Bilingual Education Requirement
Wisconsin Statute 115.95 gives guidance to school districts who have enrolled a concentration of students who are English learners from the same language group. Once one school in a district has enrolled the following populations of English learners who speak the same language, the district is required to create a plan for a bilingual-bicultural program and communicate that plan to parents in the school district. The number of students which trigger this requirement differs by grade level:
- 10 students in grades K-3
- 20 students in grades 4-8
- 20 students in grades 9-12
Once all requirements of Wisconsin Statute 115.95 are met for the district’s bilingual-bicultural program, the district becomes eligible for reimbursement of a percentage of the cost of its bilingual bicultural program. School districts will complete a Plan of Services prospectively for the upcoming school year. At the end of the school year, the district will complete an End-of-Year report and submit claims from the bilingual program. Newly eligible districts should contact DPI to learn how to access and complete a Plan of Services.To find historical data on this program, see Legislative Reports on the Data and Reporting page.
Information for Current BLBC Districts
The BLBC reporting application is located in WISEhome. Districts must submit end-of-year reports and plans of services via WISEhome. Follow the BLBC User Guide to enter reporting data. To request access to your district’s BLBC application in WISEhome, follow the directions posted here.
2023-24 End-of-Year (EOY) Report for Bilingual-Bicultural Aided School Districts.
DUE DATE: August 1, 2024
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Guide to Completing the End of Year Report
2024-25 Plan of Services: Bilingual-Bicultural Education.
DUE DATE: August 15, 2024
- Guide to Completing the Plan of Services , Program Description Guide,
- Who Is Eligible
- Approvable Expenditures for State Bilingual-Bicultural Aid
- Teacher Certification Requirements
- Bilingual Teacher's Aides - Requirements
- Request for Exemption/Approval to Hire ESL-Certified Teachers (PI-1849-A form)
Other Resources for BLBC Programs
Spanish Language Development Standards - The state of Wisconsin does not have an officially-adopted set of Spanish Language Development (SLD) standards. Districts offering dual language programs that support the development of fluency in both English and Spanish may want to use SLD standards to the development of students' Spanish language skills. WIDA, the organization that publishes Wisconsin's English Language Development (ELD) Standards, has also developed a framework for Spanish language development called El marco de los estándares del desarrollo auténtico del lenguaje español de WIDA, or Marco DALE. The Marco DALE can be used to guide the teaching of Spanish language development in bilingual programs for grades K-12.
Learn more about WIDA's Spanish Language Development framework, the Marco DALE, here: WIDA Marco DALE
Spanish Language Arts Standards - The state of Wisconsin has not officially adopted Spanish Language Arts (SLA) standards. However, bilingual or dual language programs that that provide literacy instruction in Spanish may want to use a set SLA standards as a guide for curriculum development and lesson planning in the area of literacy. WIDA has developed an SLA framework called El Marco de referencia de las artes del lenguaje del español de WIDA (Marco ALE). Marco ALE can provide districts with the key elements needed for the development of standards and the teaching of Spanish language arts.
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