that the pupil intends to attend school in that school district in the following school year, the pupil may attend that school district in the following school year and may continue to attend that school district in succeeding school years without reapplying, except that the nonresident school board may require that the pupil reapply, no more than once, when the pupil enters middle school, junior high school or high school.

2. If at any time a pupil who is attending school in a nonresident school district under this section wishes to attend school in a different nonresident school district under this section, the pupil’s parent shall follow the application procedures under par. (a) .

(3m) Alternative application procedures under certain circumstances.

(a) Notwithstanding sub. (3) , the parent of a pupil who wishes to attend a public school in a nonresident school district under this section may, in lieu of applying under sub. (3) , submit an application under this subsection, on a form provided by the department under sub. (15) (a) , to the school board of the nonresident school district that the pupil wants to attend if the pupil satisfies at least one of the criteria under par. (b) . Applications may be submitted to no more than 3 nonresident school boards in any school year. For purposes of determining whether applications have been submitted to more than 3 nonresident school boards, the department may not count an application submitted to a nonresident school board for a pupil to attend a virtual charter school.

(b) The parent of a pupil may apply under this subsection only if the pupil meets one of the following criteria, and shall describe the criteria that the pupil meets in the application:

1. The resident school board determines that the pupil has been the victim of a violent criminal offense, as defined by the department by rule. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application within 30 days after the determination of the resident school board.

2. The pupil is or has been a homeless pupil in the current or immediately preceding school year. In this subdivision, “homeless pupil” means an individual who is included in the category of homeless children and youths, as defined in 42 USC 11434a (2).

3. The pupil has been the victim of repeated bullying or harassment and all of the following apply:

a. The pupil’s parent has reported the bullying or harassment to the resident school board.

b. Despite action taken under subd. 3. a. , the repeated bullying and harassment continues.

4. The place of residence of the pupil’s parent or guardian and of the pupil has changed as a result of military orders. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 90 days after the date on which the military orders changing the place of residence were issued. For purposes of this subdivision, a military order includes an order from any branch of the U.S. armed forces, a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces, the state defense force, or the national guard of any state.

5. The pupil moved into this state. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 30 days after moving into this state.

6. The place of residence of the pupil has changed as a result of a court order or custody agreement or because the pupil was placed in a foster home or with a person other than the pupil’s parent, or removed from a foster home or from the home of a person other than the pupil’s parent. An application made on the basis of this criteria is not valid unless the nonresident school board receives the application no later than 30 days after the pupil’s change in residence.

7. The parent of the pupil, the resident school board, and the nonresident school board agree that attending school in the nonresident school district is in the best interests of the pupil.

8. 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. If the resident school board notifies the parent of the pupil who applies under this subdivision that the pupil may not attend the nonresident school district, the parent may appeal the resident school district’s decision to the department and must explain in the appeal why the pupil applied to attend school in the nonresident school district. The resident school district must respond to the appeal and provide an explanation for rejecting the pupil’s transfer into the nonresident school district. If the department determines that the resident school district’s decision to deny the pupil’s transfer into the nonresident school district is not in the best interests of the pupil, the department shall notify the resident and nonresident school districts and the pupil’s parent that the pupil may attend the nonresident school district. The department’s determination under this subdivision is final.

(c) If a nonresident school board receives an application under par. (a) , the nonresident school board shall immediately forward a copy of the application to the resident school board, and shall notify the applicant, in writing, whether it has accepted the application no later than 20 days after receiving the application. If the nonresident school board has accepted the application, the nonresident school board shall identify the specific school or program that the pupil may attend.

(d) A resident school district may notify an applicant under par. (a) that the pupil may not attend a school or program in the nonresident school district only if the resident school district determines that the criteria relied on by the applicant under par. (b) does not apply to the pupil.

(e) If an application is accepted by the nonresident school board under par. (c) , the pupil may immediately begin attending the school or program in the nonresident school district and shall begin attending the school or program no later than the 15th day following receipt by the parent of the pupil of the notice of acceptance under par. (c) . If the pupil has not enrolled in or attended school in the nonresident school district by the day specified in this paragraph, the nonresident school district may notify the pupil’s parent, in writing, that the pupil is no longer authorized to attend the school or program in the nonresident school district.

(4) Adoption of policies and criteria.

(a) By February 1, 1998, each school board shall adopt a resolution specifying all of the following:

1. Its reapplication requirements, if any, under sub. (3) (c) 1.

2. Its acceptance and rejection criteria under sub. (5) (a) and (b) .

3. A statement of the preference required under sub. (3) (a) 2.

5. If the school district is eligible for aid under subch. VI of ch. 121 , the limitation on transfers into or out of the school district imposed by the school board under sub. (7) .

6. Whether it will provide transportation under s. 121.54 (10) for some or all of the pupils who reside in the school district and attend school in a nonresident school district under this section or for some or all of the pupils who reside in other school districts and attend its schools under this section, and the means, under s. 121.55 , by which it will provide such transportation.

(b) If the school board revises its criteria or policies under par. (a) , it shall do so by resolution.

(5) Nonresident school district acceptance criteria.

(a) Permissible criteria. Except as provided in sub. (3) (a) 2. , the criteria for accepting and rejecting applications from nonresident pupils under subs. (3) (a) and (3m) (a) may include only the following:

1. The availability of space in the schools, programs, classes, or grades within the nonresident school district. The nonresident school board shall determine the number of regular education and special education spaces available within the school district in the January meeting of the school board, except that for the 2011-12 school year the board shall determine the number of regular education and special education spaces available within the school district in the February meeting of the school board. In determining the availability of space, the nonresident school board may consider criteria such as class size limits, pupil-teacher ratios, or enrollment projections established by the nonresident school board and may include in its count of occupied spaces all of the following:

a. Pupils attending the school district for whom tuition is paid under s. 121.78 (1) (a) .

b. Pupils and siblings of pupils who have applied under sub. (3) (a) or (3m) (a) and are already attending the nonresident school district.

c. If the nonresident school district is a union high school district, pupils who have applied under sub. (3) (a) or (3m) (a) and are currently attending an underlying elementary school district of the nonresident school district under this section.

2. Whether the pupil has been expelled from school by any school district during the current or 2 preceding school years for any of the following reasons or whether a disciplinary proceeding involving the pupil, which is based on any of the following reasons, is pending:

a. Conveying or causing to be conveyed any threat or false information concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made to destroy any school property by means of explosives.

b. Engaging in conduct while at school or while under supervision of a school authority that endangered the health, safety or property of others.

c. Engaging in conduct while not at school or while not under the supervision of a school authority that endangered the health, safety or property of others at school or under the supervision of a school authority or of any employee of the school district or member of the school board.

d. Possessing a dangerous weapon, as defined in s. 939.22 (10) , while at school or while under the supervision of a school authority.