Table of Contents
Students in a Residential Care Center (RCC)
Definition: Student placed by a county or state agency in a residential care center.
Uses: The information is used to complete Wisconsin's Annual Report on the Implementation of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) required under section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. WISEdata October 1 Child Count records are required for students with disabilities placed by a county or state agency in a RCC.
Data Element Information: This section will help you determine the local education agency (LEA) responsible for a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and the WISEdata submitting district for a student with disability.
FAQs, Details, and Points to Note
Responsible Local Educational Agency: Each resident child with a disability placed in an RCC by a county or a state agency has a "responsible local educational agency." The responsible LEA has a duty to ensure the child is provided FAPE. This agency generally continues to be the LEA that was responsible for providing FAPE to the child before placement in the RCC.
However, if the child resided in an institution or facility operated by the Department of Health Services or the Department of Corrections before the placement in the RCC, the LEA responsible for providing FAPE becomes the school district in which the RCC is located. (Wisconsin Stats 115.81(1)(b))
If a student’s family moves from one LEA to another while the child resides in a RCC, the child’s responsible FAPE or LEA does not change.
WISEdata Submitting Agency: For a student with a disability placed at a RCC AND receiving his or her primary PK-12 education on the RCC grounds, WISEdata enrollment is submitted by the student’s FAPE agency. For a student with a disability placed at a RCC AND receiving his or her primary PK-12 education off the grounds of the RCC, WISEdata enrollment is submitted by the school district providing the primary education. This district will identify the student’s FAPE agency as part of the WISEdata enrollment reporting. Note: RCC placement by WI in an out of state RCC should be reported by the resident district.
Students without Disabilities: When a student without disabilities is placed by a county or state agency, the student is exited from WISEdata by the prior school district. The prior school district should use the TNC exit type and cease tracking attendance and enrollment for the student.
Membership/Financial Implication: Each student at one of Wisconsin’s Residential Care Centers, where the local school district is providing the student’s educational services, will be included in the school district’s membership count. The school district will incur the expenses related to meeting the student’s educational needs that are provided by a certified teacher/program.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students Placed in RCC In State: Students connected to RCC’s present complex cases. In WISEdata it is possible for three districts to be involved - (1.) the district in which the family lives, (2.) the district where the child is receiving services, and (3.) the district which is accountable for the student (attending district).
For membership, students with disabilities RCC students are ONLY eligible for inclusion in pupil counts when:
- the student is 5-years old or less - AND -
- in grade level PK - OR -
- in a Head Start program as a student who has an IEP - AND - is receiving special education services in PK.
Examples:
- Student A - Student A is attending school in their resident district and the resident district is providing SpEd services to that student.
- Student A is counted in the pupil count for the resident district
- Residency status should be ‘NULL’ (blank)
- Student B - Student B is attending school in a non-resident district because of an IEP, so the non-resident district is providing SpEd services to Student B.
- Student B is counted in the pupil count for the resident district
- Student B’s enrollment record is submitted to WISEdata by the attending district as NR-OE (nonresident, open enrollment)
- Student C - Student C is placed in an RCC by court order.
- Student C should not be included in the pupil count for membership
- Whether Student C is placed in an RCC in resident district or in a non-resident district, the residency status should be ‘NULL’ (blank)
- If it is unknown if the student has been placed in RCC by court or by family, to avoid falsely counting the student under resident headcount, DPI is asking LEAs to submit the count date receiving services as ‘N’ (Not receiving services).
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students Placed in RCC Out of State: Students with a disability (SwD) whose IEP places them in a Residential Care Center Out of State, for preschoolers who are receiving Special Ed services is another potentially complicated scenario. Currently in WISEdata these students are reported, but the DPI does not know if the LEA is exiting the student or keeping them as enrolled. DPI welcomes the opportunity for LEAs to report the challenges they face when entering these students into WISEdata by submitting a Help Desk ticket so that we can better assist them.
- Generally speaking, if the student qualifies for membership pupil count, the responsible LEA will report either ‘P’ (present) or ‘A’ (absent), or ‘N’ (not receiving services) on the count dates.
- If the resident district submits enrollment and SpEd record, and the student qualifies for membership, DPI will count the student in the pupil count of their resident school/district. Otherwise, the student will show up as enrolled in WISEdata, but not meeting criteria for membership.
- It is unlikely to have a situation where a non-resident school district submits enrollment because the IEP is placing the student out of state.
- If you feel that none of the information above fully addresses your use case, then please submit the Receiving Services as ‘N’ (not receiving services) so that DPI does not account for the student incorrectly.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students Placed in RCC by Family - for students who are in grade level K4, K or 1-12, whose family exits the student from resident school/district special education program so they are without a disability (SWoD), and no longer have an IEP:
A student with the above qualifications is exited from WISEdata. For the time the student is not in WISEdata, this student is also not qualified for membership, so report ‘N’ (not receiving services) on the count dates.
- If the resident LEA is the responsible (submitting) LEA, and the student does not have an IEP, then report either: present-receiving services, absent-receiving services, or ‘N’ (not receiving services) on the count dates.
- If the resident LEA is not the responsible (submitting) LEA, and the student does not have an IEP, then the student falls under a contract agreement with the non-resident district and the non-resident district submits the enrollment record.
- For more information about other contract agreements with non-resident districts, refer to the data element page on enrollment types.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students in a Residential facility as Drug or Alcohol Rehabilitation: This scenario applies to students in grades K4, K, 1-12. As with out-of-state RCC placement, these students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if the LEA is exiting the student or keeping them as enrolled.
- If the LEA is exiting the student, then report the membership attendance for the qualified count date(s).
- If the LEA is keeping the enrollment, then report the membership accordingly (for example, Present/Absent/Not (receiving services) for the qualifying count dates.
- If the submitting LEA is not the resident LEA, then the non-resident district submits enrollment record.
- The resident district counts the student for pupil count, regardless.
Students in a Day Treatment Center
Current as of October 25, 2023
This section will help you determine who is FAPE accountable for this student and who needs to submit this student to WISEdata. Depending on who places the student in day treatment (parents, county/courts, IEP Team), FAPE the responsibility of the student’s school/district varies.
Definition of a Day Treatment Service: A Mental Health Day Treatment Service for Children means nonresidential care provided on prescription of a physician in a clinically supervised setting that provides case management and an integrated system of individual, family and group counseling or therapy or other services assembled pursuant to an individually prepared plan of treatment that is based upon a multi-disciplinary assessment of the client and his or her family and is designed to alleviate emotional or behavioral problems experienced by the client related to his or her mental illness or severe emotional disturbance, (as per DHS 40, Initial Certification Application).
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Day Treatment Centers are neither considered to be public schools or private schools, although they might provide some level of educational support to children placed there. DTCs are third party entities, licensed and regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
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LEA’s in Wisconsin do not operate mental health day treatment centers, and as such, day treatment centers are not LEAs.
Data Element Information: The current LEA is responsible for submitting all data elements for students with an IEP/ISP in day treatment centers, and will need to be submitted to WISEdata. Students not receiving special education services attending a day treatment service, this student would most likely be exited, using the exit type ODO. If/when the student should return to school, change the exit type to TC.
Definition of Current LEA as used in the scenarios below: The current LEA in this definition is the LEA responsible for providing FAPE. The current LEA must be providing/coordinating education services for the student.
- The current LEA is usually the student’s resident LEA, but could be a different LEA if the student is open enrolled or attending an independent charter school.
- If the student had attended a DOC or DHS facility prior to attending a day treatment center, that DOC or DHS facility will be the current LEA.
- All WISEdata data elements continue to be reported by the LEA.
In the case of a student with an ISP, LEA refers to the public agency providing education services for the ISP.
Definition of IEP: An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a required document for students attending public school who have qualified to receive special education services.
Definition of ISP: An Individual Services Plan (ISP) is an equivalent version of an IEP that is implemented when a student is attending a private school and has qualified to receive special education services from a public district.
- Parent Placement in a Day Treatment Center
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Student Without an IEP or ISP Placed in a Day Treatment Center:
When parents place a student without an IEP/ISP in the day treatment center the student is exited, using the exit type ODO. If/when the student should return to school, change the exit type to TC.
Student With IEP in a Day Treatment Center:
When parents place their child in a day treatment facility , the LEA holding the current enrollment continues to be obligated to ensure FAPE for the child. The child’s LEA continues to submit to WISEdata.Student With ISP Placed in a Day Treatment Center:
When an Individual Services Plan (ISP) is in place for the student, and the parents place the student in the day treatment center:- the day treatment center is not an LEA.
- the private school is the primary enrollment agency.
- Choice school would continue to submit primary enrollment record data to WISEdata
- the public LEA assisting with the ISP:
- is FAPE responsible
- holds PPP non-primary enrollment
- consults with day treatment center for service provisions
- submits PPP enrollment and Special Ed record data to WISEdata, whether the private school is Choice or not.
- Agency (county/court, IEP Team) Placement in a Day Treatment Center
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When an agency places a child in a day treatment facility, and that student has an IEP/ISP, the child's current LEA continues to be obligated to ensure FAPE for the child.
- The current LEA continues to submit all data elements for the student.
- The current LEA is usually their resident LEA, but could be a different one if the student is open enrolled or attending an independent charter school.
- LEA maintains current primary enrollment and continues to collect all necessary reporting data from your school and enter this into your SIS. This is required because the LEA is still the FAPE Responsible School/District.
- The current LEA must be providing/coordinating some education services for the student.
Student Without an IEP or ISP Placed in a Day Treatment Center by an Agency:
When a student without an IEP/ISP is placed in a day treatment center the student is exited, using the exit type ODO. If/when the student should return to school, change the exit type to TC.
- The current LEA continues to submit all data elements for the student.
Membership/Financial Implication: When the school district’s Fund 10 (general fund) is not paying for the student’s educational services while in a Day Treatment Center, that student cannot be included in the school district’s September 3rd Friday count or January 2nd Friday counts. The school district’s FAPE obligations will be determined by the actual placement.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students in Day Treatment Centers: Students in Day Treatment Centers are eligible for inclusion in membership pupil count, and are also reported in WISEdata. However, the DPI does not know if they are temporarily (as opposed to permanently) placed in a Day Treatment Center. As such, DPI treats these students like any other student because membership does not require these students to be identified separately.
- If the student is placed in a temporary stay, then the LEA keeps the enrollment and counts the student as ‘Absent’ for the duration of the temporary stay, including count dates (TFS, 2FJ) if the student is at the day treatment center on those count dates.
- If the student is placed in a day treatment facility through a private school, the LEA must exit the student. WISEdata will then require the date when enrollment ended, and the appropriate membership code, Present/Absent/Not (receiving services), for the qualifying count date(s).
Students Temporarily Placed Outside a District
Children’s Hospitals
Definition: Student who is unable to attend school due to illness or medical needs that require the child to be placed in a children’s home, American Family Children’s Hospital, or the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
Data Element Information: This information will help determine the FAPE-responsible school and submitting district for students in children’s hospitals.
Helpful Details/Use Cases: The school district in which the “children’s home” or “orthopedic hospital” is located is the student's local educational agency (LEA) responsible for FAPE from the first day the student lives in the facility, unless the student is excused from attendance by the original school district upon the parents’ request, consistent with compulsory attendance requirements. If the student is excused, the original school district retains FAPE responsibility. View the Thayer rule for more information about accountability in these cases.
Membership/Financial Implication: A district that provides educational services to a child placed outside a child’s home, such as a jail, detention, or hospital within the district and who has been or could have been counted as a resident pupil by a different district in the pupil count report under sec. 121.05, may request state tuition under sec. 121.79(1)(a). These children should not be counted by the district claiming state tuition as a resident pupil under sec. 121.05 on PI-1563 Pupil Count Report.
A district that provides educational services to a pupil placed in a children’s home in the district in which that student has been or could have been counted as a resident pupil may request state tuition, as well as count the pupil as a resident pupil under sec. 121.05 on the PI 1563 Pupil Count Report.
State tuition under sec. 121.79(1)(a) is paid based on actual costs. The state equalization aid paid to the district will be deducted from the state tuition claim. If the statewide amount of state tuition claims made during the fiscal year exceeds the legislature’s appropriation, all claims are prorated.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students without a Disability (SWoD) Placed in a Children’s Hospital of a Non-Resident District: Students in a children’s hospital are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the hospital.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students without Disability (SWoD) Placed in the Children’s Hospital of the Resident District: Students in a children’s hospital are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the hospital.
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The student gets counted for membership pupil count under the qualifying resident district count date(s).
Related Links:
Wisconsin Challenge Academy
Definition: Student, 16-18 years old, considered an at-risk teen attending the WI Challenge Academy.
Data Element Information: Students at the Challenge Academy must be enrolled in their resident districts. WISEdata records for any student enrolled at the Challenge Academy should be submitted by the district where the student resided prior to enrollment in the Challenge Academy. WISEdata records to be submitted for Challenge Academy students are as follows:
- Attendance: report as 100% for the duration of their Challenge Academy participation.
- Discipline incidents
- Roster and Grades
- Graduation/Completion Type
Helpful Details/Use Cases:
Student Leaves Public School for Challenge Academy
Student does not exit the district. The student remains enrolled in the district and remains the responsibility of the school district while attending the Challenge Academy. The students are counted for aid, revenue limit, and school reporting purposes.
If the student drops out of the Challenge Academy and terminates schooling rather than re-enrolling in a public school, then the student will be considered a dropout in the public school district.
Student Graduates from Challenge Academy
Cadets who successfully complete the GED exams and complete health, civics, career awareness, and employability skills graduate with a High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED). The Challenge Academy has a waiver to PI 5, allowing cadets to test at the age of 17 and receive the HSED. The cadets also receive the Challenge Academy Certificate.
- Student Completes All Requirements for the HSED: Students have the right to be done with high school and go on with their lives with an HSED issued by DPI. In that case, the school district may count the students as completers. Students also have a right to return to their high school until they graduate with a diploma issued by the school district or age out. An HSED is not considered a diploma. The students may choose to return to a regular class schedule, and the work done at the Challenge Academy is converted into credits for the students’ transcripts, or if the district offers a GEDO #2 program, the student completes the additional work for the GEDO #2 program and leaves when that work is complete. In both cases, when the student earns a diploma issued by the school district, the district may count the student as a graduate.
- Student Has Not Completed All Requirements for the HSED: If the student returns to the school district, the school district may either contract with the area technical college, under s.118.15, for the student to complete the HSED, enroll the student in the district’s GEDO #2 program, or the student may elect to take regular classes towards high school graduation.
Student Does Not Complete Challenge Academy
Cadets are volunteers and may withdraw from the program. Cadets may also be released from the program for behavioral or medical reasons. Cadets who leave the program early receive an academic report detailing accomplishments at the Academy. This report is also sent to the school district of record. If the students are under 18, they must return to their local high school until the end of the term, quarter, or semester in which they turn 18 (which is when they may quit) or until age 21.
Membership/Financial Implication: Cadets selected to attend the Challenge Academy are considered enrolled in their resident district for purposes of district equalization aid eligibility, special education responsibility, and revenue limit authority. (Wis. Stat. §321.03(1(c)) (Wis. Stat. §121.05(1)(a)13). School districts still receive aid for students while the student is at the Challenge Academy (Wis. Stat. §121.095).
Each student placed at the Challenge Academy who completes the first couple of weeks will result in their district of residence having to pay for the educational services provided for the entire term. There are two terms per school year. Each student will be reported in the PI-1563 YCA portal in September and March. The inclusion of each student will positively impact the Revenue Limit and state aids the school district receives.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Students Participating in Challenge Academy: Participating LEAs of the WiSFiP Pupil Count Membership application Pilot Program during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, need to conduct the following steps to report Challenge Academy students as resident / attending districts:
- Submit Challenge Academy enrollments to WISEdata
- Identify if students are enrolled in the Challenge Academy program through WiSFiP membership application by using Program Type - Other, and Program Name - Challenge Academy
Doing this will allow the DPI to count the students under the pupil count of their resident district, and identify students who are in the Challenge Academy program. In future years the goal is for School Finance to completely rely on WISEdata to get the Challenge Academy students list through the WiSFiP Membership application.
Related Links:
Challenge Academy website School Financial Services - Challenge Academy
Students in Juvenile Detention Facilities
Definition: Student entering a juvenile detention center that is unaffiliated with the Department of Corrections after previous enrollment in regular school
Data Element Information: The enrollment date in the new district should be the date the student initially receives educational services from the new district. Under any circumstances, if a student is present at a school for a total of less than one full day, then submission of a school enrollment record is not expected or required.
Helpful Details/Use Cases: Students within juvenile detention facilities are considered residents of the school district in which the facility is located. The school district in which the facility is located is responsible for the student (see State ex rel. School District No. 1 of Waukesha v. Thayer, 74 Wis. 48 or 41 N.W. 1014 (1889)). The court ruled that for school purposes, the child who resides away from his parents’ home is considered a resident of the school district in which the child actually resides rather than the one in which the parents live, so long as the child’s primary purpose for residing away from his parents is other than to attend the schools of the district in which the child actually resides. So under the Thayer decision, a student living at a juvenile detention facility or any other court-ordered residential placement within a school district is a resident of that district in terms of who is responsible to provide the education. Services should begin as soon as the student becomes a resident of the school district in which the detention facility is located.
All IDEA protections apply to students with disabilities in detention centers. The school district responsible for educating students in a particular detention facility must ensure students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
Act 212 - Juvenile Detention Facilities
Background: Legislation was signed into law on March 31, 2022, that impacts districts with juvenile detention facilities and similar facilities located within their jurisdiction. Act 212 creates 115.385 (1g) (f) of the statutes to disallow DPI from including data derived from juvenile detention facilities, Secure Residential Care Centers, houses of correction, and county jails on a district’s report card if 50% or more of the students residing at the facility were not present for the entire school term. The law would first apply to the district accountability report cards for the 2022-23 school year, which will be released in the fall of 2023.
To comply with this statute, districts will have the option to code such facilities as schools in the School Directory. Data of students in these facilities will be reported to WISEdata essentially the same way as they are currently, but data will be reported under the new school code (if the facilities within your district don’t already have pre-existing agency keys). Once students are reported under these new or updated school codes, the Office of Educational Accountability can then identify data from detained students and exclude these data from district report cards if the statutory requirement is met.
Creating Juvenile Detention Facility Schools: Districts may create new schools that exclusively serve detention facilities via the School Modification Form. The fields pertaining to juvenile detention facility schools are shown in this example:
There is no policy requirement in the law for obtaining school board approval to create this kind of facility the way it is required for the creation of some other types of schools. Please check to see if your local district policy requires any special approvals.
Modifying Existing Schools: To apply an additional attribute to an existing school/program exclusively serving a detained population, to adjust an existing “hybrid” school program that serves multiple student populations (including students who are detained in a detention facility), or to edit any information associated with an existing school, please open a help ticket.
Act 212 Juvenile Detention Facility Schools - WISEdata information: The new juvenile detention facility school should be added to your student information system (SIS) to report to WISEdata in the same way as any new school. Consult your SIS vendor customer service for instructions. Once the new school has been set up in your SIS, please verify that it appears in WISEdata Portal. If you need assistance with this, please open a help ticket.
Act 212 Juvenile Detention Facility Schools - WISEdash information: Information for students who reported as being enrolled in a juvenile detention facility school will appear in both WISEdash for Districts and WISEdash Public. WISEdash Public data is subject to redaction.
Act 212 Juvenile Detention Facility Schools - WISEstaff information: When completing the WISEstaff data collection, a warning may indicate that no principal or no teacher has been associated with the juvenile detention facility school. Please acknowledge that warning and provide a comment that indicates the school is a juvenile detention school.
Act 212 FAQs
Who can set up a school for a program exclusively serving students in a detention facility? Any LEA may create or designate a detention facility with a school code if they have one of the following facilities within their district jurisdiction: a county jail, a juvenile detention facility, a secure residential care center, or a house of correction. This school set-up is not a mandate, however.
Who should not set up a new school representing programming for students in a detention facility? If the LEA has a Department of Corrections facility within your district jurisdiction, such facilities are run by the Department of Corrections and are, therefore, outside of the Department of Public Instruction’s authority and data environment. This new legislation does not apply to Residential Care Centers (RCCs) and rather is specifically pertinent to Secure Residential Care Centers (SRCCs), a separate category of facility.
What should an LEA do if they currently operate a hybrid/consolidated educational program that serves students who are detained but also includes various other student populations? Each school set-up should be exclusively serving a student population from one detention facility each. The LEA may set up multiple schools to represent multiple detention facilities, but they must be designated with a distinct school code unique to that facility. The LEA must update a preexisting school if it doesn’t exclusively serve students from a distinct detention facility. In order to maintain historical accountability and designate a preexisting school as one of the four types of aforementioned facilities, please submit a help ticket. Please note that an LEA may also need to establish a new school to house students who were removed from a hybrid program and are not detained in a detention facility. Alternatively, the LEA may want to place the non-detained students from such a hybrid program into an existing school. If your LEA has a preexisting hybrid program, you may also need to make modifications in your SIS. Please submit a help ticket if you require assistance. The Customer Service team can verify the school’s current WISEdata reporting status.
Membership/Financial Implication: In general, residency for state aid and revenue limit purposes, or “membership,” is tied to where students live and who is financially responsible for their education. However, a student living on the count date at a facility for which a district is eligible for State Tuition reimbursement under s. 121.79121.79, Stats., may not be counted for that district’s membership. Eligible facilities include juvenile detention centers, jails, and certain foster or group homes.
If students who would ordinarily be counted for membership by their home district are absent on the count date due to incarceration or another court-ordered placement, they may still be counted by the home district if:
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The student attends school at least one day before and one day after their incarceration or placement,
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The student does not change residency between those dates, other than by their incarceration or placement, and
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The district that educated the student on the count date is eligible for State Tuition reimbursement under s. 121.79, Stats.
The overall principle that a student may only be counted once for membership holds true for incarcerated students. If the student is incarcerated or placed in a facility within their home district on the count date, but the district would otherwise be eligible to count them for membership, the district may still count them. Any State Tuition reimbursement the district is eligible for will be reduced by the amount of general state aid it receives for that student.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Resident District Students in a Juvenile Facility in Resident District: Students in a juvenile facility or county jail are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the facility.
- The student is counted for membership pupil count on their resident district count dates.
- The resident district submits the enrollment record
- Residency status as ‘NULL’
- Is Primary = True
- Enrollment type = P
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Resident District Students in a Juvenile Facility in Nonresident District: Students in a juvenile facility or county jail are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the facility.
- The student is counted for membership pupil count on their resident district count dates.
Related Links:
School Financial Services - State Tuition Alternative Education
Students in County Jails
Definition: Student entering county jail by court mandate
Data Element Information: The enrollment date in the new district should be the date the student initially receives educational services from the new district. Under any circumstances, if a student is present at a school for a total of less than one full day, then submission of a school enrollment record is not expected or required. A school district supplying homework assignments assures a continuity of education but must still exit the student.
Helpful Details/Use Cases: Under the Thayer decision, a student living in a jail or any other court-ordered residential placement within a school district is a resident of that district, in terms of who is responsible to provide their education. Services should begin as soon as the student becomes a resident of the school district in which the detention facility is located. While the law requires a district where the student is held to serve the student immediately, they aren't required to make a change in WISEdata until 96 hours after the student arrives. This is to protect from the situation where a student is arrested tonight, starts school in the morning, goes to court at 1 p.m., and is out by 4 p.m., as well as because there is authority to hold a student for 72 hours as a sanction.
For incoming jail students expelled without educational services, the responsibility falls to the operator of the facility (e.g., Sheriff’s Department, Human Services). While a school district is not required to enroll a student during the term of his/her expulsion from another school district, school districts are encouraged to work with the jail or detention facility on the provision of educational services. No service to an expelled student obligates the school district for education post release. For students expelled with educational services, the school district where the student resides in the jail or detention facility must provide educational services.
All IDEA protections apply to students with disabilities in jails. The school district responsible for educating students in a particular jail must ensure students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
A student released on Huber, a program for students incarcerated to leave for work purposes, may attend at his or her local high school. For students whose detention or incarceration changes the school district of attendance, a written agreement signed by the school district responsible for the student’s education at the time, the student, and the facility should be entered into prior to release for educational services under Huber.
Membership/Financial Implication: In general, residency for state aid and revenue limit purposes, or “membership,” is tied to where a student lives and who is financially responsible for their education. However, a student living on the count date at a facility for which a district is eligible for State Tuition reimbursement under s. 121.79, Stats., may not be counted for that district’s membership. Eligible facilities include juvenile detention centers, jails, and certain foster or group homes.
If students who would ordinarily be counted for membership by their home district are absent on the count date due to incarceration or another court-ordered placement, they may still be counted by the home district if:
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The students attend school at least one day before and one day after their incarceration or placement,
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The students do not change residency between those dates, other than by their incarceration or placement, and
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The district that educated the students on the count date is eligible for State Tuition reimbursement under s. 121.79, Stats.
The overall principle that a student may only be counted once for membership holds true for incarcerated students. If the students are incarcerated or placed in a facility within their home district on the count date, but the district would otherwise be eligible to count them for membership, the district may still count them. Any State Tuition reimbursement the district is eligible for will be reduced by the amount of general state aid it receives for that student.
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Resident District Students in a County Jail in Resident District: Students in a juvenile facility or county jail are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the facility.
- The student is counted for membership pupil count on their resident district count dates.
- The resident district submits the enrollment record
- Residency status as ‘NULL’
- Is Primary = True
- Enrollment type = P
Pupil Count Pilot Information for 22-23 and 23-24 School Years -
Membership/Financial Implication for Resident District Students in a County Jail in Nonresident District: Students in a juvenile facility or county jail are not counted for membership because they are paid separately by DPI. These students are reported in WISEdata, but the DPI does not know if they are receiving instruction at school or in the facility.
- The student is counted for membership pupil count on their resident district count dates.
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Expelled Students Receiving Off-Site Services
Please read the corresponding section in the Non-traditional Student Population page for more information about Expelled Students Receiving Services.
If the currently expelled student is a child with an IEP, the resident district continues to have FAPE responsibility. Under federal and state law, a student with an IEP must continue to receive a free, appropriate public education, even when expelled. This means that the student must continue to receive educational services so that the student can continue to make progress in the general education curriculum and toward their IEP goals. A school district cannot refuse an IEP team evaluation or refuse to provide a free appropriate public education to a child with an IEP who has been expelled from another school district. A student with an IEP receiving services after an expulsion would be counted in both the Third Friday of September Count and October 1 Child Count, providing all of the other criteria for inclusion are met.
It is not relevant that the services are provided outside a school building, whether online or via teleconference, for example. This student should have a current enrollment in WISEdata associated with the district. The district may decide if a continuous enrollment will be reported or if the student will have an exit date the day prior to the expulsion and a new enrollment entered for the student to reflect the change to receiving these off-site services while expelled. The district is then responsible for all WISEdata reporting on this student.
Students Participating in Project SEARCH
Definition: Project SEARCH is an employment internship program students with disabilities typically complete during the final year of transition services from a school district.
Helpful Details/Use Cases: Though most students participating in Project SEARCH are in their final year of school, it is possible for a youth to graduate and use a different funding source for Project SEARCH (e.g., family care or IRIS). Students are only eligible for school services (FAPE) until the time of graduation. What this means for the student wishing to continue in the program is that he or she will need to either postpone getting a diploma and not be counted as a graduate that year (up until reaching max age), or he or she will need an alternative funding source to pay the cost of Project SEARCH (approximately $8000.00) next year after graduation.
If the district is paying for Project Search and they have a contract to provide services (Project SEARCH is considered a service), then the students are considered enrolled and should be included in 3rd Friday and October 1 counts.
If the student’s IEP places them in Project Search in another district, the district providing the Project Search services is responsible for reporting the student to WISEdata and listing the resident district as accountable for the enrollment and FAPE services. The resident district does not report anything to WISEdata for the student. This allows the providing service district to report the student, and the accountability to remain with the resident district as per the IEP.
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Students with a Third Party IEP Placement
Agreements where an IEP places a student outside the school district isn't very common, but has become more common over the past few years. The entity providing services may be, but is not limited to:
- a CESA,
- a private school, or
- another public school.
- Such an agreement may even place the student out of state.
The resident district is FAPE accountable unless the IEP specifically states that accountability has been transferred to the attending district. The district responsible for the student's IEP needs to submit data for the student’s records, even though the student does not receive services from that district. The district is responsible for gathering all required WISEdata elements from the entity which is providing the services.
If the IEP moves a child, then FAPE accountability changes from the resident district to the attending district. An IEP moving a student is different than a special education student choosing to open enroll in another school. In an open enrollment case, the school of open enrollment will be FAPE accountable and will generate the IEP (usually still working with the resident district).