A school district may deny education services only if a student is not a resident of the district
(as described above) or if a student is currently expelled from another Wisconsin public
school district, Wis. Stat. sec. 119.25 and 120.13(1)(f). No school board is required to enroll
a pupil during the term of his/her expulsion from a public school in another state or from a
charter school established under s. 118.40 (2r), Wis. Stats., if the school board determines the
conduct giving rise to the pupil's expulsion would have been grounds for expulsion under
state law, s. 120.13 (1) (f) 2 and 3, Wis. Stats.
If the currently expelled student is a child with a disability, the resident district continues to
have FAPE responsibility. Under federal and state law, LEAs must locate, identify, evaluate,
and provide a free appropriate public education to all children with disabilities, including
children who have been expelled from school. A school district cannot refuse an IEP team
evaluation because a child has been expelled from another school district. A school district
cannot refuse to provide a free appropriate public education to a child with a disability
expelled from another school district. However, the school board may provide the services to
the child in a setting other than one of the district's schools, as determined by the IEP team.
9. Must a school district provide educational services immediately to a student
transferring from another school, district, or state?
A school district must enroll and serve a resident student immediately. If the board’s written
attendance policy permits and with parental agreement, enrollment of a high school student
may include a period of assessment if the absence from school was a consequence of the
student’s truancy or upon the student’s return to school from placement in a correctional
facility, mental health treatment facility, alcohol and other drug abuse treatment facility, or
other out-of-school placement. See Wis. Stat. sec. 118.16(4)(cm)1., for conditions and
limitations.
There are situations where a school nurse may require orders from a healthcare provider
prior to providing or delegating necessary health procedures to a student while they are at
school. This might include administering medications, tube feedings, trach care, and
catheterizations. School staff should work with parents and guardians to obtain these orders
as quickly as possible, to ensure the student is able to attend school safely. Occasionally the
level of care required by a student’s health condition requires intensive nursing care. The
district may need to hire additional staff to provide this level of care. The student still has a
right to enroll and be educated, and the setting might need to be adjusted until all these
safety, licensing, and professional and legal requirements can be met.
Local policies and procedures determine how to proceed in these situations, which may
include excusing a student's absence from attendance per 118.15(3)(a) for the short interim.
Other solutions may include homebound instruction or adjusted school days.
Special consideration must be given to IDEA eligible students transferring from other
school districts. See Information Update Bulletin 13.01.
10. Often, a new student’s pupil records are not transferred from the previous school
district for some days after the new student enrolls in school. Can the school district
postpone beginning instruction until the records arrive, in order to adequately plan the
student’s educational program?
No, there is no provision in law to permit a delay in educational services in this circumstance.