The 2025-27 state biennial budget bill was signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on July 3, 2025, as 2025 WI Act 15.
Below is a summary of the key education-related provisions that were enacted as part of the state budget.
Note that a listing of K-12 budget provisions vetoed by the Governor is attached as Appendix 1 at the end of the summary.
For questions or additional information about the 2023-25 State Budget, please contact Erin Fath, Director, Policy, Budget, and Research Team (DPI), at Erin.Fath@dpi.wi.gov.
REVENUE LIMITS AND GENERAL AIDS
Revenue Limits
- Revenue limit adjustments will be $325 per pupil in FY26 and $325 per pupil in FY27.
- The low revenue ceiling will remain at $11,000 for FY26 and FY27.
- Beginning with pupil counts for the 2025-26 school year, all 4K pupils will be counted at 0.60 FTE. Act 15 eliminated the requirement that a school district provide at least 87.5 additional hours of outreach activities annually as part of its 4K program as a condition of counting 4K pupils at the 0.60 FTE level. Districts will not be able to count hours of outreach services towards hours of 4K program instruction.
- Effective with the revenue limit calculation for the 2025-26 school year, specify that amounts school districts receive as state aid in lieu of repealed personal property taxes under Wis. Stat. sec. 79.0965 (business and manufacturing personal property) are considered state aid under school district revenue limits. As a result, this state aid will have the effect of reducing a school district’s general fund property tax levy. This is consistent with the treatment of other state aids received in lieu of tax collections on other exempted personal property (computers, fax machines, etc.).
General Equalization Aid
- No changes to current law; funding will remain at $5,581,190,000 in FY26 and in FY27.
CATEGORICAL SCHOOL AIDS
Per Pupil Aid
- Per pupil aid will remain at $742 per pupil in FY26 and FY27.
Special Education Categorical Aid
- Funding is increased by $207,631,100 GPR in FY26 and by $297,049,200 GPR in FY27. The appropriation is estimated to reimburse local education agencies (LEAs) for eligible special education expenditures at 42 percent in FY26 and to 45 percent in FY27. The appropriation remains sum certain; thus, the actual reimbursement rate will depend on actual special education expenditures (final, audited figures).
High-Cost Special Education Categorical Aid
- Funding is increased by $14,606,700 GPR in FY26 and by $39,970,300 GPR in FY27. The appropriation is estimated to reimburse local education agencies (LEAs) for eligible special education expenditures at 50 percent in FY26 and to 90 percent in FY27. The appropriation remains sum certain; thus, the actual reimbursement rate will depend on actual special education expenditures (final, audited figures).
School-Based Mental Health Services
- Provide $40,000,000 GPR in FY26 and $10,000,000 GPR in FY27 for the current law school-based mental health services program, which provides a flat per pupil payment to all school districts and all independent charter schools (based on current year enrollment).
NOTE: the amount provided for the SBMHS program is a $15 million increase compared to FY25 (from $25 million to $40 million); thus, the per pupil payment will increase compared to FY25 ($31.26 per pupil for FY25). The amount provided for FY27 is a $30 million decrease compared to FY26 (from $40 million to $10 million); thus, the per pupil payment amount will decrease substantially in FY27.
A very preliminary estimate for the per pupil payment amounts is approximately $50 per pupil in FY26 and $13 per pupil in FY27. DPI will provide school districts and ICS with estimated allocations for the current school year by December 1 and final allocations will be provided in June 2026.
Sparsity Aid
- Funding is increased by $896,000 GPR in FY26 and $1,116,000 GPR in FY27 and is estimated to fully fund aid eligibility. No change to aid eligibility formula. This aid is provided to small school districts with fewer than 10 members per square mile:
- Tier 1 eligibility: $400 per pupil for districts with 745 or fewer members.
- Tier 2 eligibility: $100 per pupil for districts with more than 745 but less than 1,000 members).
Pupil Transportation Aid
- The aid payment for pupils who live 12 or more miles from the school is increased, from $400 to $450, beginning with aid distributed in FY26.
High-Cost Transportation Aid
- The eligibility threshold for high-cost transportation aid is decreased, from 140 percent to 135 percent of the statewide average for general transportation costs per pupil, beginning with aid distributed in FY26.
School Library Aid
- Funding is increased by $18,000,000 SEG in FY26 and in FY27 in the existing appropriation for school library aid to reflect estimated revenue. The funding for this aid program is derived from interest earnings on amounts in the Common School Fund, which is overseen by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL).
Robotics League Participation Grants
- Funding is increased by $250,000 GPR in FY26 and in FY27 for the current law Robotics League Participation program.
Early College Credit Program (ECCP) – State Aid
- Funding is increased by $252,800 GPR in FY26 and $328,200 GPR in FY27 for the ECCP State Aid program (funding is provided in the chapter 20 schedule of appropriation for the Department of Workforce Development).
SUPPORT FOR EARLY LITERACY
Early Literacy Coaching Program
- Action taken by the JCF under Wis. Stat. sec. 13.10 on June 27, 2025 (separate from the biennial budget): $9,009,900 GPR was released to DPI’s appropriation for the Early Literacy Coaching program. The one-time funding will pay for literacy coaches in schools as required under 2023 Act 20. Funding is provided in a continuing appropriation; at the end of each fiscal year, uncommitted monies carry over for use in the subsequent fiscal year.
Early Literacy Supports
- Act 15 provides $37,100,000 GPR in FY26 in a biennial appropriation to reimburse LEAs for costs of purchasing allowable literacy curriculum and for costs of professional development training in literacy required under Act 20. This one-time funding can be used over the 2025-27 biennium.
Diagnostic Assessment/Literacy Screeners
- Funding is increased by $1,450,000 GPR in FY26 and $1,450,000 GPR in FY27 to LEAs to offset the cost of administering the diagnostic assessments required under Act 20.
- The costs associated with the universal screeners required under Act 20 will be borne by the department, via contracts with vendors.
FUNDING FOR INDEPENDENT CHARTER SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOL CHOICE, SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, FULL TIME OPEN ENROLLMENT
Per Pupil Payments
- Maintain the current law indexing mechanism for determining adjustments to per pupil payments for ICS, Choice, and SNSP, except that for the public school open enrollment program, increase the full time transfer amount by an additional $500 in FY26 and $500 in FY27.
The resulting per pupil adjustment amounts for these programs are estimated as follows:
|
Year over Year Change in:
|
FY26
|
FY27
|
|---|---|---|
|
Categorical Aid Change per Pupil
|
$315
|
$103
|
|
Revenue Limit Per Pupil Adjustment
|
$325
|
$325
|
|
Change to the Low Revenue Ceiling Amount
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Total Adjustment for ICS, Choice, SNSP
|
$640
|
$428
|
|
Total Adjustment for Full Time Open Enrollment Transfer
|
$1,140
|
$928
|
The resulting per pupil adjustment amounts for these programs are estimated as follows:
|
|
Per Pupil Payment
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Program
|
FY25
|
FY26
|
FY27
|
|
Public School Open Enrollment
|
$8,962
|
$10,102
|
$11,030
|
|
Public School Open Enrollment - Special Education
|
$13,814
|
$14,454
|
$14,882
|
|
Independent Charter Schools
|
$11,729
|
$12,369
|
$12,797
|
|
Private School Parental Choice (grades K-8)
|
$10,237
|
$10,877
|
$11,305
|
|
Private School Parental Choice (grades 9-12)
|
$12,731
|
$13,371
|
$13,799
|
|
Special Needs Scholarship Program
|
$15,409
|
$16,049
|
$16,477
|
PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY OTHER STATE AGENCIES
Department of Children and Families
Elementary School Readiness Program – Payments for Childcare Providers
- Create a new Elementary School Readiness program, under which DCF would make payments to childcare providers for operating an instructional program that provides four-year-old children with the social and cognitive skills to successfully transition to five-year-old kindergarten in an elementary school setting. Additional information is provided in Appendix B of this memo.
Department of Workforce Development
Youth Apprenticeship Funding
- Increase base funding by $2,536,000 GPR in 2025-25 and $3,466,000 GPR in 2026-2 to fund Youth Apprenticeship Grants, on a one-time basis.
Appendix 1: Partial Vetoes of 2023 WI Act 19 Relating to K-12 Education
From the Governor’s message to the Wisconsin Senate on enactment of 2025 WI Act 15 – Veto Message (p. 61):
ITEM A.1. LAKELAND STAR ACADEMY
As passed by the Legislature, Senate Bill 45 would have provided $250,000 in FY26 and $500,000 in FY27 in a newly created annual appropriation for grants to the Lakeland STAR Academy. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) would have been required to provide a grant equal to the amount appropriated in each year to the Lakeland UHS School District for the Lakeland STAR Academy, a charter school authorized by the district. The appropriation would have been repealed on July 1, 2027.
The Governor's partial veto deletes these provisions. [Act 15 Vetoed Sections: 17 (as it relates to s. 20.255(2)(ag)), 23, 24, 9134, and 9434]
Appendix 2: Elementary School Readiness Program
Department of Children and Families (DCF)
2025 Act 15 provides $65,000,000 GPR in FY26 in a sum certain GPR appropriation for a new Elementary School Readiness (ESR) program. DCF would make payments to childcare providers for operating an instructional program that provides four-year-old children with the social and cognitive skills to successfully transition to five-year-old kindergarten in an elementary school setting.
Under this new program, childcare providers that are licensed or certified by DCF would be able to use the payments to cover any costs associated with providing the program and able to charge additional amounts to provide care and supervision for a participating child outside of the elementary school readiness program hours. A childcare provider is eligible for the program if they:
- are in compliance with all legal, financial, and regulatory requirements imposed by law or by DCF rule;
- demonstrate to DCF that they will annually provide at least 437 hours of direct child instruction in elementary school readiness and that they will use a curriculum that meets DPI model early learning standards;
- notify DCF of their intent to participate in the program within the established timeframe and according to application requirements established by DCF; and
- do not have a contract with a school district to provide a 4K program for the school year in which the childcare provider intends to participate in the program.
A child would be eligible to participate if the child is four years old on or before September 1 in the school year* they participate in the program; the child’s parent or guardian submits an application to participate to the childcare provider providing the ESR program; and the participating childcare provider has accepted the child’s application to attend.
Teachers in an elementary school readiness program would be required to have either an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree as a condition of the childcare provider receiving the state funding.
DCF is responsible for making payments to childcare providers and all other aspects of administering this new program (including promulgating an administrative rule).
*School year is defined as the academic year that commences July 1 and ends the succeeding June 30 (i.e., the definition that applies to K-12 schools).