An Act to repeal 115.364 (1) (a), (am) and (b), 115.364 (2) (a) 2. and 3. and 115.364 (2) (b) 2.; to renumber and amend 115.364 (1) (intro.) and 115.364 (2) (b) 1.; to consolidate, renumber and amend 115.364 (2) (a) (intro.) and 1.; to amend 20.255 (2) (da), 115.364 (title) and 118.40 (2r) (e) 2p. a. of the statutes; Relating to: school mental health and pupil wellness aid and making an appropriation.
AB343 would expand Wisconsin’s school mental health aid program into a broader “pupil wellness aid” program. Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction reimburses eligible school districts, charter schools, and participating private schools for increased spending to employ, hire, or retain social workers. This bill would broaden the eligible staff categories to include school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses, collectively defined as pupil services professionals.
The bill also changes how the aid is distributed. It eliminates the current two-tier reimbursement structure and removes the requirement that a school entity must have increased spending from one year to the next in order to qualify. Instead, any eligible local education agency that spent money in the prior school year to employ, hire, or retain pupil services professionals could receive reimbursement, subject to available appropriations. The bill increases the appropriation for this aid program by $16.5 million in fiscal year 2025-26 and $18 million in fiscal year 2026-27, and it takes effect after publication or after the 2025 biennial budget act, whichever is later.
AB343 would amend Wisconsin statutes governing categorical aid for school mental health programs, including sections 20.255, 115.364, and related charter school provisions in 118.40. It would replace references to social workers alone with the broader category of pupil services professionals, expand the pool of reimbursable school staff, and simplify the reimbursement formula by removing the incremental-spending trigger and the second-tier payment process. The bill would directly affect school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools participating in parental choice programs, while increasing state spending from the DPI appropriation for this aid program.
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill’s goal of supporting student mental health and school-based support services. The measure was introduced with a large bipartisan-looking coalition of Assembly and Senate cosponsors, which suggests broad interest in expanding school support staffing. However, the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, indicating that it did not clear the full legislative process despite its support at introduction.
The main policy dispute appears to be over the scope and structure of the aid program. Supporters likely favored expanding reimbursement beyond social workers to include counselors, psychologists, and nurses, and making aid available without requiring year-over-year spending increases. Potential concerns would include the fiscal cost of the expanded appropriation, the shift away from a targeted incentive for increased hiring, and whether the broader reimbursement model would dilute resources or change program priorities. The bill text itself does not include committee debate, so the specific objections are not documented here, but the changes to eligibility and funding are the most likely points of contention.