From: DPI Open Enrollment Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2020 1:38 PM To: Demrow, Jennifer DPI Subject: Reminder: January School Board Action and Alternative Application Submitted After January Board Meeting To – District Administrators and Open Enrollment Coordinators From – Jen Demrow, Open Enrollment Consultant Subject – Reminder: January School Board Action and Alternative Applications Submitted after January Board Meeting Wisconsin law and Administrative Code requires every school board at the January board meeting to designate, for the following school year, the number of open enrollment regular education spaces, by grade, and the number of open enrollment special education spaces, by program or services, in the district using the criteria specified in its policy under s. PI 36.04(2). [Wis. Admin. Code § PI 36.06(5)(a) and Wis. Stat. § 118.51(5)(a)1]. After the regular and special education space determinations have been made at the January board meeting, the nonresident district should include the details of the decision in its board minutes. This will permit parents and others to see what action the board has taken to be in compliance with state law and Administrative Code. The board minutes should not simply make reference to the board passing a motion related to open enrollment space. The following resources are available on our open enrollment website that may be of assistance as needed: https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/open-enrollment/pdf/oe-bulletin-16-10-special-ed- space-determinations.pdf https://dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment/resources/training Additionally, if a school board’s open enrollment policy states that the board “may” guarantee approval to currently-attending applicants or siblings of currently-attending students, it means that at a January school board meeting, the school board must decide whether it will guarantee approval to these applicants in the upcoming application period. If the board does not specify at their January board meeting that currently-attending applicants or siblings of currently- attending students will be guaranteed approval, then the board is only permitted to grant preferences to those applicants and only if there is space to do so. As a reminder, a nonresident school board may approve an alternative application submitted after the January school board meeting for a current school year if the board did not limit the number of spaces available in the pupil’s succeeding grade or special education service for applications submitted under the regular application procedure for the following school year [Wis. Admin. Code § PI 36.04(7)]. For example, if a nonresident school board limits the number of regular education spaces available in 3rd grade for the 2020-21 school year, between the January board meeting and July, the nonresident district cannot approve any alternative applications for 2nd grade for the 2019- 20 school year that are submitted after the January board meeting in which the space limitations were set and approved by the nonresident school board. Jen Demrow School Administration Consultant Public School Open Enrollment Department of Public Instruction 608-264-6707 Jennifer.Demrow@dpi.wi.gov DISCLAIMER: The content of this email is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain legal advice, including compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.