The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) confirmed in a call Thursday that a waiver of the annual 875 hours of instruction is not needed for private K-12 schools.
The pronouncement came after two weeks of negotiations and discussion with WCRIS and other stakeholders.
Agency representatives said that since private schools have already reported their annual hours of instruction via PI 1207, no further verification of school hours is needed. Schools filed their forms on October 15, 2019.
Hours of Instruction Waiver Needed for Voucher Schools
However, the situation for Choice schools is different. Under administrative rules, hours of instruction are reported prior to the start of the school year. However, a choice participating school that alters its hours must file a revised report and seek prior written approval from the DPI before hours are shortened.
Working with our friends at School Choice Wisconsin, the DPI is drafting a legislative proposal that would eliminate this amended report and approval requirement for the 2019-2020 school year, along with the 4K outreach requirement.
The proposal would also move the deadlines for surety bonds, summer school course lists and certificate of occupancy all to June 1, 2020. The civics exam requirement would be eliminated for the 2019-20 school year, along with the requirement for two governing board meetings for the 2019-20 school year.
The legislature anticipates holding a special session on COVID-19 in the coming weeks when the proposal could be adopted and signed into law.
Watch the WCRIS website and future editions of Current Events for updates.
