High Cost Special Education Aid

Overview

High Cost Special Education Aid (HCSE) provides additional support for school districts and other eligible LEAs serving students with disabilities that are significant and costly. Agencies apply for partial reimbursement of the costs for individual students in the previous fiscal year.

This program provides additional special education aid to Wisconsin school districts, independent charter schools (ICS'), Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) or County Children with Disability Education Boards (CCDEBs). An LEA is eligible if a student with disabilities has actual, additional, non-administrative costs of special education and related services in excess of $30,000. Some reimbursements are excluded. High Cost Special Education Aid is administered under s. 115.881, Wis. Stats., and PI 30, Wis. Admin. Code.

Claims for FY2025-26 eligible costs may be reported beginning December 14, 2026 and are due on March 1, 2027. The FY2026-27 appropriation is $54,450,300.

Eligible Costs

Eligible costs are defined in the program guidance document.

Application Process

Application step-by-step instructions. | How to access WiSFiP.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Review our list of frequently asked questions.

WISEid Troubleshooting

LEAs must be in agreement with FAPE responsibility and enrollment reporting. Please be sure to communicate with your partnering LEA to resolve any conflicts and see this webpage for common issues and resolutions.

Open an online WISEdata help ticket.

Upcoming Reporting Period: Fiscal reporting of eligible FY2025-26 high-cost special education expenditures will begin on December 14, 2026 and close on March 1, 2027.

Items to have ready prior completing the application:

WISEid verification of FAPE for your resident district
Verification of IEP indicated time duration for services provided to each student
Staff valid license confirmation through ELO lookup tool
Contact the licensing team directly for assistance prior to submission of any data

High-Cost Special Education Presentation Slide Decks (in revision for FY27)

Payment Details for June 2026

The High-Cost Special Education Aid is a sum-certain appropriation in the state's biennial budget. The FY2025-26 appropriation was $29,086,700. The prorated reimbursement aid rate was 31.02% of each student's cost above $30,000.  The HCSE aid payment was made on the third Monday in June. Revenue is coded to Fund 27, source 625. Please see the STAR Aids Register for your agency payment information.