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LAW |
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Year Passed |
1993; last amended in 2001.
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Rank |
16th strongest of the nation's 40 charter laws. |
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Grade |
C |
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GENERAL DATA |
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• Growth steady, but recent unnecessary regulations and caps on virtual school enrollment limits freedom
• Multiple authorizers limited to Milwaukee |
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MULTIPLE AUTHORIZERS - LIMITED |
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Approval |
School boards for entire state. In Milwaukee, the City of Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Area Technical College may approve schools. In Racine, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside authorizes one school. |
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Appeal |
Yes. Applications denied by the school board may be appealed to the Wisconsin Department of Education and their decision is final. |
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NUMBER OF SCHOOLS ALLOWED |
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Cap |
No cap |
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OPERATIONAL AUTONOMY |
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State |
Yes. Blanket waiver from all state rules and regulations that apply to public schools. Virtual schools are allowed, although there is an enrollment cap of 5,250 students beginning in 2009-10. Management contracts with ESPs are not restricted. |
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Local |
Yes. Charter schools receive a blanket waiver from most rules and regulations, except regarding personnel. The school board may designate a charter as an instrumentality of the school district or not, which determines if they may hire staff and whether they are covered by the district bargaining agreement. |
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Teacher Freedom |
Yes for "non-instrumentality" charters. Teachers are not district employees and are eligible to negotiate as a separate unit with charter school governing body, or work independently. No for "instrumentality" charters. Teachers remain covered by district collective bargaining agreement, but may organize as separate unit. Charter schools must participate in state's retirement system. |
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EQUITY |
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Student Funding |
• Vague formula based on previous school's year per pupil funding results in inequity.
• No discussion of special education, additional funding for low-income, ELL, other types of students.
• Funds pass to the "operator" of the charter school, ie. school board.
• Average per pupil revenue - $7,750
"From the appropriation under s. 20.255 (2) (fm), the department shall pay to the operator of the charter school an amount equal to the sum of the amount paid per pupil under this subdivision in the previous school year and the increase in the per pupil amount paid to private schools under s. 119.23 (4) (b) 2. in the current school year as compared to the previous school year, multiplied by the number of pupils attending the charter school. The amount paid per pupil may not be less than the amount paid per pupil under this subdivision in the previous school year." [WI Statute 118.40(ar)(e)(1)] |
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Facilities Funding |
None |
