May 10, 2024

Dear District Administrators, 

As we move towards the end of the school year, there is much happening around Wisconsin. This edition of the biweekly communication includes information about the following. 

Annual Educator Effectiveness Evaluation Survey for 2023-24 Available

Reimbursement claims for Early College Credit Program tuition can be submitted May 30-July 15

Information about Act 20 Lawsuit  

Clarifications on Act 20 Promotion Policy  

Questions About Act 20 and Staffing  

Retirement/Recognition Certificates  

ESSER Claiming and Reporting Deadlines  

Join Wisconsin schools for 3-year grant to support school building energy improvements

Annual Educator Effectiveness Evaluation Survey for 2023-24 Available

The Educator Effectiveness (EE) Grant requires participation in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) annual evaluation of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness (EE) System. The Licensing, Educator Advancement and Development (LEAD) Team has developed a brief survey to meet this requirement. This survey is required to be completed by all public school districts and charter schools that receive the EE Grant, regardless of which educator effectiveness model they may be using, by June 16, 2024.  More...

Reimbursement claims for Early College Credit Program tuition can be submitted May 30-July 15

This memo provides information regarding Early College Credit Program (ECCP) reimbursement claims from public school districts, public charter schools, independent charter schools (2r or 2x), or private high schools. More...

Information about Act 20 Lawsuit 

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin State Legislature filed a lawsuit regarding Governor Evers’ partial veto of 2023 Wisconsin Act 100, related to appropriations for early literacy programs. The DPI was also named in the lawsuit because of its administrative role of administering Act 20, Wisconsin’s reading legislation. 

To be clear, the requirements in Act 20 are not being challenged and remain unchanged. The department has shared specific concerns with the Legislature and are doing our best to keep the ball moving forward on the work. Our obligations under the law remain unchanged, and we will continue to work in partnership with you. 

The department’s work in supporting local education agencies on implementing Act 20 in time for the 2024-25 school year continues to progress. The department is on track to sign a contract with a vendor for the reading readiness assessment in July, so expect details about that closer to the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. 

As LEAs continue exploring curriculum options and professional development opportunities aligned with Act 20, the department encourages districts to budget appropriately. Partial reimbursement amounts for curriculum for eligible LEAs will be prorated based on the number of applications received. 

Answers to common questions about Act 20 and what is required from districts can be found on the department’s Act 20 FAQ webpage. Questions and requests can also be sent via email to Early.Reading@dpi.wi.gov. This inbox is monitored by multiple DPI staff. We also encourage you to reach out to your local Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) literacy consultants, who regularly collaborate with the department on all things Act 20. 

Clarifications on Act 20 Promotion Policy  

While mandatory 3rd grade retention was included in the first draft of Act 20, it was taken out of the final version that was signed into law. The department and the Governor both communicated to the state legislature retention policies were unacceptable. You can find documentation about this in the summary of Act 20 created by the Wisconsin Legislative Council. 

What is required is a promotion policy. School districts are currently required to have a promotion policy outlining the criteria that will be used to promote learners from 4th grade to 5th grade and from 8th grade to 9th grade. Act 20 requires that DPI create a model or example promotion policy outlining the criteria used to promote learners from 3rd grade to 4th grade that includes reading criteria. DPI is required to develop this by January 1, 2025. School districts are required to adopt a 3rd grade promotion policy that includes reading criteria by July 1, 2025. Districts may choose DPI’s policy or another one. 

Questions About Act 20 and Staffing  

There are various questions on the topic of Act 20 and staffing. With the renewed sense of urgency on early literacy, it’s important to remember lessons learned from the Federal Reading First Program. Learners who don’t have the opportunity to engage with science, social studies, civics, or fine arts content miss out on critical opportunities to build important background knowledge. A lack of varied background knowledge impacts reading comprehension, especially beyond third grade. Continued access to a collection of learning opportunities is necessary.  

We know you are also seeking guidance on who should administer the reading screener next year. The department will work with the selected vendor to offer clear training that answers this question. Regarding the diagnostic assessment, the answer will differ based on the provider – please consult your current or planned providers for more information. DPI is also developing the recommended list of diagnostic reading assessments, and we plan to publish additional information with that list of titles, including information about who may administer each recommended diagnostic assessment.  

Retirement/Recognition Certificates   

Do you have educators or school staff that you’d like DPI to recognize? DPI has updated and improved our certificate request procedure. This link on our website:  https://dpi.wi.gov/statesupt/retirement will allow you to enter the information for your staff recognition(s). If you have numerous names, you can upload an Excel document with all names and relevant information. Please note that DPI will process these requests on the 1st and 15th of each month.    

ESSER Claiming and Reporting Deadlines  

All funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), including the ESSER III, ARP-HCY (to serve learners experiencing homelessness), Evidence-Based Improvement Strategies (EBIS), Out of School Time, Evidence-Based After School, Summer School, and LETRS grant funds, must be obligated by September 30, 2024. The due date to submit final claims for these funds is December 6, 2024.  

It may be beneficial to your district to obligate these funds by June 30 to close the books on the stimulus grant funds in fiscal year 2024. For many LEAs, this would result in only one more year of annual ESSER reporting. For some LEAs, this may save the expense of undergoing a federal single audit in an additional fiscal year. Please work with your finance staff to ensure that these funds are obligated and liquidated in a timely fashion that addresses your LEA’s needs appropriately. DPI has developed a quick guide with allowable uses for the ARP-HCY funds to serve learners experiencing homelessness. Reach out to essergrants@dpi.wi.gov with questions or if you need support with budgeting or claiming.  

Join Wisconsin schools for 3-year grant to support school building energy improvements

Wisconsin’s K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) is proud to support formal and non-formal educators throughout Wisconsin with the resources they need to nurture energy literacy and sustainable communities. In 2023 alone we reached 1,893 educators in 261 schools and colleges. We work with multiple partners throughout the state and across the region.

Recently KEEP was asked if we could help connect Wisconsin schools with Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI). EPRI is a nonprofit independent research and development organization working with government, utilities, and industry to advance building decarbonization through the US Department of Energy’s Renew America’s Schools grant opportunity . EPRI’s team is willing to support the effort and to carry the heavy lift of submitting the grant proposal with inputs and engagement from interested Wisconsin public school districts.

If a Wisconsin school district is interested in exploring this opportunity with EPRI, their next step is to please contact EPRI’s Kayla Nettesheim KNettesheim@epri.com.

Once EPRI receives adequate interest and commitments from Wisconsin public schools (a minimum of 10 school sites), KEEP will provide a letter of support for the proposal, offering to provide in-person energy education support for Wisconsin schools during the three-year grant period.

Given the grant’s due date is June 13, EPRI respectfully requests that you let Kayla know soon if your school districts interest in participating in the objectives of the grant so that EPRI has sufficient time to work with you to develop an application package in time.

Sincerely,