Students in a Residential Care Center

Students in a Residential Care Center: Special Education (RCC)

NEW for the 2025-26 School Year and Onwards: RCC data elements

RCC data elements are reported as part of a sSEPA record. This could be the result of a county agency placement or when the IEP team has identified the need for an RCC placement based on the student’s specific educational and behavioral needs. The LEA continues to be responsible for FAPE in both county and IEP team placements.

Parents may also privately place their child in an RCC.

Under state law (Wis. Stats. § 115.762(3)(g)), the DPI as the State Education Agency (SEA) must monitor Residential Care Centers (RCCs). This includes monitoring where and when students are placed both in and out of state. WISEdata now includes the option for districts to select (and monitor) when students are placed in an RCC both in state and out of state.

NOTE: Data cannot flow to DPI unless it is entered in your SIS. To resolve issues around data that is entered into the SIS that isn’t flowing to DPI, LEAs need to work with their vendor support staff to resolve data flow issues.

These data elements only need to be collected for students with an IEP, receiving special education services.

While students without IEPs may also attend a residential care facility during the school year, Wisconsin state law does not require data submission for these students. When a student without disabilities is placed by a county or state agency, the LEA must follow Wis. Stat. § 115.81(3)(b)2 to:

Review the student’s records,
Create a status report, and
Consider evaluation for special education services if there is reasonable cause to suspect the student has a disability.

If the LEA concludes the student does not have a disability:

the LEA exits the sudent using the TNC exit type and
No longer tracks attendance and enrollment for the student
(i.e. no longer submits student data to WISEdata).

USES: DPI as the State Education Agency (SEA) must monitor Residential Care Centers (RCCs) under state law (Wis. Stats. § 115.762(3)(g)). Placement in RCCs affects enrollment records based on entry and exit dates, which can affect an LEAs ability to count a child on a count date (e.g., third Friday of September, or October 1 Child Count. Enrollment records contain numerous data elements collected in the December Student Snapshot.

Click the data elements below for more information about each RCC data element and what should be submitted to WISEdata.

RCC Placement Type

In-State RCC Name

In-State RCC ID

Out-of-State RCC Name

Out-of-State RCC City

Out-of-State RCC State

Required data elements for in-state RCC placements:

Required data elements for out-of-state RCC placements:

FAQs, Details, and Use Cases

Rules for reporting to WISEdata: FAPE accountability for students placed in an RCC are detailed on the DPI Special Education Team's Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Responsibility document.
1. An enrollment to WISEdata,
2. A sSEPA record,
3. All other data, which technically also includes roster. However, realistically, there may not be any roster to report. Most students placed in RCCs attend the RCC’s educational program, and it may not be feasible or even possible for the LEA to obtain roster data. If that is the case then the LEA may acknowledge the resulting WISEdata Portal warning.
Student with Dual Enrollment in RCC and Partial Public School Attendance: A student may attend an RCC part-time while also receiving instruction at a public school.
1. If an IEP team determines the student can appropriately receive special education services in the LEA, the LEA must provide the services and is eligible for state tuition categorical aid. For more information, visit the Duties of the Responsible Local Education Agency (LEA) for Children in RCCs webpage.
- WISEdata reporting: The LEA submits a sSEPA record, including the information for RCC placement: placement type, facility name (in-state or out-of-state), RCC ID (only if in-state), city and state of location (only if out-of-state).
Overlapping RCC Placement Data: In a situation where an LEA submits duplicate or overlapping RCC placement records for the same student, corrections will need to be made in the student’s sSEPA record, and this data is pushed over to WISEdata Portal.
- WISEdata reporting: The LEA will receive an error specifying the overlap. If/when a new RCC placement is decided upon during an IEP review, the LEA must end the sSEPA record from the initial RCC placement with a SpEd Exit Date (IEP End Date) and a SpEd Exit Reason. Then the LEA must submit a new sSEPA record with a new SpEd Begin Date (IEP Begin Date) for the new RCC placement. Include all RCC data elements that apply, depending on whether the new RCC placement is in-state or out-of-state.
RCC Placement Change: This scenario describes any change to a student’s RCC placement (includes changes to/from/within in-state and out-of-state facilities). A change in placement requires an IEP team meeting. Moving a student to or out of an RCC is a change of placement and therefore requires an IEP team meeting to determine if the proposed placement is appropriate, and to then revise the student’s IEP accordingly. A change in placement does not require a reevaluation of the student. In all of these placement change scenarios, the LEA must collaborate with county representatives and RCC staff to develop a reintegration plan if the student is transitioning back into a public school setting.
1. RCC placement change scenarios apply to short-term RCC placements, where a student in placed in an RCC (either in-state or out-of-state) but does not stay in this RCC for long. The student’s RCC placement changes, to a different RCC (either in-state or out-of-state).
2. RCC placement change scenarios apply to in-state to out-of-state RCC placements, where a student is initially placed in an in-state RCC and then changes to an out-of-state RCC. Be sure to include all required out-of-state RCC data elements in the new IEP/sSEPA records. See WISEdata Reporting section below.
3. RCC placement change scenarios apply to out-of-state to in-state RCC placements, where a student is initially placed in an out-of-state RCC and then changes to an in-state RCC.
4. Any other kind of RCC placement change scenarios, such as a change in RCC placement due to extended medical treatment.
- WISEdata Reporting to Close Out/Start New sSEPA Record: The IEP team of the sending school provides necessary documentation for the student's transition. Update the Educational Environment data element as part of the sSEPA record. The current LEA ends the existing sSEPA record for the student by submitting the SpEd Exit Date (IEP End Date) and a SpEd Exit Reason. The most appropriate SpEd Exit reason in these “RCC Placement Change” scenarios may be "C - Continuing in Special Education." The receiving LEA establishes a new sSEPA record to reflect the student’s continued placement in the RCC (if applicable) and updates the IEP to align with its services and settings. Both LEAs coordinate to ensure the student’s records and IEP are accurately transferred and updated.
  1. It may be very helpful to refer to the Special Education: Info, Help and Reporting Scenarios webpage, viewing either the Moving Scenarios, RCC - sSEPA Record Submissions Scenarios, or the sSEPA Record Submission: Resident District Vs Submitting District Scenarios.
  2. If you need assistance, please submit a WISE Help Ticket.
Student Exits RCC Placement, then Transfers to Another LEA: In the event that a student attends a different LEA upon exiting an RCC placement, the initial LEA will need to close this student’s enrollment record. The enrollment record should not be closed, however, until the initial LEA can confirm that the student has an active enrollment record at another LEA. This guidance applies to scenarios where the student transfers to a different school within the same school district, and to scenarios where the student transfers to an entirely different LEA (e.g., a different school district, a group home, a private school).
- WISEdata reporting to Close Out an Enrollment Record: Please view this information on the Annual tasks Checklist page, School Year Close Out section, in the “School Year Close-Out Tasks: Year End Data” accordion.
- WISEdata Reporting to Close Out/Start New sSEPA Record: The IEP team of the sending school provides necessary documentation for the student's transition. Update the Educational Environment data element as part of the sSEPA record. The current LEA ends the existing sSEPA record for the student by submitting the SpEd Exit Date (IEP End Date) and a SpEd Exit Reason. The receiving LEA establishes a new sSEPA record to reflect the student’s continued placement in the RCC (if applicable) and updates the IEP to align with its services and settings. Both LEAs coordinate to ensure the student’s records and IEP are accurately transferred and updated.
  1. It may be very helpful to refer to the Special Education: Info, Help and Reporting Scenarios webpage, viewing either the Moving Scenarios, RCC - sSEPA Record Submissions Scenarios, or the sSEPA Record Submission: Resident District Vs Submitting District Scenarios.
  2. If you need assistance, please submit a WISE Help Ticket.