This legislation allowed the Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Milwaukee's Common Council to authorize or operate charter schools in the city of Milwaukee. With the exception of Milwaukee, as established in Wisconsin's original 1993 charter school law, the local school board remains the only entity that can grant a charter for a period of one to five years. There is no limit to the number of schools permitted to be chartered in the state. Generally only existing public schools are eligible. However, special provisions in the charter school law for the Milwaukee Public Schools allow private schools to become charter schools and to appeal district school board charter school decisions to the wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Charters schools have a blanket waiver from most state education laws and regulations.
Teachers are covered by the district's collective bargaining agreement, except in Milwaukee unless they choose to establish a separate collective bargaining unit. The state made this first money available to 12 existing charter schools and to 13 districts for planning activities. The amount to be paid by the school board to the charter school must be negotiated in each contract. Many states provide the same funding as is provided the noncharter school. All rights reserved.