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Notification Requirements

NEWS: Please reference the Dec. 10, 2021 Biweekly mailing regarding an amendment to the accountability statute Wis. Stat. § 115.385(4) and to the school board notification requirements in Wis. Stat. § 118.57(1). School boards and schools that offer youth apprenticeships must add “the youth apprenticeship program” to the list of educational opportunities the board publishes as a class 1 notice and on its internet site and the high school provides to parents and guardians with its annual accountability report.

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State law (Wis. Stat. §§ 115.385 and 118.57) specifies that annually every public school, including charter schools, and each private school participating in a Choice program is to provide parents with a copy of the complete report card (detailed version) and a list of educational options. These options include: public schools, private schools participating in a parental choice program, charter schools, virtual schools, full-time or part-time open enrollment in a nonresident school district, the youth apprenticeship program, the early college credit program, and options for pupils enrolled in a home-based private educational program.

Public schools must:

  • provide a copy of the school’s report card to all parents/guardians and
  • simultaneously provide a list of educational options to parents

Public districts must:

  • publish a class 1 notice in the newspaper, which lists the report card accountability ratings of each school—public, charter, and choice—that is within the district boundaries;

  • include in the class 1 notice that the complete school and district report cards are available on the district’s website; and

  • list educational options on its website.

Choice schools must:

  • link to the school report card from the school website within 30 days after the report cards are published (provided the school has an internet site);

  • provide a copy of the report card to all parents/guardians (not just those participating in the choice program); and simultaneously

  • provide a list of educational options.

Schools and districts may - if they wish - post their own local report card alongside the Accountability Report Card that DPI produces. An optional template for a local report card is available for districts to customize as they see fit.

Suggestions for Meeting Requirements

If your school has a website:
  • Fulfill the above requirements at one time by prominently linking, from the school’s website homepage, the school’s most recent report card and information about the list of educational options available in the district. A district or school could then provide notice to parents through email, if the school has a working email for every student’s parent/guardian, or other school communications such as a newsletter, that the report card and list of educational options is available on the school’s website; or
  • Provide parents and guardians with a copy of the school's report card and list of educational options. A district or school might provide hard copies of these materials to each student to take home. In addition, within 30 days of publication, prominently link, from the school’s website homepage, the school’s most recent report card.
If your school does not have a website:
  • Provide parents and guardians with a copy of the school’s report card and list of educational options. A district or school might provide hard copies of these materials to each student to take home; or
  • Email parents information about accessing the school’s report card and list of educational options electronically through DPI’s website if the school has a working email for every student’s parent/guardian; or
  • Email a copy of the school’s report card and the list of educational options if the school has a working email for every student’s parent/guardian.

If you have questions about these notification requirements, please contact: oeamail@dpi.wi.gov. As always, the department encourages school boards to consult their own legal counsel with questions pertaining to legal requirements. Below is the statutory citation for each of the notification requirements. Click on the links to reference the statutory text.

Statutory Language

  • 115.385 (4) Requirement to Provide Information to Parent or Guardian
  • 115.7915 (5) Requirement to provide notice to families of students with disabilities of the Special Needs Scholarship Program
  • 118.57 Requirement to Provide Notice of Educational Options
  • 118.60(9m) and 119.23(9m) Posting Accountability Reports, Private Schools
  • 120.12 (13) Notice of pupil academic standards