Trinity Lutheran School Rantoul is seeking to participate in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) for the 2024-2025 school year.
Under this program, funded by the State of Wisconsin, parents have a choice in how their tax dollars are spent on the education of their children. This program allows more families to choose Christian education for their sons or daughters and allows Trinity Rantoul to continue our mission of sharing God’s Word and the love of Jesus with our students and their families, as well as continuing to provide our students with an excellent Christ-centered education.
Trinity encourages all qualifying families to apply. Qualification is based upon completing an application on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) website (which requires setting up an account with email verification to submit application information), meeting income limits for households, and being able to provide residency documentation.
Parents must go to the Wisconsin DPI website to apply for the 2023-2024 school year once the application window has opened. This is a limited application window (which includes providing applicable documentation), beginning the first weekday of February and ending the third Thursday in April. No exceptions are granted by the DPI for late applications. We encourage families seeking to apply to start their application as early as possible to allow for time to get questions answered and obtain necessary documentation. Parent email verification is also a part of the application process. It may take 5 minutes to 24 hours for the verification email to be received by the applicant. The application process can be completed once the verification has arrived. Once your application has been entered, the DPI site will list what documentation is needed for you to bring to Trinity for verification. Trinity will host an open house for families to come in and meet with our Choice Administrator (Nicole Lau) and Choice Designees for any questions that arise as families apply.
SCHOOL CHOICE FAQ
Why is Trinity seeking to participate in the Wisconsin “School Choice” program?
The Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) allows parents who meet eligibility requirements to choose a Christian education for their son or daughter. This state-funded program allows more families to choose this educational option for their children. Additionally, it costs approximately $8,400 annually to educate a child across the state. Currently Trinity’s member tuition is a fraction of the overall cost to educate. The School Choice program not only covers our qualifying families’ tuition contributions, but also the additional cost to educate that Trinity congregation currently contributes. This additional funding will allow our school to further advance our curriculum and program offerings, supporting the long-term future of Trinity Lutheran School.
How do parents apply for the WPCP?
There are two parts to the process. First, parents must apply online on the Wisconsin DPI website. Applicants must have an email address. There is a limited application window (which includes providing required documentation to the school), beginning the first weekday in February and ending the third Thursday in April. No exceptions are granted by the DPI for late applications. Once the application window opens, we will post a link to the DPI parent application on our website. After parents complete their online application, they must bring the required supporting documentation to the Trinity Lutheran School office for our Choice Administrator and/or Designees for verification. The DPI application web page will tell parents the documents they need to bring to the school for verification. For confidentiality purposes, only the School Choice Administrator and Designees will have access to any application information and supporting documentation. This information will also be reviewed by our independent auditor that will review our adherence to program guidelines each year.
We encourage families seeking to apply to start their application as early as possible to allow for time to get questions answered and obtain necessary documentation. Parent email verification is also a part of the application process. It may take 5 minutes to 24 hours for the verification email to be received by the applicant.
| 2024-25 Income Limits | ||
|---|---|---|
| Family Size | MPCP and RPCP Yearly Income* | WPCP Yearly Income* |
| 1 | $43,740 | $32,076 |
| 2 | $59,160 | $43,384 |
| 3 | $74,580 | $54,692 |
| 4 | $90,000 | $66,000 |
| 5 | $105,420 | $77,308 |
| 6 | $120,840 | $88,616 |
| For each additional member add: |
$15,420 | $11,308 |
| *If the student’s parents/legal guardians are married, their income is reduced by $7,000 when determining income eligibility for the program (i.e. married family income minus $7,000 is the amount married families compare to the table). |
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What methods can be used for income verification?
There are two methods by which families can prove income eligibility – the WI Department of Revenue method (DOR method) or the WI Department of Public Instruction Income Determination method (DPI method).
- The DOR method can only be used if a family has filed their WI state taxes for the last two tax filing years and their household filers have the same status (married, single, widowed, etc.). After selecting to use the DOR method, families will provide their personal information (i.e. social security number) and the Department of Revenue will determine whether the student is income eligible based upon either of the prior two year’s tax filings (which is considered a final decision).
- The DPI method has families answer a series of income questions in the online parent application and then submit documentation to Trinity’s Choice Administrator/Designees to review the applicable income documentation to make the eligibility decision. An applicant can select either that they have filed their federal tax form for the most current filing year and provide the adjusted gross income from that Federal 1040 tax filing, or, if the family has not yet filed their taxes but want to file, they need to select from a list of their sources of income from the most recent tax year (W2’s, 1099’s, governmental assistance, etc.). Those forms then need to be provided to the Choice Administrator to calculate the income level of the household to determine eligibility.
There are certain situations in which the DPI method MUST be used to qualify (i.e. recent family divorce, recent loss of a parent). The majority of families in other School Choice programs apply under the DPI method.
What are the residency requirements for the WPCP?
For the next 2 school years, we are under a combined school agreement with St. John’s Lutheran in Plymouth, WI, who has been in the School Choice program since inception. This combined school agreement allows all our current families to apply for the Choice Program. Starting with the 2025-26 school year, the following requirements must be met in order to be eligible to apply:
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- Was enrolled in a public school in the district where the student lives in the prior year;
- Was not enrolled in school in the prior year;
- Participated in the choice program in the prior year;
- Is applying to 4K, Kindergarten, 1st, or 9th grade for the 2022-2023 school year.
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Does Trinity encourage parents to apply for the WPCP?
Trinity hopes that all income eligible families will apply for this voucher program. This program not only assists families with tuition assistance, but also provides Trinity additional funding to further our mission of providing an exceptional Christ-centered Christian education for our students.
How are students chosen for the “School Choice” program?
- from families who meet the income guidelines are chosen through a lottery system governed by the State of Wisconsin. Selected students will receive a voucher from the State of Wisconsin to apply to their schooling. Families selected will be notified in summer and will have the opportunity to choose their school and accept or decline the voucher. Parents of students chosen in the random drawing MUST let Trinity know of their acceptance and indicate whether or not their student(s) will attend the school. It is our understanding that the three public school districts in which our families live (Hilbert, Brillion, Chilton) have open, unused vouchers, which should allow for our qualifying families to be selected by the State for a voucher.
What if my family qualifies, but my student is not chose for the WPCP?
If this situation arises, please contact our School Choice Administrator and we will discuss additional options for the current school year. Please note that if your family meets all qualifications, but is not selected through the lottery for a voucher, they may continue applying in future school years (without needing to re-qualify for income eligibility).
Additional Helpful Resources
The Application Process Presentation, Online Parent Application Print Screens, Frequently Asked Questions resource, and the Overview of Private School Choice Programs in Wisconsin handout at dpi.wi.gov/choice can help parents complete the application process and learn more about the Choice program and student eligibility.
What can be done to promote the “School Choice” program?
Please share the news about this exciting way to provide a high-quality Christian education with your friends and neighbors who might be interested. For those who are politically minded and involved, you may wish to share your thoughts with your state leaders on the value of this program.
