A free February 2021 webinar by a national advocacy group for special needs students highlighted the following about the federal Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) law, which WCRIS staff thought our schools might find useful: Here are the seven things the law requires that a public school district must include in any student’s IEP. [...]
Read More ›
The Latest
Your source for timely and relevant K-12 school updates
DPI Alert: EANS Roll-Out Begins
February 25, 2021
The DPI issued a notification today outlining the EANS allocations for each private school and the process for applying for EANS-funded goods and services. Go here to read it. In addition, earlier today, DPI staff reported that their negotiations with CESAs continue as a possible entity to help with the procurement of goods and services. [...]
Read More ›
Non-Partisan State Sup. Candidate Forum March 19
February 25, 2021
The non-partisan Wisconsin Policy Forum is hosting a ZOOM candidate forum for the State Superintendent race on Friday 3/19 at 12:30 p.m. Candidates Deborah Kerr and Jill Underly will explain their visions for Wisconsin’s students. The general election is Tuesday April 6. You can find more information and register for the candidate forum here.
Read More ›
DPI Resources for Trauma Informed Care
February 25, 2021
The federal Pandemic relief CARES Act last spring provided funds to state governors to distribute as they wished to address their state’s unique needs. One of Wisconsin’s initiatives is the new Wisconsin Center for Resilient Schools. It’s programming is open to private schools. It helps schools implement their already existing trauma-sensitive and mental health plans [...]
Read More ›
WCRIS Leadership Meeting March 10 Update
February 22, 2021
In response to school principals’ requests, WCRIS will be expanding the agenda for its Wednesday, March 10 Administrators Meeting to address both the state budget/legislative session and the roll-out of the EANS application. This meeting will replace WCRIS’s annual in-person Leadership Conference. We hope to return to an in-person event in March 2023 in Madison, [...]
Read More ›
EANS Application to Open March 12
February 18, 2021
The electronic application for EANS funds through the DPI WiseGrants portal is expected to open March 12 and will list an estimated amount of funding per private school, according to DPI staff who met with WCRIS Thursday (2/18). The DPI is dividing the state’s $74 million allocation based on a calculation first proposed by WCRIS [...]
Read More ›
The Governor’s Proposed 2021-23 State Budget
February 18, 2021
The Governor unveiled his $91 billion proposed two-year budget Tuesday (2/16), which calls for many initiatives that he promised voters on the campaign trail. Every Governor does this, so there’s nothing new about proposing things that won’t get through a legislature controlled by the opposing party. Gov. Evers budget calls for a 9.3 percent increase [...]
Read More ›
Primary Election Results Surprise Pundits
February 18, 2021
Election pundits were caught off guard Tuesday (2/17) when the two candidates who made it through the primary election for State Superintendent ran a virtual tie. The underdog, Deborah Kerr, and Jill Underly, the establishment candidate, each received about 27 percent of the vote. The other five candidates each garnered between about 8 percent and [...]
Read More ›
Unsolicited School Shipments of Face Coverings and Masks
February 18, 2021
The DPI has been investigating reports from several schools that have received unsolicited shipments of adult and/or child cloth face masks. Some shipments have reportedly included KN95 or KN90 respirators. It appears they are being sent by the Wisconsin Emergency Management Center using the same list of schools from which they distributed other face coverings [...]
Read More ›
EANS Funds Roll-out Begins
February 11, 2021
Gov. Evers applied to the U.S. Department of Education for Wisconsin’s $77.4 million in Emergency Aid to Nonpublic Schools (EANS) on Monday 2/8 and the Department of Public Instruction estimates it will have an application available for our schools via an electronic portal around March 12. Once a Governor applies, federal law requires the money [...]
Read More ›
