High Cost Special Education Aid

Overview

High Cost Special Education Aid (HCSE) provides additional support for school districts and other eligible LEAs serving students with disabilities that are significant and costly. Agencies apply for partial reimbursement of the costs for individual students in the previous fiscal year.

This program provides additional special education aid to Wisconsin school districts, independent charter schools (ICS'), Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) or County Children with Disability Education Boards (CCDEBs). An LEA is eligible if a student with disabilities has actual, additional, non-administrative costs of special education and related services in excess of $30,000. Some reimbursements are excluded. High Cost Special Education Aid is administered under s. 115.881, Wis. Stats., and PI 30, Wis. Admin. Code. 

Claims for FY2024-25 eligible costs may be reported beginning December 15, 2025 and are due on February 23, 2026. The FY2025-26 high-cost appropriation is $29,086,700.

Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are defined in the program guidance document.

Application Process

Application process instructions. Instructions for accessing the application.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Review our list of frequently asked questions for 2025.

WISEid Troubleshooting

LEAs must be in agreement with FAPE responsibility and enrollment reporting. Please be sure to communicate with your partnering LEA to resolve any conflicts and see this webpage for common issues and resolutions.

Open an online WISEdata help ticket.

Upcoming: Fiscal reporting of eligible FY2024-25 high-cost special education expenditures will begin on December 15, 2025 and close on February 23, 2026.

Items to have ready prior completing the application:

• WISEid verification of FAPE for your resident district
• Verification of IEP-indicated time duration for services provided to each student
• Staff valid license confirmation through ELO lookup tool
• Contact the licensing team directly for assistance prior to submission of any data

High-Cost Special Education Presentation Slide Decks

• High-Cost Special Education WiSFiP Access
• High-Cost Special Education Introduction to Costs
• High-Cost Special Education Student-Specific or Program Cost
• High-Cost Special Education Equipment Costs
• High-Cost Special Education Child Specific Data Entry
• High-Cost Special Education Specified Services and Claim Summary

Payment Details for June 2025

High-Cost Special Education Aid is a sum-certain appropriation in the state's biennial budget.  The FY2024-25 appropriation is $14,480,000. The average reimbursement rate in FY2023-24 for LEAs was 19.22% of each student's cost above $30,000.  The HCSE aid payment is made on the third Monday in June. Revenue is coded to Fund 27, source 625. STAR Aids Register

Payment History

FY 2025-26

Claims for FY2024-25 eligible costs may be reported beginning December 15, 2025 and are due on February 23, 2026. The FY2025-26 high-cost appropriation is $29,086,700.