1. (1) Private school. A school participating in the special needs scholarship program shall be a private school as defined in s. 115.001 (3r), Stats.

2. (2) Special needs scholarship program administrator. The special needs scholarship program administrator shall be one of the following:

   1. (a) An owner of the school.
   2. (b) An individual appointed as the school’s special needs scholarship program administrator by the governing body of the organization operating the school.

3. (3) Notice of intent to participate. Annually by the first weekday in March, a school that intends to participate in the special needs scholarship program in the following school year shall file a notice of intent to participate with the department. The notice shall include all of the following:

   1. (a) The number of scholarships the school has available for new pupils applying to the special needs scholarship program under s. PI 49.05 (3) or transferring to the school under s. PI 49.05 (5).

   2. (b) The number of full scholarship pupils and partial scholarship pupils that will continue to participate in the special needs scholarship program based on the following:

      1. 1. The school shall include all special needs scholarship program pupils on the second Friday in January count report filed under s. PI 49.06 (5), unless the school has received written correspondence from the parent withdrawing the pupil from the special needs scholarship program.
      2. 2. The school shall include any other special needs scholarship pupils accepted at the school after the second Friday in January, unless the school has received written correspondence from the parent withdrawing the pupil from the special needs scholarship program.
      3. 3. The school may only identify a pupil as a partial scholarship pupil if the pupil’s individualized education program team has determined that the pupil is no longer a child with a disability as specified under s. 115.7915 (4m) (e) 1., Stats., prior to the date the school files its notice of intent to participate with the department.
   3. (bm) The expected number of special needs scholarship program pupils that will participate in summer school under s. PI 49.16.
   4. (c) The school’s special education program profile required under s. 115.7915 (6) (g), Stats.
   5. (d) The signature of the head of the governing board, or if designated by the head of the governing board, the special needs scholarship program administrator.

   6. (e) The name of the special needs scholarship program administrator.

      Note: The notice of intent to participate and special education program profile may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction’s webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/special-needs-scholarship.

4. (4) Background checks.

   1. (a) In this subsection, “license” means a valid license issued by the department under ch. PI 34.

   2. (b) Schools shall conduct criminal background investigations of all employees by completing one of the following:

      1. 1. Conduct a criminal background check prior to employing any individual at the school and every 5 years after the date of the previous background check.

      2. 2. Complete all of the following procedures for an individual with a license:

         1. a. Obtain and retain a copy of the license.
         2. b. Annually determine that the individual has a license in advance of the employee working for the school term.

   3. (c) The requirements under par. (b) shall be completed for all individuals defined as employees under s. 108.02 (12), Stats., who are directly or indirectly related to educational programming. For the purposes of this paragraph, an individual shall be determined to be directly or indirectly related to educational programming if any of the following apply:

      1. 1. Any compensation for the individual is included as an eligible education expense in a financial audit submitted under s. 115.7915, 118.60, or 119.23, Stats.
      2. 2. The individual interacts with pupils.
      3. 3. The individual performs financial, administrative, or academic duties for the school.

   4. (d) A school may not employ any of the following individuals:

      1. 1. Individuals who have engaged in immoral conduct as defined under s. 115.31 (1) (c), Stats.
      2. 2. Individuals who are not eligible for a teaching license under s. 118.19 (4), Stats.

5. (5) Certificate of occupancy.

   1. (a) By the first weekday in May prior to the first year a school participates in the special needs scholarship program, the school shall file one of the following documents with the department for all locations of the school:

      1. 1. A certificate of occupancy issued by the municipality within which the school is located.
      2. 2. If the municipality within which the building is located does not issue certificates of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy issued by the local or regional governmental unit with authority to issue certificates of occupancy.
      3. 3. A letter or form from the municipality within which the building is located that explains that the municipality does not issue certificates of occupancy.

   2. (b) If a school moves to a new location or adds a new location, the school shall file one of the following with the department before pupils attend the new location:

      1. 1. A certificate of occupancy issued by the municipality within which the building is located.
      2. 2. If the municipality within which the building is located does not issue certificates of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy issued by the local or regional governmental unit with authority to issue certificates of occupancy.
      3. 3. A letter or form from the municipality within which the building is located that explains that the municipality does not issue certificates of occupancy.
   3. (c) A temporary certificate of occupancy does not meet the requirements of this subsection.

6. (6) Accreditation requirements. A school participating in the special needs scholarship program shall be accredited by an accrediting agency under s. 115.7915 (2) (c), Stats., for all of the grades the school makes available to special needs scholarship program pupils. Annually by August 1, a school participating in the special needs scholarship program shall file with the department a notice from the school’s accrediting agency under s. 115.7915 (2) (c), Stats., stating that the school is accredited as of the date of the notice. The notice shall meet all of the following requirements:

   1. (a) The notice shall include the following information:

      1. 1. The school’s name.
      2. 2. The school’s address for each location included in the accreditation.
      3. 3. The grades accredited by the agency.
      4. 4. Notification that the school is accredited at the time the notice is filed.
   2. (b) The notice shall be filed no earlier than the beginning of the school year.
   3. (c) The notice shall be completed by an authorized member of the accrediting agency.

7. (7) State superintendent approval. Annually by the first weekday in March preceding the school year of participation, a school seeking approval as a private school by the state superintendent under s. 115.7915 (2) (c), Stats., shall file with the department a special needs scholarship program private school requirements form demonstrating the school meets all of the requirements under s. 118.165 (1), Stats.

   Note: The special needs scholarship program private school requirements form may be obtained at no charge from the Wisconsin department of public instruction’s webpage at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/special-needs-scholarship.

History

History: EmR1619: emerg. cr., eff. 6-2-16; CR 16-005: cr., Register October 2016 No. 730, eff. 11-1-16; EmR1630: emerg. cr. (3) (e), r. (5) (d), am. (6) (intro.), (a) 3., cr. (7), eff. 11-1-16; CR 16-066: cr. (3) (e), r. (5) (d), am. (6) (intro.), (a) 3., cr. (7) Register April 2017 No. 736, eff. 5-1-17; EmR1815: emerg. cr. (3) (bm), r. and recr. (4), am. (5) (a) (intro.), (6) (intro.), (a) (intro.), 4., (b), (c), eff 7-1-18; EmR1911: emerg. am. (3) (intro.), (b) 1., 3., cr. (3) (bm), am. (3) (d), r. and recr. (4), am. (5) (a) (intro.), (b) (intro.), (6) (intro.), (a) (intro.), 4., (b), (c), (7), eff. 7-1-19; CR 19-095: am. (3) (intro.), (a), (b) 1., 3., cr. (3) (bm), am. (3) (d), r. and recr. (4), am. (5) (a) (intro.), (b) (intro.), (6) (intro.), (a) (intro.), 4., (b), (c), (7) Register March 2020 No. 771, eff. 4-1-20; correction in (4) (c) 1. made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register March 2020 No. 771.