119.9004 Opportunity schools and partnership program.
(1) Legal entity.
(a) There is created within the school district operating under this chapter a opportunity schools and partnership program under the management and control of the commissioner. The commissioner shall exercise the powers, duties, and functions prescribed to the commissioner by law independently of the board and under the supervision of the county executive. Budgeting, program coordination, and related management functions for the schools transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership program shall be performed by the commissioner.
(b) The opportunity schools and partnership program comprises individual eligible schools transferred by the commissioner under s. 119.9002 (2).
(2) Exit from opportunity schools and partnership program. Subject to sub. (3) (a), the commissioner may transfer a school out of the opportunity schools and partnership program if the commissioner determines that the school has been placed in a performance category of “meets expectations" or higher on the 3 preceding consecutive accountability reports published for the school under s. 115.385 (1). Any of the following may apply to a school transferred out of the program under this subsection:
(a) Subject to sub. (3) (b), the commissioner may return operation and general management of the school to the board.
(b) The commissioner may transfer operation and management of the school to a person to operate the school under s. 118.40 as a charter school that is not an instrumentality of the school district, as determined under s. 118.40 (7).
(c) The commissioner may transfer operation and general management of the school to the governing body of a private school.
(3) Opportunity schools and partnership program; limitations.
(a) A school transferred to the program under this subchapter may not be transferred out of the program under this subchapter for 5 consecutive school years.
(b) The commissioner may not return operation and general management of a school that has been transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership program to the board if either of the following applies:
1. The school remains an eligible school.
2. The school district operating under this chapter has been assigned in the 3 most recent school years a performance category of “fails to meet expectations" on the accountability report published under s. 115.385 (1).
History: 2015 a. 55.