Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Public Instruction › Chapter PI 7 - Pupil Transportation › Subchapter II - Parent Contracts for Pupil Transportation › Section PI 7.05 - Parent contracts for transportation of pupils to private schools

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) If s.
				121.55(3),
				Stats., applies, a school board may fulfill its obligation to transport a pupil
				to a private school under s.
				121.54(2)
				(b)1, Stats., by offering to contract with
				that pupil's parent or guardian to provide the transportation. Section
				121.55(3),
				Stats., applies if the estimated cost of transporting the private school pupil
				is more than 1.5 times the school district's average cost per pupil for bus
				transportation in the previous school year as specified under sub. (2) and the
				school board has notified the parent or guardian as specified under sub.
				(3).
(2) In order to determine
				whether a contract can be offered under this section, the school board shall
				make a good faith estimate of the cost of transporting the private school pupil
				for the upcoming school year using a cost-effective means of providing safe and
				timely transportation using one of the methods described under s.
				121.55(1) (a)
				or (c) to (e), Stats. If the estimated cost
				of transporting the private school pupil is more than 1.5 times the school
				district's average cost per pupil for bus transportation in the previous school
				year, exclusive of transportation for kindergarten pupils during the noon hour
				and for pupils with disabilities who receive special transportation, the school
				board may offer a contract under this section. The school board shall utilize
				the worksheet prescribed by the department in the appendix to this chapter in
				calculating the school district's average cost per pupil for bus transportation
				in the previous school year. The school board shall maintain a copy of the
				worksheet prescribed by the department in the appendix to this chapter and a
				written record of the estimated cost to transport the pupil which indicates the
				date the estimate was made and the assumptions used in calculating the
				estimate. The worksheet shall be maintained for 7 years following the school
				year in which the contract would apply. The written estimate shall be
				maintained for whatever term specified in the school board's policy for pupil
				record retention under s.
				118.125(3),
				Stats.
Note: In the case of a dispute, the department will look to
				  the school district to have preserved all the written records necessary to
				  demonstrate how it properly applied the statutes and arrived at its
				  estimate.
(3) The school
				board shall notify the parent or guardian of the private school pupil of its
				intention to offer a contract under this section at least 30 days before the
				commencement of the school term of the public school district. The notice shall
				be in writing, shall include a statement that the contract is being offered
				under s.
				121.55(3),
				Stats., shall specify the amount of compensation to be provided under the
				parent contract, shall include a statement that if a properly offered contract
				is rejected, the school board is not obligated to provide transportation, and
				shall include all of the written documentation required under sub.
				(2).
(4) The contract shall provide
				for an annual payment for each pupil of not less than $5 times the distance in
				miles between the pupil's residence and the private school he or she attends,
				or the school district's average cost per pupil for bus transportation in the
				previous school year, exclusive of transportation for kindergarten pupils
				during the noon hour and for pupils with disabilities who receive special
				transportation, whichever is greater. The school board shall utilize the
				worksheet prescribed by the department in the appendix to this chapter in
				calculating the school district's average cost per pupil for bus transportation
				in the previous school year. The payment may not exceed the actual cost of
				providing the transportation.
(5)
				If the parent or guardian rejects a properly offered contract under this
				section, the school board is not obligated to provide transportation for the
				pupil.