From: DPI Open Enrollment Sent: Monday, March 29, 2021 11:00 AM To: DPI Open Enrollment Subject: 2021 Wisconsin Acts 18 and 19 - Important Changes to Open Enrollment To – District Administrators and Open Enrollment Coordinators From – Kari Gensler Santistevan, Open Enrollment Consultant Subject – 2021 Wisconsin Acts 18 and 19 - Important Changes to Open Enrollment The legislature has passed and the governor has signed 2021 Wisconsin Acts 18 and 19, which include changes to public school open enrollment. Act 18 allows open enrolled pupils to attend a fully virtual option in a nonresident school district for only the 2021-22 school year. A fully virtual option is considered to be located in the school district if: 1. A school board offers the fully virtual option in the school district governed by the school board. 2. A charter school offers the fully virtual option in the school district in which the charter school is located. Previous state law required open enrolled pupils to participate in a virtual program from a location within school district boundaries unless enrolled in a virtual charter school. For the 2021-22 school year, this will permit a pupil to attend a fully virtual program in a nonresident school district without having to be enrolled in a virtual charter school. Effective immediately, Act 19 excludes applications (both regular and alternative) to a nonresident school district for a pupil to attend a virtual charter school from the three nonresident district maximum established under Wis. Stat. 118.51 (3). This means there is no limit to the number of open enrollment applications a parent can submit to nonresident school districts to attend a virtual charter school either during the regular application period or using the alternative application procedure. The Department is working to remove the three nonresident district limit for districts with virtual charter schools in OPAL. In the meantime, if parents wish to submit more than three regular open enrollment applications to nonresident districts to attend a virtual charter school during the regular application period, parents will need to submit paper applications directly to the nonresident district. If you have additional questions, please let me know. Kari Gensler Santistevan School Administration Consultant Public School Open Enrollment WI Department of Public Instruction (608) 267-9196 or (888) 245-2732, option 2, then 2 kari.genslersantistevan@dpi.wi.gov