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February 3, 2023

Friday, February 3, 2023

Contents of this DPI Biweekly Mailing:

  1. Webpage for New District Administrators

  2. Wisconsin Department of Health Services Immunizations Update

  3. Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Q&A Information Session(s)

  4. FAFSA Filing Status Available in WISEdash for Districts

  5. TikTok - Executive Order #184

  6. Aid for School Mental Health Programs - Claim Form Due March 13, 2023


1. Webpage for New District Administrators

The department has designed a webpage for new district administrators and independent charter school administrators. Its goal is to give district administrators a guide for their responsibilities and to provide supporting resources for their positions.

Also, we have the existing webpage for all district administrators (with the new administrator webpage link on the side bar).

We welcome your feedback as we continue to optimize and refine this resource and how we can provide additional support to you as you lead Wisconsin’s school districts. To do so, please email John Johnson and Mary Jo Christiansen.

2. Wisconsin Department of Health Services Immunizations Update

Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced updates to the immunizations needed for children in schools. You should have received an email directly from DHS notifying you to this (it is also attached to this email), and I wanted to use the opportunity of this email to bring it to the top of your inbox and encourage you to connect with your district school nurse staff about this topic. If you or any district personnel have any questions, your best contact is DHSImmProgram@dhs.wisconsin.gov.

3. Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Q&A Information Session(s)

We know that digital access is so important to our students, and we wanted to make you aware of (and provide helpful tools for) the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). ACP can be used to help close the digital equity gap for students that qualify. With ACP, families can apply directly for a discount on home broadband service and receive up to a $30/month discount on their internet bill and a $75/month discount on tribal lands. This discount can be applied to their existing plan or another plan or service of their choosing.

In addition to providing discounted internet service, the ACP provides a one-time, up to $100 per household discount on a connected device, such as a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet with a participating provider.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is hosting several Question & Answer sessions about ACP. Pre-registration is not required. Follow the link to the session to add it to your calendar and join the event:

Wednesday February 8, 2023

Families can find out if they qualify by calling the ACP Support Center (877) 384-2575 or by visiting the dual language English/Spanish Wisconsin Public Service Commission ACP Benefit Page. In addition, EducationSuperHighway provides getacp.org, a pre-enrollment wizard that also helps find participating providers available at your address.

The FCC ACP Communication Toolkit contains promotional materials that can be downloaded and customized to meet your school district needs; including but not limited to newsletter blurbs, sample social media posts, backpack handouts, fliers, and posters.

In addition, schools can use the EducationSuperHighway ACP K-12 Toolkit to download letters and student ID templates that can be provided to households to help them qualify for ACP.

Families qualify for ACP without needing to recertify annually if they have a household member who is a recipient of Wisconsin FoodShare/SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Tribal Head Start, SSI, and other federal programs.

Families that do not qualify through one of these programs can also qualify by having a child who qualifies for free or reduced meals, or who attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school. However, these qualification methods require annual recertification in the ACP program.

If interested in learning more, please consider attending one of the DPI information sessions shared above being held on Wednesday February 8, 2023. For further information please contact Rachel Schemelin at Rachel.Schemelin@dpi.wi.gov or (608)266-5190.

4. FAFSA Filing Status Available in WISEdash for Districts
          
Access to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion status for 12th graders is now available in WISEdash for Districts.The U.S. Department of Education gives states limited access to student level FAFSA application status data which allows school counselors and homeless liaisons to support students with filing the FAFSA. District FAFSA Data Sharing Agreements are required to access the data. An agreement needs to be submitted once to DPI and does not need to be resubmitted each year.
 

Below are resources to assist with submitting a Data Sharing Agreement and accessing the FAFSA filing status data.

WISEdash FAFSA How to Guide

For questions about this process, please reach out to Andréa Donegan, School Counseling Consultant: andrea.donegan@dpi.wi.gov

5. TikTok – Executive Order #184

In support of Governor Tony Evers’ Executive Order #184, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has banned the use of TikTok from DPI-owned and managed devices, and blocked network traffic to TikTok services.

As the Governor’s Executive Order #184 states, “under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, all businesses registered or that have operations in China are required to assist the government of China in intelligence work, including data sharing and data collecting.” This data sharing and collecting can include anything TikTok has access to, e.g., cameras, microphones, GPS locations, documents, etc., on devices where TikTok has been installed and access granted.

I encourage you and your school district to research this issue and consider similar actions regarding your organizations’ equipment and networks due to privacy concerns.

Please assess the need for this application in your environment and advise your organizations as appropriate.

6. Aid for School Mental Health Programs – Claim Form Due March 13, 2023

Eligibility for school districts, Private School Choice Program schools (as defined in Wis. Stat. § 115.364(1)(am)), and independent charter schools (as defined in Wis. Stat. § 115.364(1)(a)) is based on calculations around year to year eligible expenditures. School districts, choice private schools, and independent charter schools may receive partial reimbursement for salary and fringe benefits paid to employ, hire, or retain social workers or the costs to contract for the services of a social worker when the school district, choice private school, or independent charter school increased in its expenditures in the 2021-22 school year compared to the 2020-21 school year. To read more about the program details, visit the Aid for School Mental Health Programs page.

This year’s Claim Form is now available, and must be submitted to the Department by March 13, 2023, to receive reimbursement for eligible expenditures made in the preceding school year. Claim forms must be submitted online.

Questions about this program should be directed to Julie Incitti, School Social Work Consultant, at julie.incitti@dpi.wi.gov or (608) 266-0963.