You are here

School Modification Form

School Modification Form

schoolhouse icon

The School Modification form is used to submit a request to DPI to close an existing school or to open a new school. 

Closing or opening a school potentially impacts many areas, for example, accountability report cards, School Nutrition, Special Education, Financial Services, and federal reporting, to name a few. The School Modification form is routed to all applicable DPI teams to ensure the closure or opening is handled properly.

The form can be used by public school districts, private schools, or charter schools.

Definition of a School

When creating a new school, it is important to understand the legal definition of a school, particularly how a school differs from a program. Information can be found on the Clarifying Information on the Definition of a School page.

Reassignment of School Codes

Reassignment of school codes should be approached carefully. We ask you to read the Reassignment of School Codes page, which contains detailed and helpful information. Fully reading the scenarios will be very beneficial.

Act 212

Act 212 is legislation relating to detention facilities and measuring a school district's improvement in report cards. For more information about detention facilities as schools, refer to the Act 212 Guidance and FAQ Resource document.

Complete the School Modification Form if you are requesting to open or close a school.

Submit School Modification Form

Annual Required Updates to be Made in School Directory

info icon

 

Schools are required to update their information at the beginning of every school year.

These updates ensure that DPI has accurate information about Wisconsin schools. These updates are required from all public school districts, private schools, or charter schools that submit to WISEdata. If these updates are not made, it can result in validation messages, and lack of proper communication.

Changes must be made using the DPI School Directory (Admin) application :

You must have the appropriate School Directory user role in order to make these updates. If you do not, please request a user role using the WISEhome application. Instructions and a link to WISEhome can be found on the WISEhome Information page.

Make all applicable updates to all applicable requirements listed below:

  • Address or location change (physical, mailing, and/or shipping address)
  • District or school website URL
  • First and Last Day of School
  • High Grade and Low Grade (a/k/a grade range)
    • Keep in mind that only Milwaukee School District utilizes the grade level K3. Other schools should use "PK" to refer to grades earlier than K4. Refer to the Grade Level data element page for more information
  • Individual contact information (District Administrator, Choice Administrator, Principal, Special Education Director, Library Media Specialist, Business Manager, etc.)
  • Kindergarten Info (public districts only)
  • Main contact email address

Please note that if your school is participating in the Private School Choice Programs (Choice) or Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP), changes that impact those programs must be submitted using the update forms on the Choice or SNSP webpage. For example, changing the main contact email address through the form for the Directory will only change it for emails related to the Directory. That will not change the email address that is used for Choice program or SNSP correspondence.