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:
1. For school days, the greater of 25 percent of the costs or $400,000, as indexed to inflation, to MPS and the remainder to the City of Milwaukee.
2. For nonschool days, 100 percent to the City of Milwaukee.
Under the bill, “school day” means 1) a day on which school is actually taught and 2) a day on which school is not taught because school is closed due to inclement weather, parent-teacher conferences, an order of a local health officer or DHS, or a threat to the health or safety of pupils or school personnel.
Computer science course requirement
The bill requires school boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program to make available to pupils in grades 9 to 12 at least one computer science course, which must include concepts in computer programming or coding.
Participation in high school graduation ceremonies
The bill prohibits school boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental choice program or the SNSP from excluding a pupil from a high school graduation ceremony due to the pupil’s or the pupil’s family’s failure to pay any outstanding fees or charges. Under current law, pupil participation in high school graduation ceremonies is determined under school board, charter school, or private school policies.
Access to period products in schools
The bill requires school boards and independent charter schools to provide period products to any pupil who needs them while at school, at no charge to the pupil. In addition, the bill requires DPI to distribute aid for the provision of period products to certain school districts and independent charter schools. Under the bill, a school district or independent charter school is eligible for aid if the school district or independent charter school had a greater percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils enrolled in or attending the school district or independent charter school than the statewide percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the previous school year. Under the bill, DPI must distribute to each eligible school district and independent charter school the greater of $100 or an amount that is proportionate to the number of economically disadvantaged pupils enrolled in or attending the eligible school district or independent charter school in the previous school year compared to the total number of economically disadvantaged pupils enrolled in or attending eligible school districts or independent charter schools in the previous school year. If the amount appropriated for this aid is insufficient to pay the full amount of aid, DPI must prorate the aid payments among the eligible school districts and independent charter schools. The bill defines an “economically disadvantaged pupil” as a pupil who satisfies the federal income eligibility requirements for a free or reduced-price lunch.
Primary and secondary education: administrative and other funding
Early literacy coaches
Under current law, the Office of Literacy in DPI must establish and supervise a literacy coaching program to improve literacy outcomes in this state. Specifically, the Office of Literacy, in consultation with cooperative educational service agencies, must contract for up to 64 full-time equivalent literacy coaches. Current law requires the Office of Literacy to assign one-half of the literacy coaches to schools based on pupil scores on the third grade reading assessment and one-half of the literacy coaches to schools that request early literacy support. The latter half of the literacy coaches must be dispersed evenly among cooperative educational service agency regions. In addition, current law prohibits the Office of Literacy from assigning more than a total of 10 literacy coaches to a first class city school district and more than a total of four literacy coaches to a school district that is not a first class city school district.
Under current law, the Office of Literacy and the literacy coaching program sunset on July 1, 2028. The bill eliminates this sunset. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, the bill increases the maximum number of full-time equivalent literacy coaches to 100, increases the maximum number of literacy coaches that may be assigned to a first class city school district to 16, and increases the maximum number of literacy coaches that may be assigned to a school district that is not a first class city school district to six.
Early literacy tutoring grants
The bill requires DPI to create a competitive grant program, under which it awards grants to community-based nonprofit organizations to provide literacy tutoring, including high-dosage literacy tutoring, to pupils who are in five-year-old kindergarten to third grade and do not yet read at grade-level. The bill defines “literacy tutoring” as tutoring that includes science-based early reading instruction and does not include three cueing. High-dosage literacy tutoring is defined under the bill as literacy tutoring that is provided in a one-on-one or small group setting, at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes each session, by the same tutor who is professionally trained and receives ongoing training, that includes high-quality instructional materials that align with classroom content, and that is held during school hours.
Early childhood special education; coaches
Under current law, school boards and operators of independent charter schools must identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities who are in need of special education and related services and make available a free appropriate public education to those children if they are at least three years old. The process of identifying, locating, and evaluating children with disabilities who may need special education or related services is known as “Child Find.”
The bill provides $600,000 in funding for DPI to contract with cooperative educational service agencies to employ regional child care collaboration coaches to promote Child Find to child care providers and provide training, technical assistance, and consultation to, and facilitate collaboration between, child care providers, operators of independent charter schools, and school boards for the purpose of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.
Transferring Head Start state supplement to DCF
The bill transfers the Head Start state supplement from DPI to DCF. The bill transfers from the state superintendent to the secretary of children and families the responsibilities of determining whether agencies are eligible for designation as Head Start agencies under the federal Head Start program to provide comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, social, and other services to economically disadvantaged children and their families, and of distributing federal Head Start funds to those eligible agencies.
Community-based 4K approach
Under current law, a school board may, but is not required to, provide four-year-old kindergarten (4K). Currently, many school boards provide 4K using a public-private partnership approach, often referred to as the community approach. The community approach includes contracts between school boards and community-based providers that define the roles and responsibilities of the parties related to the operation of a 4K program.
Under the bill, DPI must, in consultation with DCF, develop a model community-based approach 4K contract by January 1, 2026. DPI must also, in consultation with DCF, establish by rule a standard per pupil payment to be paid to the community-based provider under the model contract.
Career and technical student organizations; grants
Under current law, DPI must maintain a career and technical student organizations (CTSO) team that consists of six consultants, each of whom is assigned an educational area. Specifically, DPI’s CTSO team must have a consultant in agriculture education, business education, technology education, family and consumer sciences education, marketing education, and health science education. Under the bill, DPI must annually identify one CTSO for each of these educational areas and distribute state funding to each identified CTSO based on the number of pupils who were members of the CTSO in the previous school year.
Teacher apprenticeship pathway to licensure
The bill requires DPI to issue an initial license to teach to an individual who holds a bachelor’s degree, successfully completes a teacher apprenticeship offered through DWD, and if the initial license is to teach in grades kindergarten to five, to teach in special education, or to teach as a reading teacher or specialist, pass an examination identical to the Foundations of Reading test, commonly called the FORT. The bill also requires DPI to consult with DWD in the creation of DWD’s teacher apprenticeship program so that an individual who completes DWD’s teacher apprenticeship program will satisfy many of the requirements to obtain a license to teach from DPI, including the requirement that an applicant receive instruction in the study of minority group relations, that an applicant demonstrate competency related to various conflict resolution skills, and that an applicant for a license to teach reading or language arts to prekindergarten class to sixth grade successfully completes instruction in science-based early reading instruction. See Employment.
Grow Your Own programs
The bill creates a new grant program administered by DPI and available to school districts and operators of independent charter schools to reimburse the cost of “Grow Your Own” programs. Under the bill, Grow Your Own programs include high school clubs that encourage careers in teaching, payment of costs associated with current staff acquiring education needed for licensure, support for career pathways using dual enrollment, support for partnerships focused on attracting or developing new teachers, or incentives for paraprofessionals to gain licensure. The bill appropriates $5,000,000 in fiscal year 2026–27 for this purpose.
Educators rising; grant
The bill requires DPI to create a competitive request-for-proposal process to award a grant to an entity for the purpose of subsidizing cocurricular opportunities for public school pupils that encourage those pupils to pursue a career in teaching. Under the bill, to be eligible for this grant, an entity must demonstrate to DPI that it has successfully supported this type of cocurricular opportunities in public schools in this state.
