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Milton board previews possible open-enrollment limits for 2025–26, citing special-education caseload pressures
Summary
District staff presented recommended caseload ratios and a draft open-enrollment approach for 2025–26 that could limit new nonresident students in some programs, citing projected staff-to-student ratios and a rise in students with disabilities who open-enroll to Milton.
Milton School District administrators on Jan. 13 presented a proposed approach to designating space availability for open enrollment in 2025–26, with a focus on special-education caseloads and program capacity. Director Julia told trustees the presentation is informational and that a memo and draft policy will return for action at a future meeting.
Julia said state statute requires boards to designate whether space is available for general-education and special-education open enrollment in the January meeting and to specify criteria in policy if limits are set. She reviewed historical and projected enrollment, current staffing, recommended caseload ratios drawn from neighboring districts and Badger Conference peers, and Department of Public Instruction (DPI) considerations. "We have 445 students with disabilities in our district, about 12.8 percent," Julia said, and noted the state average is roughly 14–15 percent.
The presentation flagged that 51 students with disabilities were open-enrolled to Milton as of Dec. 20, 2024. Julia said the district averages about 30 move-in students with IEPs per year and that projections add those move-ins when estimating next year’s ratios. She described recommended ratios for 2025–26 (example: early childhood 1 special-education teacher to every 10 students) and said the district would compare those recommendations to projected staff to determine whether "no space available" should be declared for particular programs.
Julia explained how a limitation would function: the policy must outline criteria, wait-list procedures, and allowable denial reasons; DPI would only overturn a denial if the district failed to follow its own policy during appeals. She said districts commonly grandfather current open-enrolled students and that most neighboring districts use grandfathering.
Trustees pressed for operational detail. Tracy asked whether general-education and special-education limits can be set separately; Julia confirmed they can. Board members also asked what happens when a student identified midyear develops special-education needs: trustees were told the student would be returned to the resident district if Milton cannot meet the needs. Board members asked about wait-list priority for currently enrolled nonresident students; Julia said that would be spelled out in the draft policy and noted some districts use first-come, first-served while others adopt randomized selection for limited spots.
Julia said one specific program would show limited capacity under proposed ratios: a middle-school complex-needs (bridal) program would have two available spots under the recommended 1:7 ratio. She emphasized the information is for discussion and that the administration will bring a formal recommendation, including a memo and policy language, to the board for action.
The board did not vote on policy changes or on designating space at the Jan. 13 meeting. The next step identified was a policy-committee discussion and a return to the full board with a draft policy and recommendation.
