The bill changes the rate at which the state reimburses school boards, operators of independent charter schools, cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs), and county children with disabilities education boards (CCDEBs) for costs incurred to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities and for school age parents programs (eligible costs). Under current law, the state reimburses the full cost of special education for children in hospitals and convalescent homes for orthopedically disabled children. After those costs are paid, the state reimburses remaining eligible costs from the amount remaining in the appropriation account at a rate that distributes the full amount appropriated.
The bill changes the appropriation to a sum sufficient and provides that, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, after full payment of hospital and convalescent home costs, the remaining costs are reimbursed at 60 percent of eligible costs.
Currently, DPI provides 1) special education aid to school districts, independent charter schools, CESAs, and CCDEBs; 2) aid to school districts, CESAs, and CCDEBs for providing physical or mental health treatment services to private school and tribal school pupils; and 3) aid for school age parents programs to school districts only.
High-cost special education aid
The bill changes the rate at which the state reimburses school boards, operators of independent charter schools, CESAs, and CCDEBs for nonadministrative costs in excess of $30,000 incurred for providing special education and related costs to a child (aidable costs). Under current law, DPI must reimburse 90 percent of aidable costs at a rate of 100 percent from a sum certain appropriation. If the amount of the appropriation is insufficient to pay the full 90 percent of aidable costs, DPI must prorate payments among eligible applicants. The bill changes the appropriation to a sum sufficient appropriation and provides that, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, DPI must reimburse 90 percent of aidable costs at a rate of 40 percent.
Sparsity aid
Under current law, a school district is eligible for sparsity aid if the number of pupils per square mile in the school district is less than 10 and the school district’s membership in the previous school year did not exceed 1,000 pupils. The amount of aid is $400 per pupil if the school district’s membership in the previous school year did not exceed 745 pupils and $100 per pupil if the school district’s membership in the previous school year was between 745 and 1,000 pupils. Beginning in the 2025‑26 school year, the bill increases these payment amounts to $500 and $200, respectively.
Current law also provides a reduced payment, known as a stop gap payment, to a school district that was eligible to receive sparsity aid in the previous school year but is not eligible to receive sparsity aid in the current school year because it no longer satisfies the pupils-per-square-mile requirement. The amount of the stop gap payment is 50 percent of the amount of sparsity aid the school district received in the previous school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, a school district is eligible for a sparsity aid stop gap payment if the school district is ineligible for sparsity aid in the current school year because it no longer satisfies the pupils-per-square-mile requirement or the membership requirement.
Pupil transportation aid
Under current law, a school district or an operator of a charter school that provides transportation to and from a school receives a state aid payment for transportation. The amount of the aid payment depends on the number of pupils transported and the distance of each pupil’s residence from the school. The bill increases aid payments for pupils who reside more than 12 miles from the school from $400 per pupil to $450 per pupil, beginning in the 2025–26 school year.
High cost transportation aid; eligibility
Under current law, a school district is eligible for high cost transportation aid if 1) the school district has a pupil population density of 50 or fewer pupils per square mile and 2) the school district’s per pupil transportation cost exceeds 140 percent of the statewide average per pupil transportation cost. The bill lowers the second eligibility criterion to a per pupil transportation cost that exceeds 135 percent of the statewide average per pupil transportation cost.
Supplemental nutrition aid
The bill creates supplemental nutrition aid, a categorical aid to reimburse educational agencies for school meals provided to pupils who satisfy the income criteria for a reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program and pupils who do not satisfy the income criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch under the federal school lunch program. An educational agency is eligible for supplemental nutrition aid if the educational agency does not charge pupils for school meals for which the educational agency receives reimbursement from the federal government. Under the bill, the amount of aid is equal to the sum of 1) the number of school meals provided in the previous school year to pupils who satisfy the income criteria for a reduced-price lunch multiplied by the difference between the free-meal reimbursement amount and the reduced-price-meal reimbursement amount and 2) the number of school meals provided in the previous year to pupils who do not satisfy the income criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch multiplied by the difference between the free-meal reimbursement amount and the reimbursement amount for a paid school meal. Supplemental nutrition aid is first paid to educational agencies in the 2026–27 school year for school meals provided during the 2025–26 school year. Under the bill, supplemental nutrition aid is funded by a sum sufficient appropriation, which ensures that educational agencies receive the full amount of aid to which they are entitled.
The bill defines a “school meal” as a school lunch or snack under the federal school lunch program and a breakfast under the federal school breakfast program and an “educational agency” as a school board, an operator of an independent charter school, the director of the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an operator of a residential care center for children and youth, a tribal school, or a private school.
School breakfast program
The bill expands eligibility for reimbursement under the school breakfast program to include operators of independent charter schools, the director of the Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the director of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and operators of residential care centers for children and youth. The bill also prohibits DPI from making a reimbursement for a breakfast served at a school in the previous school year if that school ceased operations during the prior school year. This prohibition does not apply to reimbursements to a school district.
School mental health and pupil wellness; categorical aid
The bill changes the types of expenditures that are eligible for reimbursement under the state categorical aid program related to pupil mental health.
Under current law, DPI must make payments to school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in parental choice programs (local education agencies) that increased the amount they spent to employ, hire, or retain social workers. Under current law, DPI first pays each eligible local education agency 50 percent of the amount by which the eligible local education agency increased its expenditures for social workers in the preceding school year over the amount it expended in the school year immediately preceding the preceding school year. If, after making those payments, there is money remaining in the appropriation account for that aid program, DPI makes additional payments to eligible local education agencies. The amount of those additional payments is determined based on the amount remaining in the appropriation account and the amount spent by eligible local education agencies to employ, hire, and retain social workers during the previous school year.
The bill expands eligibility for the payments under the aid program to include spending on school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses (pupil services professionals). The bill also eliminates the two tier reimbursement structure of the aid program and eliminates the requirement that a local education agency is eligible for the aid only if the local education agency increased its spending. Under the bill, any local education agency that made expenditures to employ, hire, or retain pupil services professionals during the previous school year is eligible for reimbursement under the aid program.
Aid for comprehensive school mental health services
Under current law, DPI awards grants to school districts and independent charter schools for the purpose of collaborating with community mental health agencies to provide mental health services to pupils. The bill replaces the current grant program with new categorical aid for comprehensive school mental health services to school districts and independent charter schools.
Under the bill, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, DPI must annually reimburse a school board or the operator of an independent charter school for costs incurred for mental health services during in-school or out-of-school time, up to the greater of $100,000 or $100 per pupil who was enrolled in the school district or independent charter school in the previous school year. If the amount appropriated for this purpose is insufficient, DPI must prorate the reimbursements.
Peer-to-peer suicide prevention grants
Under current law, DPI administers a competitive grant program to award grants to public, private, and tribal high schools for the purpose of supporting peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs. Under current law, the maximum annual peer-to-peer suicide prevention grant amount is $1,000. The bill increases the maximum annual peer-to-peer suicide prevention grant amount to $6,000.
Mental health training programs
Under current law, DPI must establish a mental health training program under which it provides training to school district and independent charter school staff on three specific evidence-based strategies related to addressing mental health issues in schools. The three specific evidence-based strategies are 1) the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment program, 2) Trauma Sensitive Schools, and 3) Youth Mental Health First Aid.
The bill expands the mental health training program to include training on any evidence-based strategy related to addressing mental health issues and suicide prevention in schools and converts the list of evidence-based strategies under current law to a nonexclusive list of strategies. Additionally, the bill requires that DPI provide the training to out-of-school-time program employees.
Aid for English language acquisition
The bill creates a new categorical aid for school districts and independent charter schools to offset the costs of educating limited-English proficient (LEP) pupils.
Under current law, a school board is required to provide a bilingual-bicultural education program to LEP pupils who attend a school in the school district if the school meets any of the following thresholds:
1. Within a language group, 10 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in kindergarten to grade 3.
2. Within a language group, 20 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in grades 4 to 8.
3. Within a language group, 20 or more LEP pupils are enrolled in grades 9 to 12.
All school boards are required to educate all LEP pupils, but only school boards that are required to provide bilingual-bicultural education programs are eligible under current law for categorical aid targeted toward educating LEP pupils. Under current law, in each school year, DPI distributes $250,000 among eligible school districts whose enrollments in the previous school year were at least 15 percent LEP pupils, and DPI distributes the amount remaining in the appropriation account to eligible school districts on the basis of the school districts’ expenditures on the required bilingual-bicultural education programs during the prior school year.
Under the bill, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, DPI must annually pay each school district and each operator of an independent charter school an amount equal to $500 times the number of LEP pupils enrolled in the school district or attending the charter school in the previous school year. This new categorical aid is in addition to aid already paid under current law and is not conditioned on whether the school board or independent charter school is required to provide a bilingual-bicultural education program.
Early literacy summer reading programs
Current law requires DPI to establish a model policy for promoting third grade pupils to the fourth grade that includes various components, including a requirement to provide an intensive summer reading program to pupils who are promoted to the fourth grade, had a personal reading plan in the third grade, and did not complete the plan before being promoted to fourth grade. Current law specifies that the model policy must require that the intensive summer reading program be provided until a pupil scores at grade level in reading on a summative assessment. Current law also requires school boards, operators of independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program to, by July 1, 2025, adopt a written policy for promoting third grade pupils to the fourth grade that includes the intensive summer reading program required to be in DPI’s model policy.
Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, the bill requires DPI to reimburse school boards and independent charter schools for providing intensive summer reading programs, as required under third grade promotion policies.
Financial literacy curriculum grants
The bill requires DPI to award grants to school boards and independent charter schools for the purpose of developing, implementing, or improving financial literacy curricula. The bill further requires DPI to prioritize grants that support innovative financial literacy curricula. Current law requires school boards to adopt academic standards for financial literacy and incorporate financial literacy instruction into the curriculum in grades kindergarten to 12.
Computer science education grants
The bill requires DPI to annually award grants to school districts for the purpose of expanding computer science educational opportunities in all grade levels in the school district.
Aid for career and technical education
The bill creates a categorical aid for school districts and independent charter schools for the purpose of increasing high school career and technical education pathways in public high schools. The bill defines a “high school career and technical education pathway” as a series of career and technical education opportunities that prepare a pupil for a postsecondary option in a specific career area. Under the bill, DPI must pay each school district and independent charter school a proportional amount of the amount appropriated for this purpose. The proportional amount is based on the number of pupils in the high school grades in that school district or independent charter school in the previous school year divided by the total number of pupils in the high school grades in all school districts and independent charter schools in the previous school year.
Water bottle filling station grants
The bill requires DPI to award grants to school districts and independent charter schools to modify water fountains to include water bottle filling stations that provide filtered drinking water.
Tribal language revitalization grants
Under current law, school boards, cooperative educational service agencies, and head start agencies are eligible for grants to support innovative, effective instruction in one or more American Indian languages. The bill expands eligibility for these grants to include independent charter schools.
Grants to replace race-based nicknames, logos, mascots, or team names associated with American Indians
The bill authorizes DPI to award a grant to a school board that terminates the use of a race-based nickname, logo, mascot, or team name that is associated with a federally recognized American Indian tribe or American Indians, in general. Under the bill, a school board is eligible for a grant regardless of whether or not the school board decides to terminate the use of a race-based nickname, logo, mascot, or team name voluntarily, in response to an objection to its use, or in compliance with an order issued by the Division of Hearings and Appeals. The bill specifies that the amount of the grant may not exceed the greater of $50,000 or the actual cost incurred by the school board to replace the race-based nickname, logo, mascot, or team name. Under the bill, these grants are funded from Indian gaming receipts.
Primary and secondary education: choice, charter, and open enrollment
Parental choice program caps
The bill caps the total number of pupils who may participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, or the statewide parental choice program (parental choice program) at the number of pupils who attended a private school under the parental choice program in the 2025–26 school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2026–27 school year, if the number of applications to participate in a parental choice program exceeds the program cap, DPI must determine which applications to accept on a random basis, subject to certain admission preferences that exist under current law.
Under current law, pupils may submit applications to attend a private school under the statewide parental choice program for the following school year from the first weekday in February to the third Thursday in April, and a private school that receives applications must, no later than the first weekday in May immediately following the application period, report the number of applicants to DPI so that DPI may determine whether a pupil participation limitation has been exceeded. The bill provides that, beginning with applications for the 2026–27 school year, DPI must establish one or more application periods during which pupils may submit applications to attend a private school under the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program or Racine Parental Choice Program. The bill provides that a private school that receives applications during an application period must, no later than 10 days after the application period ends, report the number of applicants to DPI so that DPI may determine whether a program cap has been exceeded. The bill does not change the application period for the statewide parental choice program and requires DPI to use the information required to be reported under current law to determine whether the program cap for the statewide parental choice program has been exceeded.
The bill also requires DPI to establish a waiting list for a parental choice program if the program cap for the parental choice program has been exceeded.
Special Needs Scholarship Program cap
Under current law, a child with a disability who meets certain eligibility criteria may receive a scholarship to attend a private school participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP). The bill caps the total number of children who may receive an SNSP scholarship at the number of children who received an SNSP scholarship in the 2025–26 school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2026–27 school year, if the number of applications for SNSP scholarships exceeds the program cap, DPI must determine which applications to accept on a random basis, subject to certain admission preferences set forth in the bill.
Under current law, a child may apply for an SNSP scholarship at any time during a school year and may begin attending the school at any time during the school year. The bill provides that, beginning with applications for the 2026–27 school year, children may submit applications for SNSP scholarships for the school year from the first weekday in February to the third Thursday in April of the prior school year, and a private school that receives applications for SNSP scholarships must, no later than the first weekday in May immediately following the application period, report the number of applicants to DPI so that DPI may determine whether the program cap has been exceeded.
The bill also requires DPI to establish a waiting list if the program cap for the SNSP has been exceeded.
Wisconsin parental choice program; pupil participation limit
Current law includes a limit on the percentage of pupils in each school district who may attend a private school under the statewide parental choice program. The pupil participation limit started in the 2015–16 school year at 1 percent of a school district’s membership and increased gradually to 10 percent of a school district’s membership in the 2025–26 school year. Under current law, the pupil participation limit sunsets after the 2025–26 school year. The bill eliminates the sunset and continues the pupil participation limit at 10 percent of a school district’s membership.
Payment indexing: parental choice programs, SNSP, independent charter schools, full-time Open Enrollment Program, and whole grade sharing agreements
Under current law, the per pupil payment amounts under parental choice programs and the SNSP, the per pupil payment amount to independent charter schools, the transfer amounts under the full-time open enrollment program, and the required transfer amount for a child with a disability in a whole grade sharing agreement (collectively, “per pupil payments”) are adjusted annually. The annual adjustment for per pupil payments is an amount equal to the sum of any per member revenue limit increase that applies to school districts in that school year and any per member increase in categorical aids between the current school year and the previous school year. Under the bill, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, the annual adjustment for per pupil payments is the sum of the per member revenue limit increase that applies to school districts in that school year, if any, and the increase in the per member amount of general per pupil aid paid to school districts between the previous school year and the current school year, if any.
Per pupil payment and transfer amount based on actual costs; SNSP and full-time Open Enrollment
Under current law, the per pupil payment amount for a child participating in the SNSP and the transfer amount for a child with a disability in the full-time Open Enrollment Program (OEP) is one of the following:
1. A per pupil amount set by law.
2. An alternative amount based on the actual costs to educate the pupil in the previous school year, as reported by the private school or nonresident school district, whichever is applicable. For example, under this option, the amount paid to a private school in the SNSP or nonresident school district in the 2024–25 school year is based on the actual costs to educate the pupil in the 2023–24 school year, as reported by the private school or nonresident school district.
The bill eliminates the alternative SNSP per pupil payment amount and OEP transfer amount based on the actual costs to educate the pupil and the processes for setting these alternative amounts. Under the bill, the SNSP per pupil payment amount and the OEP transfer amount for children with disabilities is the same for all pupils and is set by law. In the 2024–25 school year, the amount set by law is $15,409.
Teacher licensure in parental choice programs and in the SNSP
With certain exceptions, the bill requires that, beginning on July 1, 2028, teachers at private schools participating in a parental choice program or in the SNSP must hold a license or permit issued by DPI. Under current law, teachers at choice schools must have at least a bachelor’s degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution of higher education, but they are not required to be licensed by DPI. There are no current law requirements regarding who may teach at SNSP schools.
The bill provides an exception for a teacher who teaches only courses in rabbinical studies. In addition, the bill provides a grace period for a teacher who has been teaching for at least the five consecutive years immediately preceding July 1, 2028, which allows the teacher to apply for a temporary, nonrenewable waiver of the licensure requirement. An applicant for a waiver must submit a plan for becoming licensed as required under the bill.
SNSP; religious opt out
The bill provides that a private school participating in the SNSP must allow a child attending the private school under the SNSP to refrain from participating in any religious activity if the child’s parent submits to the child’s teacher or the private school’s principal a written request that the child be exempt from such activities.
SNSP; accreditation or participation in another choice program
The bill provides that, with certain exceptions explained below, a private school may participate in the SNSP only if 1) the private school is accredited by August 1 of the school year in which the private school participates or 2) the private school participates in a parental choice program. Under current law, a private school may participate in the SNSP if the private school is accredited or if the private school’s educational program meets certain criteria.
The bill provides that, if a private school is participating in the SNSP in the 2025-26 school year and is not accredited by August 1, 2025, the private school must 1) obtain preaccreditation by August 1, 2026; 2) apply for accreditation by December 31, 2026; and 3) obtain accreditation by December 31, 2029.
Primary and secondary education: school operations
Health emergencies in learning places grants
The bill requires school boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program or the SNSP (local educational agencies) to have 1) a cardiac emergency response plan for cardiac emergencies that occur on school property, 2) an adequate supply of opioid antagonists on site, and 3) a carbon monoxide detector in each room of a school that contains a fuel-burning, forced-air furnace or a boiler, or as otherwise required by DSPS. The bill also requires DPI to provide aid to local educational agencies for the costs of complying with these requirements.
Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, the bill requires each local educational agency to have in effect a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) for cardiac emergencies that occur on school property. Under the bill, a CERP is a written document that establishes specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in a specific setting. Under the bill, a CERP must include various components, including a cardiac emergency response team; information on how the cardiac emergency response team is activated in the event of an emergency; and requirements for automated external defibrillator placement, maintenance, and training in usage, training in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and drills to practice the CERP.
Under current law, school boards and governing bodies of private schools must supply a standard first aid kit for use in an emergency. Under the bill, independent charter schools must also supply a standard first aid kit for use in an emergency. Current law also authorizes certain school personnel, including employees and volunteers of public and private schools, to administer an opioid antagonist to a person who appears to be undergoing an opioid-related drug overdose. Most recently, 2023 Wisconsin Act 194 provided civil immunity to elementary and secondary schools, school personnel, and particular medical professionals who provide or administer an opioid antagonist. Under the bill, each local educational agency must ensure that each school maintains a usable supply of an opioid antagonist on site, in a place that is accessible at all times.
Under current law, DPI must establish a model management plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in public and private schools. By no later than July 1, 2026, the bill requires DPI to include in that model plan that public and private schools must have a carbon monoxide detector in each room in a school that contains a fuel-burning, forced-air furnace or a boiler, and as otherwise required by DSPS.
Under current law, school boards and private schools participating in a parental choice program must have and implement a plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in schools. The bill extends this requirement to independent charter schools. Additionally, the bill requires that, by no later than October 1, 2026, each local educational agency include in its management plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality the same carbon monoxide detector requirement that is included in DPI’s model plan. Under the bill, each local educational agency must implement the carbon monoxide detector requirement by no later than July 1, 2027. The bill also requires local educational agencies to reasonably maintain all carbon monoxide detectors as specified in the detectors’ instructions. The requirements related to carbon monoxide detectors do not apply to a local educational agency that is a private school participating only in the SNSP.
Under current law generally, carbon monoxide detectors are required in dwellings with an attached garage, a fireplace, or a fuel-burning appliance. Carbon monoxide detectors are also required in public buildings that are used for sleeping or lodging and contain a fuel-burning appliance, a fuel-burning forced-air furnace, or an attached garage.
Costs of placing school resource officers in MPS schools
Current law requires the school board of a first class city school district—currently only Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)—to ensure that at least 25 school resource officers are present at schools within the school district during normal school hours and that school resource officers are available, as needed, during before-school and after-school care, extracurricular activities, and sporting events (SRO requirement). Under current law, a school resource officer (SRO) is a law enforcement officer who is deployed in community-oriented policing and assigned by the law enforcement agency that employs him or her to work in a full-time capacity in collaboration with a school district. Current law also requires MPS and the City of Milwaukee to agree on how to apportion the costs of meeting the SRO requirement between the two entities. Under the bill, MPS and the City of Milwaukee must apportion the costs of meeting the SRO requirement as follows:
