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Membership Information and Reporting

Overview and Contact

Wisconsin public school districts are required to count pupils for membership purposes on the third Friday in September and second Friday in January and report the data to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The PI-1563, an Internet-based application accessed via the School Finance Reporting Portal, is used to collect the information.

Click an appropriate link below for more information.

Pupil Count Portals

The PI-1563 Pupil Count Portal for September opens on Friday, September 20, 2024 and will be closed at the end of the day on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 for calculations. The portal for the January 2025 count opens on the morning of Friday, January 10, 2025 and will be due at the end of the day on Friday, January 24, 2025.  Any reports submitted after the due date are automatically subject to a membership audit. The Portal will be again closed for the following week.  Starting on Monday, February 3, 2025, school districts will need to follow the procedures outlined in the "Editing Pupil Count Data" section below to edit their membership reports.

The 2023-24 membership reports will be closed for any editing as of September 30, 2024.

Alternate Count Date

There can be two basic scenarios--an unplanned situation or a planned event--that would result in a school district requesting an alternative count date for the statutorily-required pupil counts: third Friday in September or second Friday in January.

An unplanned situation, such as weather conditions or other unforeseen events that lead to the district not operating on the standard count date. The district will need to contact the SFS team and explain the situation. Please specify the alternative date that you are requesting. In most circumstances, the alternative date will be either the Thursday before or the Monday after the Friday count date. This request will be processed per Wis. Stat. §121.05(3).

A planned event, approved by the school board where the district is closed and no students will be receiving instruction. The district will need to contact the SFS team and explain the situation. This request will be processed per Wis. Stat. § 121.05(3m). State law dictates the alternative date will be the third weekday that follows the next school day on which school is in session. For example, school is closed on Friday and school resumes on the following Monday, the alternative count date will be on Thursday of that week.

If the standard pupil count date is the same day as the Board has approved a partial day such as an early release or testing at certain grade levels, the pupil count will be taken on the third Friday in September or the second Friday in January and the district will use the “Before and After” rule regarding any student not present on the standard pupil count date:

If any pupils are absent but considered enrolled on the count date, they can still be counted if they have been present for instruction at least one day during the school year prior to the count date, at least one day during the school year after the count date, and have remained a resident during the time of absence. Students reported in the "absent" column must have returned to school in order to be included in the PI-1563 Pupil Count Report. If the student returns after the initial submission of the report, the report should be amended to include the student in the pupil count. (Source: Instructions for the PI-1563 Workbook and Pupil Count Report Revised 01/17)

Residency

Clarification Regarding Residency - Constitutional Requirements, Compulsory Attendance and Fiscal Implications For Students Living Away From Their Parents. Additional information is available on the Residency, Tuition and Tuition Waivers web page.

When a school district needs to determine if a property is within their district (as it relates to a student's residency), the following websites are possible resources:

My Vote Wisconsin can be used for addresses where the school district is shown for school board elections. Click "What’s on my Ballot". Enter address and click search. Scroll down to see if there is a school board election with the school district name.

County Clerk or County Assessor websites:

For questions about Sections I and II--including FAPE and compulsory attendance requirements--contact the Special Education Team at (608) 266-1781. For questions about Section III Fiscal Implications, contact the School Finance Team at (608) 267-9114.

Guidelines for Counting

To assist districts in accurately completing the pupil count report, the SFS team has developed guidance on counting pupils. The PI 1563 Pupil Count Report Workbook Form is structured similarly to the Internet-based reporting program and new users are recommended to use this spreadsheet prior to entering the portal application.

Students who have been granted "Senior Rule" status per Wisc. Stat. §121.84(1)(b) and § 121.84(4)(a) will continue to be counted as a resident of that school district where the student continues to attend, per Wisc. Stat. §121.84(1)(d).

All non-resident, part-time, home-schooled pupils will be collected from within the PI-1563 in step five. Remember that step five will collect data on NON-RESIDENT, part-time, home-schooled pupils and step three will continue to collect data on RESIDENT, part-time, home-schooled pupils.

Reconciliation of Pupil Counts

All districts are required to explain (reconcile) membership changes that occur between the September and January counts. The process involves identifying and documenting the specific membership additions and subtractions that have happened in each category (e.g. 4YK - 524.5 hours) between the two count dates. The completed reconciliation is to be kept on file at the district office and available for DPI and your independent auditor upon request. Supporting documentation should also be kept on file and available upon request.

Note: The online tutorial Pupil Count Reconciliation is now available and details the 'why' and 'how to' of reconciling the September pupil count to the January pupil count.

Use the following Excel files to complete the reconciliation. Remember that the January PI-1563 Membership Report has to be submitted for January data to appear in this spreadsheet.

Additional Resources