Directors of Special Education and Pupil Services
Timely Information
Ongoing Commitment to Special Education Support through DPI Reorganization
In June 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction implemented an agency-wide reorganization designed to improve how we serve students, educators and communities across the state. While this reorganization has changed how we are structured internally at the DPI, it has not changed our commitment to supporting you, in fact, it allows us to serve you better.
This reorganization is aligned to the DPI’s new Strategic Plan and allows for more efficiency and focused work across our agency. As part of this transition, the Special Education team has moved from a single team structure into a new horizontal teaming model that places personnel across several areas within the DPI. This includes new Divisions, Offices, Bureaus, and Sections that align our work more closely with colleagues doing related work, increasing coordination, access, and shared expertise.
You will still receive the same level of support and service from DPI personnel with expertise in special education with the goal of it being even more efficient. Our Special Education team now sits alongside other experts in related fields, allowing us to improve collaboration, streamline services, and maintain our focus on outcomes for students with disabilities. For example, those working in state complaints and dispute resolution are now part of the Dispute Resolution System and Compliance Monitoring Section. Personnel with disability-specific expertise are now located in the Student Engagement Section. Special education personnel who specialize in supporting continuous improvement efforts of school districts are now working in a new Office of Continuous Improvement. In addition, those focused on fiscal responsibilities or special education data now work alongside others in related roles, including within the Bureau of Grant Administration and Monitoring. The Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WESP-DHH) and the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (WCBVI) are now part of the new Division of Access and Opportunity.
Throughout this transition, we will continue to provide resources, monitoring and support to Local Education Agencies (e.g. school districts) to meet their obligations under state and federal special education law. Inquiries from families, educators and administrators will continue to be routed to DPI personnel with expertise in special education. In addition, our public-facing special education webpages remain active, and we are committed to ensuring answers to your questions and updated guidance remains timely, accurate, and helpful to you.
While our structure may look different, our mission remains unchanged and our ability to support you has only grown stronger.
Please continue to reach out to DPI with questions related to Special Education as you always have if you have questions or need support by contacting DPI through phone (608) 266-1781 or by filling out an online request through the Contact Special Education online form
New Resource for Working with Interveners
DPI recently published a new resource, Guide for Determining the Need for an Intervener in Educational Settings. The resource is available on the DPI Interveners webpage under the Working with Interveners Resource tab.
Other DPI News
Taking Care and Providing Resources After a School Shooting, DPI-Connect Ed
Kicking Off a New School Year, Together, EdLeaders Dispatch
The DAC Digest, September 03, 2025, DPI
Upcoming Learning Events
Second Tuesdays, 1-2pm: New School Social Worker Resource Sharing Sessions (scroll down on this webpage for topics and registration)
Monthly October 2025 - March 2026: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Year Long Cohort
09/09/25: OT and PT Community of Practice: Welcome and new Medicaid SBS Expansion and how it impacts your district
09/10/25: AT Forward Community of Practice: Kickoff
09/12/25: CESA 6 Pathways to Success Curriculum and Instruction Focus
09/18/25: Centering Equity in Social Emotional Learning: DPI Listening Session
09/24/25: Special Education/Pupil Services Leadership Virtual Academy: Special Education Calendar, DPI Reorganization, Crisis Training FAQ Overview, and Seclusion/Restraint Reduction Supports Update
09/26/25: New to Schools Bootcamp for SLP, OT, PT and Educational AuDs Session 1
09/30/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Regulation: Where do we start? and Understanding "Sensory"
10/01/25: State Superintendent’s Leadership Conference on Special Education and Pupil Services
10/08/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Understanding "Sensory"
10/09-10/25: CESA 6 Pathways to Success Advanced Training
10/13-14/25: CESA 10 Pathways to Success Alternate Academic Achievement Standards and Assessment
10/14/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Taking a Deep Dive into Neurodiversity and Executive Functioning: What's the Support
10/14/25: New School Nurse Orientation
10/15/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Flexibility: It's a Skill and Resilience: Coping and Relationships
10/23-25/24: CESA 8 Pathways to Success Alternate Academic Achievement Standards and Assessment
11/11/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Flexibility: It's a Skill
11/17/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Social: The Hidden Curriculum and Communication: Untangling-Supporting Students with Higher Impact Needs
12/12/25: Supporting Neurodiverse Students: Resilience: Coping and Relationships
If you have questions about this email list, please contact Daniel Parker, daniel.parker@dpi.wi.gov.
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