Director of Special Education and Pupil Services 09/12/25

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sent this bulletin at 09/12/2025 10:33 AM CDT

Director of Special Education and Pupil Services

Timely Information

State Superintendent Dr. Underly Condemns Sudden Termination of Federal Funding for Deafblind and Special Education Programs

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly today sharply criticized the U.S. Department of Education for its abrupt decision to terminate two vital federal grants supporting Wisconsin’s most vulnerable students — children and youth with combined vision and hearing loss, and those receiving special education services. Read the full news story.

Wisconsin Purple Star School Program

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is launching the inaugural Purple Star School Program during the 2025-26 school year. DPI invites all schools to participate in the Purple Star School designation, which recognizes schools that demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting military-connected students.

The primary focus of this designation is to help schools meet the unique needs of military-connected children, who often face educational, social, and emotional challenges when transitioning between schools with different curricula, expectations, and graduation requirements.

Please see the Purple Star School Program Announcement flyer and share out with any interested parties. For more information on the Purple Star School Program, please visit DPI’s Military Children and Families webpage.

2025-26 Transition Readiness Grant Award Recipients

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is excited to announce the Transition Readiness Grant (TRG) Awards for the 2025-26 school year. School districts and charter schools under Wis. Stat. 118.40(2r) and (2x) were eligible to compete for funding that supports evidence-based practices related to the successful transition from high school for students with IEPs. This year, 29 school districts and charter schools received $1.5 million in funds to support:

Transportation Options (including contracted services or vehicle purchases)
Competitive Integrated Employment Training (CIE) Programs
Post-secondary Tuition and Supports for Students
Transition Training for Staff Members

This grant program received 84 applications for the 2025-2026 school year, totaling over $5 million in requests. For a full list of awards, visit the TRG webpage.

Social Studies Standards Review Fall 2025

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will start a review of the Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies and the Essential Elements for Social Studies on September 2, 2025. This review will start with a period of public comment on the existing standards to help determine if the standards need revision. Please see the notice of Intent to Review Academic Standards for more information. Public input is used to help determine if the existing standards need to be revised. All comments received will be reviewed and shared with the State Superintendent's Academic Standards Review Council in October 2025. These surveys will close on October 1, 2025.

Registration for DPI’s New School Nurse Orientation Now Open

Registration is open for the 2025 New School Nurse Orientation. This professional development opportunity designed for nurses new to the specialty of school nursing is October 14-15, 2025. The New School Nurse Orientation will be held at the Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin. Registration will close October 6, 2025. See the School Nurse Orientation flyer for more information regarding the orientation, hotel reservations, and the registration link.

Register for the 2025 Building the Heart of Successful Schools (BHSS) Conference

Take part in one or two impactful days of learning, connection and inspiration. This year’s keynote, Dr. Andréa Michel, will share practical, trauma informed strategies to support schools as safe, supportive spaces for all students.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - Pre-conference $75/session

Thursday, December 11, 2025 - Conference $150

Session topics you don’t want to miss!

Student mental health & anxiety
Restorative practices & trauma-informed leadership
Youth substance use & prevention
Educator wellness & resilience
Student engagement & digital dilemmas…and more!

Visit the BHSS Conference webpage for more information and to register, by Thursday, November 20, 2025. Register yourself or your school team. Contact the WISH Center (wishschools@cesa4.org) for help with registration.

Assistive Technology (AT) Forward

Help us reach our goal of having representation from all school districts in Wisconsin by sending this link to personnel in your district, organization, or community to join the AT forward community of practice by going to the DPI Email List page to sign up. Follow the prompts and then select Assistive Technology Forward Community of Practice as well as any other groups you would like to receive emails from.

As the 2025-26 school year begins, the Wisconsin AT Forward project is thrilled to launch a wealth of resources and opportunities to enhance assistive technology (AT) integration statewide. We eagerly anticipate another year of empowering educators and improving outcomes for all students through innovative AT practices. Find a video library of past meeting topics, resources, AT lending libraries, and other resources on the DPI AT Forward webpage.

The AT Forward Community of Practice is a free DPI funded statewide virtual Community of Practice (CoP). From AT beginner to expert, the AT Forward CoP welcomes all knowledge background levels to join! The next AT Forward CoP meeting will be held on September 23, 2025 12:00pm-1:00pm. Cassie Frost will present on AT to Support Social and Emotional Health. Click here to register for this meeting.

Occupational Therapist (OT) and Physical Therapist (PT) Community of Practice

Do you have new OT’s or PT’s in your district? Let them know about the OT and PT Community of Practice series. The next session is Tuesday October 21, 2025 3:30-4:30. Topic: Q and A Medicaid SBS Expansion and collaborative IEP planning and shared goals. Register here for this session.

New to Schools Bootcamp for SLPs, OTs PTs and Educational Audiologists

Do you have new and novice SLPs, OTs, PTs and Educational Audiologists in your district? Let them know about this FREE series covering federal and state regulations to comprehensive evaluations and evidence-based, best practices, this series will prepare early career and new to schools professionals for school-based service delivery. The first session is September 26, 2025. Link to this flyer for more information and registration.

New Resources

Educational and Medical Decision-Making for Children in Out-of-Home Care Webinar Recording and Slides

In this webinar hosted by the Children’s Court Improvement Project (CCIP), the laws and policies governing educational and medical decision-making for children placed in out-of-home care or under a guardianship were reviewed. The presenters from the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Children and Families explained when court orders and releases are required, as well as the rights retained by the parents. The webinar also included information on applying the reasonable and prudent parent standard to provide normalcy for these children. Visit the CCIP Training Calendar to access the recording. To access the slides, click on this direct link or find them in the Training Materials section of the Resources Page. (Note: The training did not originally cover the requirement of holding a Best Interest Determination (BID) meeting for school enrollment decisions when a student is in placed in Out-of-Home Care or has a change in placement. More information on the BID Process can be found on the DPI Best Interest Determination Webpage.)