You are here

Counting Children

Overview

stock icon representing a classroom

Almost all of Wisconsin’s school finance computations contain a student count variable. As alternative education options for K-12 students have evolved, identifying and counting children have become increasingly complex. The student count categories and definitions below will assist districts in determining which students are eligible for this critical school finance element.

 

Challenge Academy

The Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy is a residential program committed to improving the quality of life for 16 to 18 year old at-risk teens. In the residential phase, much of the cadets’ time is spent in classrooms where preparing for the High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) testing is the priority.

Group and Foster Home

Wisconsin State Statue 121.05(4) permits a school district to apply for and receive an adjustment to their equalization aid membership count for students living in certain group or foster homes that were not counted for membership.

Pupil Count PI-1563

To count pupils during the regular school year, the School Financial Services (SFS) team provides a "reporting portal" through which districts will access all required SFS reports. This webpage assists the district staff assigned to complete this report.

Summer-Interim Sessions

Students who participate in the district's summer-interim programs will also impact the district finances. Membership for summer and interim session classes is reported to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) using the School Finance Reporting Portal. The PI-1804 worksheets are completed and used for reporting the required information.

Counting Public School 9th Graders for the Personal Electronic Computing Device Grant (PECDG)

NOTICE: In the fall of 2020, all school districts still needed to record the number of 9th grade students in the PI-1563-September report. Wisconsin statute 115.438(4)(a)1 speaks to the responsibility of each school district to provide the number of 9th grade students to DPI through the end of this grant program in 2022-23. This data must be reported even though the 2019 Act 9 (the Personal Electronic Computing Devices Grant) is no longer funded (effective with the 2019-20 school year).