The Latest

The second edition of the WCRIS Choice Handbook is in production. This updated and expanded edition provides an overview of the state’s three choice programs as recently amended in the law, the requirements to join, and how to operate them. A separate handbook is being developed for the Special Needs Scholarship Program. Stay tuned. The [...]

Question: Given the pandemic and the complexities it is creating for education, must I still meet the hours of instruction requirement for students this school year? How do I count virtual or hybrid classroom instruction? Answer: Yes, you are still required to meet the hours of instruction for this school year. For schools in the [...]

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has several resources available to help support teachers providing online instruction. Paid for with federal ESSER funds from the CARES Act, the training and programs are open to all schools and teachers. To see a complete list of offerings and to register, go to the DPI’s web page here: [...]

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety launched a new threat reporting tip line on its new website, titled: “Speak Up, Speak Out.” The tipline can be found here. The new tip line allows people to call-in threats of school violence and related concerns to the DOJ. School administrators must register with the [...]

The following information is from the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) September Newsletter. Eight Private School Teachers Receive Neubauer Prize for Urban Teaching Megan Dills, St. Marcus School, Milwaukee Nadia Lopez, Pilgrim Lutheran School, Milwaukee Quanesha Medina, HOPE Christian School (Semper), Milwaukee Michelle Minnihan, St. Martini Lutheran School, Milwaukee Zach Murray, HOPE Christian School [...]

The application period for the 2021 Herb Kohl Educational Awards for students, teachers and principals is now open. Like last year, the process is entirely digital and must be completed online. Current private high school seniors, who are Wisconsin residents, are eligible to apply for a $10,000 Student Excellence scholarship to the college of their [...]

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released a guidance document outlining ways it is responding to regulatory enforcement in the era of COVID-19. The document, “COVID-19 Regulatory Flexibility Framework Provisions for the 2020-21 School Year,” is mainly for public schools. The DPI has said it will try to mirror those same flexibilities for private schools, [...]

A last-minute Dane County order to close schools leaves WCRIS and parents no choice but to sue. On behalf of WCRIS’s schools, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court over the Dane County Health Department’s August 21 order closing all public and private schools, for grades [...]

Milwaukee Public Schools pulls busing for private school students, as the first day of school approaches. In an August 24 letter, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) notified private schools that they would not receive transportation services nor reimbursement for parent contracts. The notice came just as many private schools in MPS are starting the school year [...]

A third lawsuit challenging the ESSER funding formula is underway, with WCRIS and allies nationwide joining the fight. The funding impact on Wisconsin Schools hangs in the balance. On behalf of WCRIS, and its counterparts nationwide, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed an amicus brief (Friend of the Court brief) in NAACP [...]