Special education reimbursement in Wisconsin drops below rate promised in state budget

Special education reimbursement payments to schools fall far below estimate

DPI announced this week that initial special education payments would reimburse schools for their special education costs at 35%. A hallway in La Follette High School in Madison. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)Initial special education reimbursement payments to school districts this year will be about 35% of their costs — about 7 percentage points below the estimated rate approved in the state budget. When the 2025-27 state budget was passed by the s…

Special education reimbursement in Wisconsin drops below rate promised in state budget

Wisconsin public school districts will receive 35% reimbursement for special education costs, down from the 42% lawmakers promised in the state budget.

Special education reimbursement payments to schools fall far below estimate

Initial special education reimbursement payments to school districts this year will be about 35% of their costs — about 7 percentage points below the estimated rate approved in the state budget. This story also appeared in Wisconsin Examiner When the 2025-27 state budget was passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers in July, policymakers boasted that their investments would bring the special education r…

Special education reimbursement payments to schools fall far below estimate

Initial special education reimbursement payments to school districts this year will be about 35% of their costs — about 7 percentage points below the estimated rate approved in the state budget. When the 2025-27 state budget was passed by the…

Wisconsin teachers outraged after special education reimbursement rates lower than pledged in state budget

Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the leading teachers union in the state, expressed outrage at the 2025-27 state budget’s insufficient special education reimbursement rate, according to a Nov. 19 press release. The state budget, passed last July, allocated 42% of special education costs to be reimbursed in 2026 based on Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates as a sum-certain appropriation, according to the Department of Public Instru…