Charter: DPI Charter School Agreement

On April 28, 1994 State Superintendent John Benson met with Charter School District representatives and agreed to the following:

1. Per Pupil spending Limits

   DPI will certify to each Charter School district school board the district's per pupil "Complete Annual School Cost (CASC)". The per-pupil dollar amount to be provided by the district school board to the Charter School operators. If the anticipated per-pupil cost exceeds the CASC because of the nature of the program offered to special categories of students, e.g., at-risk students or high school job training programs, the anticipated per-pupil expenditure, as calculated by the school board, must be identified in the agreement between the school board and the Charter School operators.

2. Categorical Aid

   Charter Schools may participate on a voluntary basis in categorical aid programs included within Chapters 115-121 of Wisconsin statutes. Such participation should be described in the agreement reached between the district school board and the charter school operators. Charter Schools which receive financial aid or other benefits under such programs shall comply with all program requirements.

3. Gifts and Grants

   District school boards may accept gifts and grants from non-district sources and expend them in support of Charter Schools and Charter School students as agreed to by the district school board and the Charter School operators. Such gifts and grants shall have no adverse effect upon district state financial aids. Districts should follow DPI financial accounting guidelines as provided to the Charter School districts to assure there is no negative effect upon state aid.

4. Liability of Employees

   The agreement between the district school board and the Charter School operators should specify that Charter School staff members have the same immunity from personal liability as provided by statute to other pubic school employees. This liability immunity provision is included in the proposed Charter School administrative rule regarding "instructional staff" which has been developed by the department under the Charter School law.

5. Instrumentality

   Charter Schools are instrumentalities of the school district and all Charter School employees must be school district employees and are eligible for participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System. Charter Schools are exempt from Chapters 115-121 of Wisconsin statutes, except as specifically noted in the Charter School law, and expect as noted in the agreement/contract (see Item 2 above), even though these statutes apply to the school district in all other areas of operation. Charter Schools must comply with all federal legislation related to the health and safety of students as specified in DIHLR administrative rues and regulations.

6. Certification of Staff

   DPI has developed a proposed administrative rule defining "instructional staff" which provides for the creation of a Charter School license and a Charter School permit to provide increased staffing flexibility for Charter Schools. Two chapters of the Department Of Public Instruction Administrative Code are being changed for the purpose of charter school. The first is Chapter PI 8, where the term "instructional staff" is defined. In this definition, all employees who are teachers or have contact with the instructional program or who supervise teachers or other professional staff are considered to be "charter school instructional staff".

   The second administrative rule change is in Chapter PI 3 where a license category for charter schools is created. This new category, applicable to charter schools only, has two components.

   1. The first component is for teachers who already had a DPI license. By applying for a charter school instructional staff license, those teachers may accept any assignment in the charter school, even if it is outside the grade level or subjects of their original license.
   2. The second part of the rule change is the creation of a charter school instructional staff permit. This permit may be approved for individuals with a bacherlor's degree or for people who have evidence of mastery in a trade. Under this pernit a charter schol may be able to hire, for example, a four year degree nurse to teach health, a computer operator with a degree to teach computer scoence, or a journey-level carpenter or electrician to teach in their skill area. Certain conditions apply to the approval of a charter school instructional staff permit. These include:
      • the school must search for a licensed teacher
      • the permit holder must complete six credits toward the license each year of charter school employment
      • a teacher licensed in the subject must supervise the permit holder

    

   Special consideration is given to charter schools that design exchange programs with colleges, universities, or Wisconsin Technical College System campuses. Permit holders in this design do not need to complete the six credits.

7. Charter School Conracts

   School boards may be use the term "plan", "agreement", or "contract" to describe the Charter School document which includes the fifteen operational elements specified in the Charter School law. This document must be developed by and agreed to by the district school board and the Charter School operators and must serve as the basis of operation of the Charter School.

   Legally, because of the inapplicability of nearly all of Ch. 115-121 to Charter Schools, the department has greatly diminished oversight of these schools. With the exception of the determination of significant progress, promulgation of a rule defining "instructional staff," and determining the average per pupil spending ceiling, the charter schools are essentially free of departmental regulation.

   Some school boards want to be able to read the word "contract," under the school board initiated charter school, as "plan" or "agreement' and have the board itself operate the school rather than "contract" with an "individual or group to operate a school as a charter school," sec. 118.40(2m) Stats.

   The department has concluded it is not its' role and it has no authority under this law to agree or disagree or to seek to "enforce" one interpretation of this provision or another. The department does not intend to seek to intervene to prevent a district from using the concept of "plan" ir "agreement" so that the boasrd can operate the school itself with no intervening independent contractor. However, the department advises that if a district pursues such a path, it may be vulnerable to a taxpayer suit based on a contrary reading of the law.

8. Adequate Progress

   All school disrict Charter School requests approved by the State Superintendent prior to July 1, 1994 are expected to result in the operation of a Charter School by the beginning of the 1995-96 school year. School districts will be asked to submit information to the State Superintendent regarding progress toward implementation of the Charter School.

   If a school district anticipates it cannot comply with this timeline it must inform the State Superintendent of the delay and the nature of the problems involved. The State Superintendent and the district will discuss the situation and the course of action proposed by the district and work cooperatively to resolve the issue. Under provisions of the Charter School law, the State Superintendent may withdraw the district's approval to operate a Charter School and may transfer that approval to another district on the Charter School waiting if circumstances so warrant.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
June 1994
(For current policies and legislation pertaining to Charter Schools, look at Wisconsin State Statutes or the Department of Public Instruction Policies.)