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.
SB350 revises Wisconsin’s school mental health aid program by broadening the kinds of pupil-support spending that can be reimbursed by the state. Under current law, the program primarily reimburses school districts, independent charter schools, and participating private schools for increased spending on social workers. The bill expands that definition to include expenditures to employ, hire, or retain school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and school nurses, which the bill collectively defines as “pupil services professionals.”
The bill also simplifies the aid formula. It removes the current two-tier reimbursement structure and eliminates the requirement that a school entity must have increased its 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 on pupil services professionals could receive reimbursement, subject to available appropriations. The bill further increases the appropriation for the 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.
SB350 would amend state statutes governing aid under s. 115.364 and related appropriation language in s. 20.255 (2) (da), changing both the scope of reimbursable personnel costs and the distribution method for state aid. It would expand eligibility beyond social workers to include school counselors, school psychologists, and school nurses, and would make reimbursement available to school districts, independent charter schools, and private schools in choice programs that employ or retain these professionals. The bill would also repeal statutory provisions tied to the old incremental-growth reimbursement structure and replace them with a broader, prorated aid model funded by a larger appropriation.
The available context suggests generally favorable support for the bill’s policy goals, as reflected in the broad bipartisan and cross-chamber sponsorship listed in the bill text. The measure appears aimed at strengthening school-based mental health and student wellness services, a framing that is typically associated with positive legislative sentiment. However, no committee transcript or recorded vote information is available here, and the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, so there is no direct evidence of floor-level support or opposition in the provided record.
The main policy tension in SB350 is not whether to support student mental health services, but how broadly to define eligible staff and how to structure reimbursement. The bill moves away from a narrower program focused on social workers and from a formula that rewarded year-over-year spending increases, which could be seen as more flexible but also less targeted. Potential points of contention include the expanded fiscal commitment, the inclusion of private schools and charter schools in the aid program, and whether the state should reimburse ongoing staffing costs for a wider range of pupil services professionals rather than only incremental increases.