WisPolitics

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly today called for increasing the special education rate and expanding mental health training programs available to Wisconsin schools as part of the 2025-27 biennial budget. The message comes as the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction published a report on the use of seclusion and physical restraint in schools during the 2023-24 school year, showing an increase in the practices. The data, reported to the DPI by school districts under 2019 Wisconsin Act 118, shows a 15.3 percent increase in incidents where seclusion was used on students, and an increase of 16.9 percent in incidents where physical restraint was used on students compared to the prior school year (2022-23).