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To: All public school WISEdata primary, secondary, and generic contacts  
Date: 7/22/2025 
Subject: DPI Back to School Reminders & Updates  
 

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year!  
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) welcomes you back to school, and the DPI Partner Support Team (formerly Customer Services) is here to help!  
 
This is a lengthy communication, broken into the following sections:  
  • School year close-out tasks for 2024-25 year-end data 
  • Beginning of school year tasks for 2025-26 
  • Training opportunities for the 2025-26 school year and ways to stay connected 
  • 2025-26 WISE webpages with updated content 
 
We encourage you to read it all to ensure you don’t miss any key updates. We also have a printable back-to-school checklist for you below that you can find on the Annual Tasks Checklist page.  

Public Schools: Back to School Checklist
(NOTE: Checklist does not contain all information in this communication.)


To-Do: 2024-25 Data Review  
DPI does not have an official summer deadline, but we still encourage you to submit and clean up your 2024-25 data before the 2025-26 school year begins. DPI will review specific data areas to identify any glaring issues but can’t review data that has not made it to DPI.  

Mid-August:  
DPI will review the below data areas:  
  • Pay attention to validation errors and warnings related to 0% and 100% attendance.  

Late August:  
  • DPI Partner Support will contact schools identified as needing more assistance with the above data areas. We will connect with the WISEdata contacts listed.   
  • If no new 2025-26 school contacts have been entered into WISEdata at that time, we will use contacts from last school year.   
  • If you know of someone new who might not have received this communication, please forward it and ensure they are added as a WISEdata contact.  
 

To-Do: 2025-26 New School Year Tasks 

Ed-Fi Credential Updates and SIS Vendor Certification 
NEW! For the 2025-26 school year and onward, there will be new URLs for every new school year. Additionally, LEAs will need to create or resubscribe to vendor subscriptions annually for all vendors. Detailed instructions with screenshots for this new process are provided on the  Ed-Fi Credential Application User Guide webpage. These changes will be demonstrated at the Back to School Kickoffs, and they were also demonstrated during the May 27, 2025, WISE User Group.  
 
NOTE: If you’re a member of the WISE Community, you can find this recording in the WISE Community SharePoint drive, WISE User Group, Videos folder. Not a member of the WISE Community? Read the ‘Stay Connected All Year Long’ section below to join! You’ll then be able to access all WISE Community resources. 
 
The Ed-Fi Credential application Key changes are the reason you need to resubscribe to your SIS vendor applications each year. Each year you will get an updated set of credentials (i.e., Key and Secret). Then you will need to provide these credentials and the URLS to your vendor each year. The annual resubscriptions eliminate the need for “access years”, making the process simpler. This annual renewal of credentials also adds increased security measures for safe data flow.  
 
Switching or adding SIS vendors? The timing of a change in SIS is critical. If you are switching, please let us know as soon as possible by starting a Help Ticket and selecting “SIS Conversion: New SIS Set-up" from the application drop-down. It is important that Ed-Fi Credential subscriptions are set up correctly and that any data from a prior vendor is available for all applicable future snapshots. You can also review our SIS conversion guidance for in-depth info.  

Update Agency Contacts 
Please check your contacts to confirm that everything is up to date. An out-of-date contact list means that important communications will not get to the right people. Updating your primary, secondary, generic, and snapshot-specific contacts is a very important step for each new school year, as well as any time throughout the school year if/when staffing changes occur.  
 
Review the Updating Agency Contacts mini tutorial for how to update contacts in: WISEadmin Portal, WISEdata Portal, WISEid, WISEstaff, and School Directory. Staff/Mandatory Contacts for School Directory Management Portal: For public LEAs for the 2025-26 school year, there is new guidance for how to add a School Counselor as a mandatory contact.  
 
Tasks for District Security Administrators (DSAs) and Application Administrators  
The June edition of the WISE Insights newsletter offered several helpful tips for DSAs: Spotlight on Strong Data: New District Administrators and Data Quality Tips for New District Administrators.  
 
A gentle reminder that along with onboarding new staff, DSAs and/or Application Administrators must also review role permissions in their DPI applications (e.g., WISEdata and the SPED Portal). They are also responsible for conscientious offboarding to ensure staff who have left have their access removed. 


WiSFiP: 2025-26 is a Dual Reporting Year 
The WiSFiP Pupil Count program is no longer in pilot mode. To simplify the process of data collection for district personnel responsible for the PI-1563 pupil counts, DPI is moving to dual reporting through WiSFiP and SAFR for the 2025-26 school year. All districts, statewide, will complete dual reporting between WiSFiP and SAFR in the 2025-26 school year. WiSFiP Pupil Count data element collection has been updated to reflect this change.  

If you have WiSFiP Pupil Count questions, contact the DPI School Finance Services (SFS) Team 
by email (dpifin@dpi.wi.gov) or by phone (608) 267-9114. 

If you need assistance from Partner Support (formerly Customer Services) about WISEdata Portal, please submit a WISE Help Ticket. 


2025-26 Hybrid Rostering Data for Act 20 
Starting in the 2025-26 school year, Pearson and Wisconsin DPI will utilize a flexible, hybrid approach to data required for the Act 20 screener assessments.  Student data will be rostered through the WISEdata API for all districts throughout the school year. Rostering student data through WISEdata ensures consistency across all districts and compliance with DPI’s data standards, especially when populating aimswebPlus with student WISEid’s, which are critical for sharing student screener results with DPI.  

The hybrid aspect of roster data relates to staff and classes/courses data. By default, staff and class data points will be loaded nightly through the WISEdata API beginning on August 1, 2025.

New for 2025-26, LEAs can decide whether to:  
  • continue populating staff and class data through WISEdata or  
  • move to update through a third-party vendor tool, such as Clever or ClassLink, for staff and class data.  

Additional information, including guidance documentation, will be shared on the aimswebPlus Wisconsin website soon. The WISEdata Portal School Roster Details Screen mini tutorial has been updated as well, for your reference.  


WISE/WISEdata Updates for 2025-26 

Data Elements: New Filters 
The ‘Collection’ filters on the Data Element landing page have been updated. Aligned with this update, Partner Support reviewed each of the 600+ data elements to ensure they are all correctly aligned to the appropriate filter/s. 

New Data Elements: 
Students in a Residential Care Center (RCC) Data Element Collection: NEW! for the 2025-26 school year, WISEdata has a set of data elements to annotate RCC placements within a student’s sSEPA Record. As such, locate these data elements using the Special Education collection filter. The Students in a Residential Care Center landing page lists all six data elements and also provides WISEdata reporting guidance. The RCC data element pages are:   
Shortened School Day Data Element Collection: NEW! for the 2025-26 school year, WISEdata has a set of data elements to annotate students with an IEP that assigns a shortened school day.   
PLEASE NOTE: Both data collections (Students in an RCC and Shortened School Day) are part of Reading Drives Achievement: Procedural Compliance Self-Assessment (RDA:PCSA). Collection of RCC and Shortened Day data is necessary for implementing the department’s compliance monitoring system required under state and federal special education law. Additionally, these data elements will also be included in one of the DPI annual snapshots; however, these new data elements will not be ‘snapped’ until 2026.  

Updated Data Elements: 
The Courses data element page is updated for the 2025-26 school year, displaying SCED 12. The Courses Export from WISEdata Portal reflects the course list as displayed in WISEdata Portal. A .csv file for the 2025-26 school year is linked to the Courses data element page. NOTE: It is strongly recommended that LEAs access the Courses list via WISEdata Portal, as this will provide the most up-to-date information. 
  • Rigor Level: We already announced in January that the Rigor Level property is being removed from the Master Course list starting with the 2025-26 school year. Rigor Level will also be removed as a column header from the WISEdata Portal Courses Export.  
  • Adding PLTW: Project Lead the Way has been added to the course list. The course-level characteristic descriptor “PLTW” will be visible on the master course list for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. This change will also be reflected in the WISEdata Portal Courses Export. Project Lead the Way courses from the 2024-25 school year may be included as an unscored element of the Advanced Courses section in the school and district report cards released for the 2025-26 school year. 
  • AP/IB Program: The WISEdata Portal Courses Export will feature a new column header in column J: AP/IB Program. If the cell reads, ‘N/A,’ that associated course is not within an AP or IB Program. 


WISEstaff/WISEid Updates for 2025-26 
WISEstaff Collection Timeline:  
DPI has set the deadlines for which agencies must submit staffing data for the 2025-26 collection year. These deadlines are established to facilitate the preliminary and final assignment audits, as well as publication of public staff data reports.  
 
Visit the WISEstaff Data Collection: Reporting Information page for more details.  
  • The WISEstaff application opens on 9/30/2025.   
  • The Preliminary Certification Deadline is on 11/11/2025. 
  • The Final Certification deadline is on 3/24/2026.  

WISEid and WISEstaff Files and Templates Webpages: All New Files 
All of the File Upload templates for WISEid and WISEstaff have been reviewed, revised, and redesigned for clearer communication and screen reader accessibility. The files are now linked as either a Microsoft Word Doc in Read Only mode or a Microsoft Excel .csv file. You can locate these files on the following webpages: 
Updated Guidance on Change Requests 
The WISEstaff Message Center User Guide section on change requests has been updated for the 2025-26 school year. Updates include new workflows for change requests with specific guidance on when change requests can be denied.   


2025-26 Training Opportunities 
WISEdata Calendar Events  
Back to School Kickoff Training 
We are pleased to announce the return of the WISE Back to School Kickoff! This year, our Kickoff training is split into two separate training opportunities for two unique audiences: new users and more experienced users. Regardless of your level of familiarity with WISE reporting, the trainings will provide opportunities for school staff to learn more about WISE, ask questions, and hear what questions other schools are asking about their data. All sessions are virtual.  
Attend the option that fits your schedule or experience level:  
New User Training for WISEdata Portal 
Aside from the Back to School Kickoff, Partner Support offers recurring, monthly WISEdata New User training sessions. The goal of this training is to teach you how to navigate the WISEdata Portal, troubleshoot errors/warnings in your data, and locate self-help resources. This course is for new users at the school and district level or those unfamiliar with the WISEdata Portal.  
  • First Wednesday of the Month: WISEdata New User Training, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. 

Weekly WISE User Group and WISEstaff User Group Webinars 
User Group calls occur regularly throughout the school year on Tuesdays. Hosted by Partner Support and assisted by guest speakers from DPI, you can ask questions specific to your data needs and receive immediate answers from real people - no robocall responses! The User Groups are for everyone, from the newest beginners to the most experienced. 

Stay Connected All Year Long! 
Join our WISE Community 
To hear the most up-to-date WISE-related announcements, learn about system updates, and connect with your peers for tips and guidance, join our Microsoft Teams WISE Community. It’s a collaborative space for asking questions, as well as the spot Partner Support will share training slide decks, user group materials, etc. If you would like to join the WISE Community, submit a Help Ticket with your name and work email address.  

Subscribe to the WISE Insights Newsletter 
WISE Insights is a monthly newsletter published on the third Tuesday of every month. The newsletter has five main article types: Spotlight on Data, Data Quality Tips, WISEdash Featured Dashboard, App Feature, and Upcoming Events and Data Milestones. Stories are chock-block full of great information, helpful tips, and hyperlinks to web resources. Subscribe today! 

Attend the WISEdata Conference! 
The DPI hosts the annual WISEdata Conference. The conference is free to attend (cost of rooms and travel are not covered).  The 11th annual WISEdata Conference will be held March 17 – 19, 2026, at the Chula Vista Resort! Visit the WISEdata Conference webpage to keep up on our ever-growing content for the 2026 event! 
 
A primary goal of the conference is two-fold:  
  1. To listen to the reporting, analysis, and data usage needs of its attendees (e.g., school districts, public and Choice schools, and CESAs), and 
  1. To provide sessions during the conference that address those needs. 
 
Please take the ‘Attendee Voice’ pre-conference survey. Your feedback will shape the session content, food options, and logistics for the 2026 WISEdata Conference. This survey closes Friday, August 1, 2025. Thank you so much for your valuable input!  
 

Thank You for Your Hard Work!  
As always, we thank you for working diligently to ensure that your staff and students’ needs are met. DPI is always here to assist and support you. We look forward to working with you!  
  • Remember to check the WISE Events Calendar for opportunities to join us for training sessions and weekly user group calls.  
 

Regards,  
~The DPI Partner Support Team  


 
Keywords: WISEdata; back to school, 2025-26; WISEstaff; WiSFiP; Ed-Fi; Ed-Fi Credential; ACT 20; WISEid; training; WISEdata Conference