Wis. Stat. § 38.12 — WI Code / Chapter 38 / Section 38.12
District board duties.
Status: in_force

(1) Control of district schools. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the district board shall have exclusive control of the district schools established by it and of property acquired for the use of such schools.

(2) District funds and treasurer. The district board shall deposit all moneys received by it with the district board treasurer who shall be accountable for such funds. All expenditures exceeding $2,500 shall be approved by the district board. Disbursement of such funds shall be made in accordance with s. 66.0607 (6) .

(3) District director and other employees.

(a) The district board shall employ and fix the compensation of:

1. A district director who shall have general supervision and management of the development and work of the district schools.

2. Such supervisors, coordinators, teachers and technical advisers and experts as are necessary.

3. Such clerical assistants, custodians and other employees as are necessary.

(b) Employees under par. (a) 1. and 2. shall meet the requirements established by the board and, where applicable, the qualifications determined under s. 38.04 (4) (a) .

(d) Employment of the district director under par. (a) 1. shall be by written contract which shall be filed with the district board secretary. The contract shall set forth all of the terms and conditions of employment.

(4) Publication of proceedings; open records. The proceedings of the district board meetings shall be published within 45 days after the meeting as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985 , in a newspaper published in the district. If no newspaper is published in the district, the proceedings may be publicized as the district board directs. The publication of the proceedings shall include a statement of receipts and expenditures in the aggregate. The district board shall make a detailed record of all receipts and expenditures available to the public for inspection at each district board meeting and upon request.

(5) Annual audit. The district board shall annually authorize an audit of the district in accordance with rules promulgated by the board under s. 38.04 (11) (b) . The district board shall submit the audit report to the board no later than 6 months following the end of each fiscal year.

(5m) Annual budget. The district board shall prepare its annual budget in compliance with rules promulgated by the board under s. 38.04 (11) (a) . The district board shall submit an approved copy of its budget to the board by July 1 of each year and shall report any subsequent budget modification to the board within 30 days of approval of the modification by the district board.

(6) Transportation planning. The district board shall work with the regional planning commissions and the local authorities of the community in which the district school is located to evaluate the transportation needs of the district school population. The district board shall develop a transportation plan for the district school to effect energy resource conservation and efficient use of transportation resources. The plan shall include pedestrian walkways, bikeways, bike routes, bicycle storage racks, car and van pools, and to the extent feasible, improved mass transit services. The transportation plans shall detail parking management strategies and parking fee policies which provide incentives for the use of mass transit and high occupancy vehicles.

(7) District policies.

(a) The district boards shall establish specific written policies on district matters, including all of the matters enumerated under s. 38.04 (14) , which are consistent with the rules promulgated under s. 38.04 (14) . The policies may not conflict with any collective bargaining agreement and are subject to review and approval by the board.

(b)

1m. Except as provided in subd. 2m. , upon receiving from the federal department of defense a student’s official joint services transcript or Community College of the Air Force transcript, the technical college in which the student is enrolled shall do the following:

a. Accept all American Council on Education credit recommendations included in the official joint services transcript and award academic credit to the student in accordance with these recommendations.

b. Accept all credits included in the Community College of the Air Force transcript and award academic credit to the student accordingly.

2m. A technical college may not award academic credit to a student under subd. 1m. for each course for which the student, upon consultation with the technical college’s staff, objects to the awarding of credit for that course.

(8) Cooperation with other state agencies.

(a) The district boards shall actively coordinate, with the department of public instruction and the school boards, the responsibility for providing vocational training to pupils attending high school and for providing education to persons who have dropped out of high school.

(b) The district boards shall actively coordinate, with the institutions within the University of Wisconsin System, the sharing of programs and facilities, including the collegiate transfer program, adult education and evening courses and part-time student and associate degree programs, in order to reduce the duplication of such programs and facilities.

(c) Annually by July 1, the district board shall report to the school boards of every school district located in whole or in part within the boundaries of the district on the steps the district board has taken in the previous year to satisfy its responsibility under par. (a) .

(9) Fire fighter training programs. The district board shall make available to members of volunteer and paid fire departments maintained by cities, villages and towns located in the district a fire fighter training program approved by the board and funded under s. 20.292 (1) (gr) . No district board may charge a fee for training provided under this subsection.

(10) Controlled substances and controlled substance analogs; discipline. Each district board shall adopt rules providing nonacademic misconduct disciplinary sanctions for any student who engages in an activity, on district premises or at a district-sponsored event, that constitutes a violation of ch. 961 . In determining the appropriate sanction, the district board or its designee shall consider those penalties, including suspension and expulsion, that will contribute most effectively to maintaining a school environment free from controlled substances, as defined in s. 961.01 (4) , and controlled substance analogs, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m) .

(11) Orientation program; information on sexual assault and sexual harassment. The district board shall:

(a) Incorporate in its orientation program for newly entering students oral and written information on sexual assault and sexual harassment, as defined in s. 111.32 (13) , including information on sexual assault by acquaintances of the victims and on all of the following:

1. The legal definitions of, and penalties for, sexual assault under ss. 940.225 , 948.02 and 948.025 , sexual exploitation by a therapist under s. 940.22 and harassment under s. 947.013 .

2. Generally available national and state statistics on sexual assaults and on sexual assaults by acquaintances of the victims.

3. The rights of victims under ch. 950 and the services available at the district school and in the community to assist a student who is the victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

4. Protective behaviors, including methods of recognizing and avoiding sexual assault and sexual harassment and locations in the community where courses on protective behaviors are provided.

(b) Annually supply all students enrolled in the district printed material that includes all of the information under par. (a) .

(c) Annually, submit a report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s. 13.172 (3) . The report shall indicate the methods the district board used to comply with pars. (a) and (b) .

(12) Service members; priority registration.

(a) In this subsection, “service member” has the meaning given in s. 36.11 (47m) (a) .

(b) Each district board shall ensure that a student who is a service member is given priority in registering for courses at any technical college in the district.

(13) Armed forces. If a student who is a member of a national guard or a member of a reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces withdraws from school after September 11, 2001, because he or she is called into state active duty or into active service with the U.S. armed forces, the district board shall do all of the following:

(am) Reenroll the student beginning in the semester in which he or she is discharged, demobilized, or deactivated from active duty or the next succeeding semester, whichever the student prefers.

(bm) Give the student the same priority in registering for courses that the student would have had if he or she had registered for courses at the beginning of the registration period.

(c) At the student’s request, do one of the following for all courses from which the student had to withdraw:

1. Reimburse the student all tuition and fees paid for all the courses.

2. Grant the student an incomplete in all the courses and permit the student to complete the courses, within 6 months after leaving state service or active service, without paying additional tuition or fees.

(d) Ensure that the student is provided a reasonable opportunity to complete final projects and final examinations for all courses in which the scheduled end date of the course is not more than 30 days after the date of the order calling the student into active duty or service unless such an accommodation cannot be reasonably made.

(14) Attendance at technical college.

(a) Upon the pupil’s request and with the written approval of the pupil’s parent or guardian, any public school pupil who satisfies the following criteria may apply to attend a technical college for the purpose of taking one or more courses:

1. The pupil has completed the 10th grade.

2. The pupil is in good academic standing.

3. The pupil notifies the school board of the school district in which the pupil resides of his or her intent to attend a technical college under this subsection by March 1 if the pupil intends to enroll in the fall semester and by October 1 if the pupil intends to enroll in the spring semester.

4. The pupil is not a child at risk, as defined in s. 118.153 (1) (a) .

5. The pupil is not ineligible under s. 118.55 (7t) (c) to participate in the program under this section.

(am) A school board may refuse to permit a pupil to attend a technical college under this subsection if the pupil is a child with a disability, as defined in s. 115.76 (5) , and the school board determines that the cost to the school district under par. (dm) would impose an undue financial burden on the school district.

(b) The technical college district board shall admit the pupil to the technical college if he or she meets the requirements and prerequisites of the course or courses for which he or she applied, except as follows:

1. The district board may admit a pupil to a course under this subsection only if there is space available in the course after admitting to the course all individuals applying for admission to the course who are not attending the technical college under this subsection.

2. The district board may reject an application from a pupil who has a record of disciplinary problems, as determined by the district board.

(c) If a child attends a technical college under this subsection, the technical college shall ensure that the child’s educational program meets the high school graduation requirements under s. 118.33 . At least 30 days before the beginning of the technical college semester in which the pupil will be enrolled, the school board of the school district in which the pupil resides shall notify the pupil, in writing, if a course in which the pupil will be enrolled does not meet the high school graduation requirements and whether the course is comparable to a course offered in the school district. If the pupil disagrees with the school board’s decision regarding comparability of courses or satisfaction of high school graduation requirements, the pupil may appeal the school board’s decision to the state superintendent within 30 days after the decision. The state superintendent’s decision is final and is not subject to review under subch. III of ch. 227 . The pupil is eligible to receive both high school and technical college credit for courses successfully completed at the technical college.

(d) Subject to s. 118.55 (7t) , for each pupil attending a technical college under this subsection, the school board shall pay to the technical college district board, in 2 installments payable upon initial enrollment and at the end of the semester, for those courses taken for high school credit, an amount equal to the cost of tuition, course fees, and books that a pupil who is attending the technical college and who is a resident of this state would be charged, except that the school board is not responsible for payment for any courses that are comparable to courses offered in the school district.

(dm) If a pupil who is attending a technical college under this subsection is a child with a disability, as defined in s. 115.76 (5) , the payment under par. (d) shall be adjusted to reflect the cost of any special services required for the pupil.