The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for individuals 16 years of age or older with the new name Comirnaty on August 23, 2021. Vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15 continue to be available under emergency use. Because Comirnaty is approved for some people and not others, a new [...]
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Current Events
A library of WCRIS weekly E-letters that keeps you updated on issues of concern to private schools
U.S. Presidential Scholars Nominations
August 26, 2021
As a reminder, high school principals can nominate high school seniors to apply to the US Presidential Scholars Program. Students must be graduating between January and August 2022. High school principals should have received a nomination link from the DPI. If you have any questions, please email Chris Tiedje at Christine.Tiedje@dpi.wi.gov
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EANS: Round 2
August 19, 2021
WCRIS is working with the Department of Public Instruction on the state’s application to participate in the second round of EANS, now being called ARP-EANS (shorthand for the American Rescue Plan – Emergency Assistant for Non-public Schools). The application is due from the Governor to the US Department of Education by September 9. State officials [...]
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Access Low Interest Building Loans
August 19, 2021
Private schools have access to state-sponsored, tax-exempt, low-interest loans to fund their building projects, thanks to advocacy by WCRIS several years ago. This can save your school hundreds of thousands of dollars. This past year, Wisconsin Lutheran High School was able to get its original construction loan refinanced by the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities [...]
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Non-COVID Immunization Requirements
August 19, 2021
For decades, state law has required that any student admitted to any elementary or secondary school or any child care center or nursery school must present, after 30 days of being admitted to the school, a written record of having received the proper immunizations for the child’s particular grade. These cover the usual measles, mumps, [...]
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More Help for SNSP Students
August 19, 2021
Families with students with disabilities, who do not qualify for Medicaid because of family income levels, can access help through the Katie Beckett Medicaid program. This Department of Health Services program provides families a Medicaid card to cover the services that may not be covered by their private insurance. Your school families can learn more [...]
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Final 2021-22 Voucher Amounts
August 19, 2021
There has been some confusion around what the final voucher amounts will be for the upcoming school year. The final amounts as reported last week from the DPI are: K-8: $8,336 9-12: $8,982 SNSP: $13,013
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Tax Withholding to Help Families Save
August 12, 2021
When the state budget was recently being passed, the Governor and Legislature disagreed on tax policy so the state’s critical tax withholding charts will not be updated but the state’s tax brackets are changing. This means people are now paying more taxes to the state that they do not owe. The state gets to use [...]
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Emergency Connectivity Fund Closes Aug. 13
August 05, 2021
There is still time for schools to apply for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF). Schools have until August 13, 2021, to apply. The ECF is designed to fill in gaps in remote learning technology needs. This includes laptops and mobile hotspots for remote learning. The program is complicated and has a [...]
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Plan Now to Keep EANS Purchases in 2023
July 15, 2021
The federal EANS I grant period will end on September 30, 2023. The DPI has issued guidance indicating that when the grant expires the titles to any materials, supplies and contracts that are eligible under another active federal grant can be transferred to the appropriate federal program. For example, physical education equipment purchased under the [...]
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