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New State Aid and Grant Programs Created under 2017 Act 59

Governor Walker signed the 2017-19 biennial budget bill into law on September 21, 2017 as 2017 Wisconsin Act 59. This page provides information pertaining to several new state categorical aid programs and grant opportunities for K-12 schools created under Act 59, including anticipated processes and timelines, and where to find more information about the new programs.

This page will be updated as new information becomes available (most recent update: May 11, 2018).

Jump to Program:

  1. Aid for School Mental Health Programs
  2. School-Based Mental Health Services Collaboration Grants
  3. Special Education Transition Readiness Grants
  4. Early College Credit Program – State Aid
  5. Personal Electronic Computing Devices Grants
  6. Robotics League Participation Grants
  7. School Performance Improvement Grants
  8. MPS Summer School Grants

Aid for School Mental Health Programs ($3.0 million annually, begins in 2018-19)

What is it?

  • A categorical aid program to support the expansion of mental health services to students by providing state reimbursements for expenditures on social worker services. This is a two-tiered program:
    • Tier 1 will provide aid up to 50 percent of the increase in eligible expenditures for social worker services (from 2016-17 to 2017-18, for aid paid in 2018-19); and
    • Tier 2 will provide aid for eligible expenditures not aided at Tier 1 (at the rate supported by the appropriation after Tier 1 payments are calculated).
  • Aid payments will be prorated if the appropriation does not fully cover total aid eligibility.

Who is eligible?

  • School boards, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in one of the state’s parental choice programs, that have incurred expenses on social worker services.

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • This is not a competitive grant program; therefore, there will be no grant application.
  • The Student Services/Prevention & Wellness (SSPW) Team at DPI is developing a process for determining eligible (aidable) expenditures in public school districts.
  • The Department is required to promulgate an administrative rule for this new categorical aid program. The anticipated timeline for the rule is: 1) publish the emergency (temporary) rule, likely in August 2018; and 2) submit the permanent rule to the Legislature early in January 2019 (the soonest that a permanent rule may be submitted).

Where can I find more information?

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School-Based Mental Health Services Grants ($3.25 million annually, begins in 2018-19)

What is it?

  • A competitive grant program to support initiatives to provide school-based mental health services to pupils in collaboration with community health agencies. Strategies may include co-locating community mental health clinics in schools; and providing screening and intervention services.

Who is eligible?

  • School boards and independent charter schools (individually), as well as consortia of school boards, charter schools, or both.
  • Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) can be considered a consortium of school boards.

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The grant application, guidance, and FAQ documents are now available on the school-based mental health collaboration grant web page.
  • The Student Services / Prevention and Wellness (SSPW) Team at DPI has hosted online grant-writing workshop to assist grant applicants: 
  • Grant applications will be due on May 31, 2018. 
  • The grants will be awarded at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
  • Payments will be made as reimbursement of eligible expenditures incurred between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 (upon approval of sufficient documentation – see grant application materials).

Where can I find more information?

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Special Education Transition Readiness Grants ($1.5 million annually, begins in 2018-19)

What is it?

  • A competitive grant program to expand special education workforce transition support services, including pupil transportation, professional development for school personnel, and employing adequate school personnel.
  • Grant awards will be no less than $25,000 nor more than $100,000.

Who is eligible?

  • School boards and independent charter schools (serving secondary students).

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The grant application opened on March 5, 2018.
  • The due date for submission of grant application is May 15, 2018.
  • Notification of grant awards will be made no later than June 4, 2018.
  • Payments will be made as reimbursement of eligible expenditures incurred between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 (upon approval of sufficient documentation – see grant application materials).

Where can I find more information?

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Early College Credit Program - State Aid for School Districts and Private Schools with Participating Students ($1.7 million annually, begins in 2018-19)

*NEW* IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT RECENTLY ENACTED CHANGES TO THE Early College Credit Program (ECCP) 

On April 16, 2018, the Governor signed AB 805, enacting significant changes to the ECCP statute. 2017 Act 307 excludes certain post-secondary courses* from the rules and requirements under the ECCP, as created under Act 59. Please see the Legislative Memo for a plain language analysis of Act 307.

While the ECCP state aid program was not modified by Act 307, the legislation will have an impact on the distribution of ECCP state aid, by virtue of excluding certain post-secondary courses from the ECCP. For those post-secondary courses offered by a UW System or a private, non-profit institution of higher education (IHE) that are excluded from the ECCP, the tuition charge for the course, and the responsibility for payment of tuition, will be the subject of the agreement between the school district or the private school, and the IHE with which the agreement is made.

*Post secondary courses excluded from the ECCP include those that are offered under an agreement between the school district or the private school and the IHE, for which instruction is provided: 1) at a high school in the school district or at the private high school; and 2) by an instructor who is an employee of the school district or the private school and who is certified to provide the instruction by the respective IHE or a faculty member of the respective IHE.

Note: as enacted under Act 59, the ECCP does not apply to any courses offered by Technical Colleges (Act 307 does not change this). 

What is it?

  • A categorical aid program to partially reimburse school districts and private schools for the costs associated with high school students participating in the ECCP. The reimbursement rates are as follows, for pupils receiving:
    • High school credit (even if also post-secondary credit): 25% of the tuition charged to the district/school.
    • Post-secondary credit only (no high school credit): 50% of the tuition charged to the district/school.
  • Aid payments will be prorated if the appropriation does not fully cover total aid eligibility.

Who is eligible?

  • School boards and private schools (serving secondary students).

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The Department must receive claims from all eligible districts/private schools for the entire school year (summer school, and first and second semesters) before aid payments can be calculated. The Department anticipates that the data related to second semester tuition charges will not be received from all eligible districts/schools until June 2019.
  • The Department will strive to distribute aid payments as soon as possible after all the necessary data is received; however, it is likely that the reimbursements for tuition charges incurred in 2018-19 will be distributed after June 30, 2019.
  • The Department is required to promulgate an administrative rule for this new categorical aid program. The anticipated timeline for the rule is: 1) publish the emergency (temporary) rule no later than September 1, 2018; submit the permanent rule to the Legislature early in January 2019 (the soonest that a permanent rule may be submitted).
  • The Department is developing specific processes regarding data collection and submission of claims, and will make that information available when processes have been finalized.

Where can I find more information?

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Personal Electronic Computing Device Grants ($9.2 million annually, 2018-19 to 2022-23)

*NEW* Grant Information Call-In Session - to replay the April 16 call in session or view the PowerPoint presentation, see the home page for this grant program. 

What is it?

  • A grant program to provide schools with $125 per 9th grade pupil, for the purchase of mobile devices and supporting software, curriculum, and professional development. While the grant amount is based on the number of 9th grade pupils, the grant (and matching) funds may be used to support allowable expenditures for all grade levels.
  • A local match equal to the grant amount is required.
  • This is a sum-certain appropriation; payments will be prorated if the appropriation does not fully cover all claims.

Who is eligible?

  • All school boards, independent charter schools, private schools, and tribal schools in the state.

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • For public schools, the statutes define 9th grade enrollment as prior year membership. The School Financial Services (SFS) Team in the Department will work with public school districts to collect the data on 9th grade members after 2017-18 membership audits have concluded (end of May, 2018).
  • The Department is required to use current year enrollment data for independent charter schools and private schools
  • The application for the grant will open only after the data collection for those schools is finished (likely during November 2018).
  • Thus, the Department anticipates that for the 2018-19 school year, the application period will open in early December 2018 and close in late January 2019.
  • When the grant application is released, it will be prepopulated with the 9th grade student count data (and thus maximum grant award) for each district and school, as reported by that district and school to DPI.
  • Notice of grant awards will be made by late March 2019.
  • Reimbursements will be made by June 30, 2019, for allowable expenditure incurred between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 (upon approval of sufficient documentation).

Where can I find more information?

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Robotics League Participation Grants ($250,000 annually, beginning in 2017-18)

NOTE: This grant program is not new, but was converted from a one-time grant for the 2017-18 school year to an ongoing grant program, under 2017 Act 59.

What is it?

  • A grant program designed to facilitate participation in robotics competitions for students in grades 9 through 12. Allowable expense include fees, kits, supplies required to participate in robotics competitions, travel expenses, and a stipend for the mentor of an eligible team.
  • A local match equal to the grant amount is required.
  • Maximum grant is $5,000 per team.

Who is eligible?

  • School boards, independent charter schools, private schools, and administrators of home-based private educational programs (i.e., for home-schooled students), on behalf of students in grades 9 through 12 who are participating in a robotics league competition as a team (with a mentor).
  • Teams may also include students in grades 6 through 8 (under 2017 Act 315, signed into law on April 16, 2018) 

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The Department is finalizing the timeline for grant applications for the 2018-19 school year.
  • For 2017-18 grants, the grant applications were due at the end of October 2017, and notification of grant award were mailed out in January 2018 (this timeline may be accelerated for grants in the 2018-19 school year and after, as grant process have been established).
  • Payments will be made as reimbursement of eligible expenditures incurred between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 (upon approval of sufficient documentation – see grant application materials).

Where can I find more information?

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School Performance Improvement Grants ($3.69 million annually, beginning in 2018-19)

What is it?

  • This grant program provides funding for eligible schools on the basis of enrollment if:
    • The school is located within an eligible school district (see below); and
    • The school develops a written school improvement plan to improve pupil performance in math and reading.
  • An eligible school may continue to receive a grant beyond the first year only if the numerical score on the school’s accountability report increased from one year to the next.

Who is eligible?

  • All public, independent charter, and private parental choice schools in the geographic boundaries of a public school district that is located in a first class city (i.e., MPS boundaries).
  • All public, independent charter, and private parental choice schools in the geographic boundaries of school district that was placed in the lowest performance category on the accountability report in the previous school year.

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The Department is currently reviewing the processes that will be required to collect the necessary data to determine eligibility, and the resulting timeline for grant notification and payment, and will share this information as soon as possible.
  • Beyond gathering pupil count data and verifying development of written improvement plans, the statutes require approval of grant award calculations by the Department of Administration before DPI can make the grant payments to eligible schools.
  • The Department anticipates that the grant payments will be made late in the school year (likely June 2019).

Where can I find more information?

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MPS Summer School Grants ($1.4 million annually, begins in 2018-19)

What is it?

  • A grant to support development, redesign, or implementation of a summer school program.

Who is eligible?

  • Milwaukee Public Schools.

When will grant applications be available, when will payments be made?

  • The School Financial Services (SFS) Team is currently reviewing the processes that will be required to distribute this grant payment and will provide information regarding the process and timeline for payments in a subsequent communication.

Where can I find more information?

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For additional information, please contact the Policy and Budget team staff.

Past budget information