Wisconsin

Overview

During the 2021-2022 school year, Wisconsin preschool enrolled 45,746 children, an increase of 3,753 from the prior year, as the program began to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. State spending totaled $166,662,416, up $5,713,983 (4%), adjusted for inflation since last year. State spending per child equaled $3,643 in 2021-2022, down $190 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Note that state spending per child is an average figure; funding for Wisconsin Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K) is based on a formula that results in varying spending amounts per child. Wisconsin met 3 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

During the 2021-2022 school year, districts were required to provide instructional programming and family outreach (if applicable) similar to pre-COVID-19 within all Wisconsin Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K) and 4K Community Approach settings. Wisconsin 4K Community Approach sites (child care and Head Start) were also required to follow COVID-19 rules and regulations related to their licensing and performance standards. 

The final 2021-2023 biennial state budget did not increase educational funding at the state level. Rather, funds from the federal government (CARES, ESSER, etc.) have accounted for the increase in educational funding for the biennium for all grade levels.

Background

Since becoming a state in 1848, Wisconsin’s Constitution has included a promise to provide free, voluntary education for 4-year-olds. School districts are not required to offer a 4K program, but if they do, it must be open to all age-eligible children within the school district. 

Funding for 4K is part of the overall school funding formula. For state aid purposes, 4K students are counted as either .5 or .6 full time equivalent (FTE), depending on the services the school provides. Districts provide either 437 hours of instruction or 349.5 hours of instruction and 87.5 hours of family outreach (for .5 FTE membership aid) or 437 hours of instruction and 87.5 hours of family outreach (for .6 FTE membership aid). Funds for 4K are distributed to public schools, which may subcontract and collaborate with community providers per guidance of public education funding and state requirements. Operating schedules are locally determined with most programs operating part-day, four or five days per week and some operating full-day, two or three days per week. 

The Wisconsin Head Start State Supplement Grant is a separate budgetary item that offers state funding, via an application, to federal Head Start grantees in Wisconsin. Funding is used to supplement the provision of comprehensive early childhood education services for children and families enrolled in Early Head Start and Head Start. Awarded grantees continue to follow the federal Head Start Performance Standards. Ongoing collaborative efforts bring together Head Start technical assistance and training with other professional development efforts at both the state and local levels. The Wisconsin Head Start State Supplement Grant data is no longer included in this report beginning with the 2020-2021 school year since supplemental funds do not substantially expand the number of children served.

Wisconsin Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K)

Access

Total state pre-K enrollment	45,746
School districts that offer state program	99%
Income requirement	No income requirement
Minimum hours of operation	2.5 hours/day
Operating schedule	Determined locally
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	7,380
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	12,290
State-funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	592
Some Head Start children may also be counted in state pre-K. Estimates children in special education not also enrolled in state pre-K or Head Start.

Resources

Pre-K programs may receive additional funds from federal or local sources that are not included in this figure. K–12 expenditures include capital spending as well as current operating expenditures. Head Start per-child spending includes funding only for 3- and 4-year-olds.