AB 495

Current law generally limits the total amount of revenue per pupil that a school district may receive from general school aids and property taxes in a school year to the amount of revenue allowed per pupil in the previous school year plus a per pupil adjustment, if any, as provided by law. Current law, which was upheld in

LeMieux v. Evers

, 2025 WI 12, provides an annual $325 per pupil adjustment until 2425. Under this bill, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the per pupil adjustment is the per pupil increase for the previous school year as adjusted for any increase in the consumer price index.

The bill also increases the amount of funding distributed to school districts as state aid through the equalization formula by $493,800,000 in the 2025-26 school year and by $699,900,000 in the 2026-27 school year. Under current law, a school district is guaranteed an amount of general equalization aid equal to at least 85 percent of the amount it received in the previous school year.

The bill also provides an additional $31 million for additional aid to ensure that each school district receives total state aid in the 2025-26 school year in an amount that is no less than what it received in the 2024-25 school year. Specifically, under the bill, if the estimated total amount of state aid for a school district in the 2024-25 school year, as calculated on October 15, 2024, is greater than the estimated total amount of state aid for a school district in the 2025-26 school year, as calculated on October 15, 2025, the Department of Public Instruction must pay the school district additional state aid in an amount necessary to ensure the school district receives an amount of total state aid in the 2025-26 school year that is equal to the amount calculated on October 15, 2024. The additional aid is considered state aid for purposes of school district revenue limits.