May Demographics Snapshot, May 12, 2026: Public Schools

Public School District Communication

Date: 04/07/2026
To: WISEdata public district primary, secondary, and generic contacts
From: Partner Support Team, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Subject: May Demographics Snapshot, May 12, 2026
 

Hello,
 

DPI will conduct the WISEdata May Demographic Snapshot on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Please take this opportunity to review your student data to ensure your enrollment and demographic information is up-to-date and accurate for the snapshot. DPI recommends the best practices of completing all submissions and updates by close of business Friday, May 8, to allow for any network congestion or data flow delay. Monday, May 11, is the final day to make all data submissions and updates in advance of the snapshot.
We recommend that LEAs proactively address issues well before the snapshot date. Data not received by DPI prior to the snapshot will not be included in the snapshot!

• Data not entered into your SIS cannot flow to DPI.

• Please track the data flow between your SIS vendor tool and the WISEdata Portal. Data flow issues may prevent or slow down your data from updating during the nightly sync. 

•  You need to work with your vendor support staff to resolve data flow issues. You can review the WISEdata Portal Home Screen mini tutorial for more information on resolving data flow issues. 

DPI also reviews your data in advance of the snapshot. Based on that review, our data warehouse automatically generates various Data Quality Alerts. Schools whose data looks in good shape will not receive these alerts. If your agency does receive a Data Quality Alert in the WISEdata Portal, it will alert you to data quality issues that you should address prior to snapshot. These alerts will appear in the WISEdata Portal on April 15.
 

Shortly after April 15, Partner Support will contact your district and school if you have a data quality issue. You could also get direct help with your Data Quality Alerts by attending one of the WISE Workshops happening virtually or in person throughout April.
 

DPI uses the information captured in this snapshot for state and federal accountability purposes this year as well as in future years. Specifically, DPI links the demographics and enrollments captured in this snapshot to the assessment results for required reporting.
 

The snapshot will capture the following demographics for public school districts:

• disability 

• economically disadvantaged status 

• EL status

• food services eligibility

• gender

• grade level 

• homeless status

• parent in military

• race/ethnicity 

For additional information, review the "May Demographics Snapshot: What's Collected?" section of the Snapshot Preparation Guidance webpage. 

Data Element Details and Resources

Disability

This consists of a collection of data elements, including Disability, Student Special Education Program Begin and End Date, SSEPA Record. 

Economically Disadvantaged Status

The two data elements for Economically Disadvantaged Status are Economically Disadvantaged Status and Food Services Eligibility. It is especially important that you submit the most up-to-date data for the two economically disadvantaged data elements.
 

All schools participating in the National School Lunch (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Programs (SBP) must obtain the most up-to-date food services eligibility data for the 2025-26 school year in order to correctly issue Summer EBT benefits to eligible students. Please work with your school/district’s Determining Official, as listed in the School Nutrition Online Contract, to ensure that data is reported accurately and completely. 
 

See the following guidelines for reporting Food Services Eligibility:

NSLP Pricing Schools (not participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP))

• Ensure that only students with access to at least one meal while in attendance have their food services eligibility reported as free, reduced, or paid. 

  • Report students without access to meals while in attendance with the ‘Unknown’ status.

  • Continue conducting Direct Certification and processing Household Applications for Free and Reduced Priced Meals as outlined in the General Calendar of Program Requirements. 

• Consult the Bureau of School Nutrition for assistance with determining free and reduced-price meal eligibility by emailing DPIFNS@dpi.wi.gov. 

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Schools

• Ensure that only students with access to at least one meal have their food services eligibility reported as free, since all students with access to meals while in attendance receive their meals at no cost.

  • Use the ‘Unknown’ status for students without access to meals while in attendance.

• Continue distributing and processing the Alternate Household Income Form to determine Economically Disadvantaged Status.

• Conduct Direct Certification as required in the CEP Calendar of Program Requirements. 

  • Consult the Bureau of School Nutrition CEP Specialists for assistance at DPI.CEP@dpi.wi.gov.

Schools not participating in the NSLP/SBP

• All students should have their food services eligibility status reported as ‘Unknown’ since schools not participating in the USDA school nutrition programs do not determine eligibility for NSLP/SBP. It is imperative to review the Economically Disadvantaged Status for all students prior to the snapshot.

Please take advantage of these guidance resources on submitting Economic Status data: 

• WISEdata Understanding Economically Disadvantaged Status Data e-learning 

• Snapshot Preparation, How-To Audit for: Economic Disadvantaged Status Data 

• Food Service collection data element pages

• Student Food Services Program Association Record

EL Status

This consists of multiple data elements, including EL Status, ACCESS score, and ELP codes. Please take advantage of the Finding Prior year ACCESS Scores and ELP Codes mini tutorial for guidance. 

Gender

This consists of a single data element: Gender. Please visit the Data Elements for Students Who Are Transgender webpage for details on how to maintain accurate student records for LGBTQ+ students.

Grade Level

This consists of a single data element: Grade Level. 

Homeless Status: 

This consists of a collection of data elements. For students with a Homeless Status of True, there should also be a Student Homeless Program Association that includes Homeless Primary Nighttime Residence Type, Homeless Unaccompanied Youth, and Student Homeless Program Association Begin and End Dates. Visit the Programs data element page for details on the Student Homeless Program Association Record.

Parent in Military

This consists of a single data element, Parent in Military. This data element encompasses the response to three questions, resulting in a True/False value in WISEdata Portal. Definitions for military branches and terms are defined by 10 U.S.C. 101 and are all provided on the data element webpage. 

Race/Ethnicity

This consists of a single data element: Race/Ethnicity, composed of a two-part question:

1. Is the person Hispanic or Latino? 

2. Select one or more of the following categories that apply to this person.

Other Helpful Resources and Snapshot Training

WISEdata Portal Exports

WISEdata Portal export files are a good resource to use when verifying student counts and demographic data. Some export spreadsheets that may be helpful are:

• Student Demographics: Student Characteristics

• Student Demographics: Economically Disadvantaged Status and Food Services Eligibility Export

• Special Education: Special Education Data Export

Helpful Web Resources

• WISEdash for Districts May Demographics Snapshot Dashboard tutorial webpage

• Annual Tasks Checklist webpage, May Snapshot section

WISE Regional Workshops

This spring, DPI Partner Support is coming to an area near you to assist you in preparing for the May Demographics Snapshot and year-end tasks, as well as to provide one-on-one support. Registration is now open! 

• April 14, Virtual Session (No need to register!), 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

• April 15 – Middleton Public Library (Middleton) 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

• April 20 – CESA 7 (Green Bay) 12 – 4 p.m.

• April 27 – CESA 1 (Pewaukee) 12 – 4 p.m.

Visit the WISEtraining, Slides and Videos webpage to access the current year’s slide deck. Partner Support will upload a recording of the April 14 virtual training after April 24, 2026.
 

To stay in the loop about training events such as these, join the WISE Community! Partner Support posts information here about DPI systems that affect our school users, notifications about upcoming events, timely reminders, and reporting information. Members can also chat with each other - find out who uses the same SIS vendor tool and ask each other questions, get help on how to resolve errors and warnings, and make new connections!
 

You can also subscribe to the WISE Insights monthly newsletter. Partner Support publishes this newsletter monthly on the third Tuesday. The newsletter contains sections of upcoming dates and announcements, as well as news covering WISEid, WISEdash, WISEdata, WISEstaff, School Directory, and more WISE applications. 
 

If you have questions or issues at any point, please reach out to us by submitting a WISE Help Ticket. Thank you for your continued attention to data quality!
 

Warm Regards,
 

DPI Partner Support