2019 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 118. General school operations.
118.50 Whole grade sharing.

118.50 Whole grade sharing.

(1) Agreement. The school boards of 2 or more school districts may enter into a whole grade sharing agreement that provides for all or a substantial portion of the pupils enrolled in one or more grades, including 4-year-old and 5-year-old kindergarten and prekindergarten classes, in any of the school districts to attend school in one or more of the other school districts for all or a substantial portion of a school day. School boards shall include in a whole grade sharing agreement all of the following:

(a) The term of the agreement, which shall be for one or more entire school years.

(am) The date by which each school board must notify the other participating school boards of its intent to renew the agreement.

(b) The grade levels in each school district that are subject to the agreement.

(c) Subject to sub. (2m), the annual amount that the school board of a pupil's resident school district pays to the school board of the school district that the pupil attends under the agreement.

(d) Which school board grants diplomas to pupils who, under the agreement, graduate from high school in a school district other than the pupil's resident school district.

(e) Which school board is responsible for pupil records, as defined in s. 118.125 (1) (d), for pupils, who under the agreement, attend school in a school district other than the pupil's resident school district.

(2) Procedure.

(a) A school board may not enter into, extend, or renew a whole grade sharing agreement after February 15 of the school year preceding the school year in which the agreement, extension, or renewal takes effect.

(b) At least 60 days before entering into, extending, or renewing a whole grade sharing agreement, the school board shall adopt a resolution stating its intention to do so. Within 10 days after adoption of the resolution, the school district clerk shall publish notice of the adoption of the resolution as a class 1 notice under ch. 985 in a newspaper published in the school district or post a notice of the adoption of the resolution as provided in s. 10.05.

(c) Within 30 days after publication or posting, a petition signed by at least 20 percent of the electors residing in the school district may be filed with the school board requesting a feasibility study of the agreement. Upon receiving the petition, the school board shall contract with an organization approved by the department to conduct the feasibility study. If a feasibility study is required under this paragraph, the school board may not enter into, extend, or renew a whole grade sharing agreement until it receives the results of the study. The school board shall post the results of the feasibility study on the school district's Internet site.

(d) At least 30 days before entering into, extending, or renewing a whole grade sharing agreement, the school board shall hold a public hearing in the school district at which the proposed agreement is described and at which any school district elector may comment on the proposed agreement. Two or more school boards that will be parties to the agreement may hold a joint public hearing in one of the school districts.

(e) No later than 10 days after entering into, extending, or renewing a whole grade sharing agreement, the school district clerk shall file with the state superintendent a certified copy of the whole grade sharing agreement.

(2m) Pupils with disabilities.

(a) Under a whole grade sharing agreement, for each pupil with an individualized education program that is in effect, the school board of the school district in which the pupil resides shall pay the school board of the nonresident school district in which the pupil attends school under the whole grade sharing agreement the following amount:

1. In the 2016-17 school year, $12,000.

2. Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, the sum of the per pupil amount under this paragraph for the previous school year; the amount of the per pupil revenue limit adjustment under s. 121.91 (2m) for the current school year, if positive; and the change in the amount of statewide categorical aid per pupil between the previous school year and the current school year, as determined under s. 118.40 (2r) (e) 2p., if positive.

(b) If a pupil with an individualized education program that is in effect attends school in a nonresident school district under a whole grade sharing agreement for less than a full school term, the resident school board shall prorate the payment amount under par. (a) based on the number of days that school is in session during that school term and number of days the pupil attends school in the nonresident school district during that school term.

(3) Transportation.

(a) A pupil's resident school board is responsible for transporting the pupil to and from the school the pupil attends during the school term under a whole grade sharing agreement, unless the whole grade sharing agreement provides otherwise.

(b)

1. Subject to subd. 2., a whole grade sharing agreement shall specify which participating school board is responsible for transporting pupils to attend summer school classes.

2. If a school board provides transportation to attend summer school classes in the school district to pupils who reside in the school district, the school board shall provide transportation to attend summer school classes in the school district to pupils who do not reside in the school district who are attending summer school classes in the school district under a whole grade sharing agreement.

(c) If, under a whole grade sharing agreement, a school board provides transportation for fewer than all pupils, there shall be reasonable uniformity in the minimum and maximum distances pupils are transported.

(4) Attendance areas. If a school board enters into a whole grade sharing agreement that designates more than one school district for the attendance of its pupils, the school board shall establish attendance areas within the school district for determining the school districts of attendance of the pupils.

(5) Rights and privileges of nonresident pupils; participation in programs.

(a) Except as provided in s. 118.134 (3m), a pupil attending a public school in a nonresident school district under this section has all of the rights and privileges of pupils residing in that school district and is subject to the same rules and regulations as pupils residing in that school district.

(b) A pupil attending a public school in a nonresident school district under this section is considered a resident of the nonresident school district for the purposes of participating in programs of a cooperative educational service agency or a county children with disabilities education board.

(6) Full-time open enrollment in a participating nonresident school district. If a whole grade sharing agreement provides for a pupil to attend a grade in a nonresident school district in which the pupil is attending school under s. 118.51, the pupil's status as a pupil attending the nonresident school district under s. 118.51 is suspended for the school year the pupil is enrolled in the grade that is subject to the whole grade sharing agreement. This subsection does not prevent a pupil from continuing to attend the nonresident school district in succeeding school years without reapplying, as provided under s. 118.51 (3) (c).

(7) School district reorganization. A whole grade sharing agreement entered into under this section is not an order of school district reorganization under ch. 117.

(8) The department may promulgate rules to implement and administer this section.

History: 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 59.