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Wisconsin Legislature: SB818: Bill Text
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SB818: Bill Text
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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-5787/1
FFK:skw
2025 SENATE BILL 818
January 14, 2026 - Introduced by Senators
Cabral-Guevara
and
Testin
, cosponsored by Representatives
Wittke
,
Stubbs
,
Dittrich
,
Murphy
,
O'Connor
and
Knodl
. Referred to Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges.
SB818,1,4
1
An Act
to renumber
118.40 (2x) (a) 1. and 118.40 (2x) (e) 1.;
to amend
118.40
2
(2x) (f) 1. a. and 118.40 (2x) (f) 1. b.;
to create
36.64 (4) (e), 36.64 (4m), 118.40
3
(2x) (a) 1m. and 118.40 (2x) (e) 1. b. of the statutes;
relating to:
4
demonstration charter school operators.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the director of the Office of Educational Opportunity in the University of Wisconsin System may authorize a charter school. A charter school authorized by the OEO director is often referred to as an independent charter school. Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction pays the operator of an independent charter school an annual per pupil amount set by law. The per pupil amount for the 2025-26 school year is $12,369. This bill authorizes the OEO director to designate an operator of a charter school authorized by the director as a demonstration public school operator and requires DPI to pay an additional $6,863 per pupil to an operator of a charter school that receives this designation.
Under the bill, to be designated as an demonstration public school operator, an independent charter school operator must demonstrate to the OEO director that it meets specific criteria, including that for each of its charter schools authorized by the OEO, the operator participates in a longitudinal study; provides professional development opportunities; disseminates best practices from its educational model to other schools; and establishes and maintains partnerships with community organizations. Under the bill, the OEO director must respond to a request for such a designation from an independent charter school operator within 30 days and must include in the response the OEO director’s decision on whether to make the designation and if the director will not make the designation, the reason for not doing so. If the OEO director designates an independent charter school operator as a demonstration public school operator, the OEO director must state the term of the designation, which may not be more than five school years and must begin on a July 1. The designation may be renewed for additional terms. Lastly, for a designated public school operator to qualify for the increased per pupil payment amount for pupils attending an independent charter school authorized by the OEO, the operator and the OEO director must incorporate into the contract for the charter school a requirement for the operator to continue to comply with the eligibility criteria for a demonstration public school operator and a requirement for the operator to submit annual reports to DPI, the Joint Committee on Finance, and the senate and assembly education committees. Under the bill, the OEO director must annually provide to DPI the name of each demonstration public school operator and each charter school operated by the demonstration public school operator that qualifies for the increased per pupil payment in the following school year.
Under current law, the per pupil amount paid to an independent charter school is adjusted annually. The annual adjustment is an amount equal to the sum of any per member revenue limit increase that applies to school districts in that school year and any per member increase in categorical aids between the current school year and the previous school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, the additional $6,863 per pupil payment for a charter school that is designated as a demonstration public school is adjusted in the same manner as the standard per pupil payment amount.
Finally, the bill specifies that the additional per pupil payment for a demonstration public school is not included for purposes of reductions made to state aid received by school districts for payments to independent charter schools.
For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SB818,1
1
Section
1
.
36.64 (4) (e) of the statutes is created to read:
SB818,2,5
2
36.64
(4)
(e) Designate the operator of a charter school authorized under s.
3
118.40 (2x) as a demonstration public school operator if the operator demonstrates
4
to the director of the office of educational opportunity that for each of its charter
5
schools authorized under s. 118.40 (2x), the operator does all of the following:
SB818,3,2
1
1. Documents and disseminates best practices for the charter school’s
2
educational model with other schools in this state.
SB818,3,4
3
2. Provides professional development opportunities for teachers and school
4
administrators.
SB818,3,6
5
3. Participates in a longitudinal study of the charter school’s educational
6
model.
SB818,3,7
7
4. Evaluates the effectiveness of the charter school’s educational model.
SB818,3,8
8
5. Tracks the progress of pupils who matriculate from the charter school.
SB818,3,9
9
6. Establishes and maintains partnerships with community organizations.
SB818,3,11
10
7. Enters into an agreement with all of the following to evaluate the design
11
and implementation of the charter school’s educational model:
SB818,3,12
12
a. The Wisconsin Center for Educational Research.
SB818,3,13
13
b. The Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative.
SB818,2
14
Section
2
.
36.64 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:
SB818,3,19
15
36.64
(4m)
(a) If an operator of a charter school submits a request to the
16
director of the office of educational opportunity for designation as a demonstration
17
public school operator under sub. (4) (e), the director shall respond to the request, in
18
writing, by no later than 30 days after receiving the request. The director shall
19
include in its response under this subsection all of the following:
SB818,3,21
20
1. Whether or not the director intends to make the designation and if not, the
21
director’s reason for not making the designation.
SB818,3,22
22
2. The term of the designation, as specified in par. (b).
SB818,4,2
23
(b) The term of a designation as a demonstration public school operator under
1
sub. (4) (e) may be for any term not exceeding 5 school years and may be renewed for
2
one or more terms not exceeding 5 school years. Each term shall begin on July 1.
SB818,4,7
3
(c) If the director of the office of educational opportunity designates an
4
operator as a demonstration public school operator under sub. (4) (e), for a charter
5
school operated by the demonstration public school operator to qualify for the
6
additional per pupil amount under s. 118.40 (2x) (e) 1., the director and the operator
7
shall include in the contract under s. 118.40 (2x) all of the following:
SB818,4,9
8
1. A requirement for the operator to continue to comply with the requirements
9
in sub. (4) (e) 1. to 7. for the term of the designation.
SB818,4,13
10
2. A requirement for the operator to submit to the director, the department of
11
public instruction, the joint committee on finance, and the appropriate standing
12
committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) an annual comprehensive report
13
that includes at least all of the following:
SB818,4,14
14
a. Audited financial statements.
SB818,4,16
15
b. The sections of the director’s annual report under s. 118.40 (3m) (f) for the
16
previous school year that pertain to the charter school.
SB818,4,17
17
c. Longitudinal study findings from the previous year.
SB818,4,18
18
d. Pupil achievement information from the previous school year.
SB818,4,20
19
e. Enrollment information about pupils attending the school, including
20
demographic information.
SB818,4,21
21
f. Staff retention information.
SB818,4,22
22
g. Information about family engagement.
SB818,4,24
23
h. Information about how pupils transition to secondary school or to post-
24
secondary school or careers, whichever is applicable.
SB818,5,2
1
(d) Annually, by June 30, the director shall submit to the department of public
2
instruction all of the following:
SB818,5,5
3
1. The name of each operator designated by the director as a demonstration
4
public school operator during the current school year and the term of the
5
designation.
SB818,5,8
6
2. Each charter school operated by the demonstration public school operator
7
that qualifies for the additional per pupil amount under s. 118.40 (2x) (e) 1. during
8
the term of the designation.
SB818,3
9
Section
3
.
118.40 (2x) (a) 1. of the statutes is renumbered 118.40 (2x) (a) 1s.
SB818,4
10
Section
4
.
118.40 (2x) (a) 1m. of the statutes is created to read:
SB818,5,13
11
118.40
(2x)
(a) 1m. “Demonstration public school operator” means an operator
12
of a charter school under this subsection that is designated as a demonstration
13
public charter school operator by the director under s. 36.64 (4) (e).
SB818,5
14
Section
5
.
118.40 (2x) (e) 1. of the statutes is renumbered 118.40 (2x) (e) 1. a.
SB818,6
15
Section
6
.
118.40 (2x) (e) 1. b. of the statutes is created to read:
SB818,6,3
16
118.40
(2x)
(e) 1. b. Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, the department
17
shall pay a demonstration public school operator $6,863 in addition to the amount
18
specified in subd. 1. a. for each pupil attending a charter school operated by the
19
demonstration public school operator that qualifies for the payment under this
20
subd. 1. b. in the annual notice submitted to the department under s. 36.64 (4m).
21
Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, the additional per pupil amount paid to a
22
demonstration public school operator under this subd. 1. b. is the sum of the
23
additional per pupil amount under this subd. 1. b. for the previous school year; the
24
amount of the per pupil revenue limit adjustment under s. 121.91 (2m) for the
1
current school year, if positive; and the change in the amount of statewide
2
categorical aid per pupil between the previous school year and the current school
3
year, as determined under sub. (2r) (e) 2p., if positive.
SB818,7
4
Section
7
.
118.40 (2x) (f) 1. a. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB818,6,6
5
118.40
(2x)
(f) 1. a. Determine the number of pupils residing in the school
6
district for whom a payment is made under par. (e) 1.
a.
in that school year.
SB818,8
7
Section
8
.
118.40 (2x) (f) 1. b. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB818,6,9
8
118.40
(2x)
(f) 1. b. Multiply the number of pupils under subd. 1. a. by the per
9
pupil amount calculated under par. (e) 1.
a.
for that school year.
SB818,6,10
10
(end)
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