St. John Lutheran has applied to participate in the state-wide WI Parental Choice Program (WPCP) for 2026-2027. This program allows students to attend participating private schools tuition free, provided they meet certain income and attendance requirements.

WHO should apply? A family must have an income at or below 220% of the federal poverty limit and live in WI.

Age: Students ages 4 - 20 on or before September 1 are eligible to apply for the Choice program. A student must be at least the following age on or before September 1: 4 years old for K4, 5 years old for K5 and 6 years old for grade 1.

For first time applications into the WPCP, students must:

(1) be applying to grades K4, K5, 1, or 9, OR
(2) meet one of the following requirements for the 2025-26 school year: (a) attended a public school in Wisconsin; (b) attended school in another state; (c) were not enrolled in school (including homeschool for the entire 2025-26 school year); (d) participated in the MPCP, RPCP or WPCP; (e) are on a MPCP, RPCP or WPCP waiting list, OR
(3) are applying to the WPCP and are on any prior year WPCP waiting list in 2015-16 or later due to a school district enrollment cap.

WHEN to apply? Starting this year, there will be multiple open application periods. Please submit all documentation to the school office by the last day of the open application period in which you have applied. If applying before 2025 taxes are filed, 2024 income will be used. USE THIS LINK: Private School Choice Programs: Student Applications (Information for Parents & Schools) | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Open Application Periods:

February (Feb 02 - Feb 20, 2026)
March (Mar 01 - Mar 20, 2026)
April (Apr 01 - Apr 20, 2026)
May (May 01 - May 20, 2026)
June (Jun 01 - Jun 22, 2026)
July (Jul 01 - Jul 20, 2026)
August (Aug 01 - Aug 20, 2026)
September (Sep 01 - Sep 14, 2026)

HOW to apply? Parents complete the online application each year and provide schools with proof of residency and, if using the DPI method, proof of income. If they applied in 2024, they should log on using the same email address and password that they used last year. Please also present a birth certificate for your child to the school office. Copies are not needed and the original will be returned to you.

HOW to qualify? Income eligibility for the WPCP is based on the parent’s prior year (2025) income.

• Dept. of Revenue method (DOR): Schools enter the parent’s social security number into the online application system and perform the DOR check to import income data. DOR will first check for prior year (2025) income information. If 2025 information is not available, DOR will check records from 2024.

Dept of Public Instruction method: If the family chooses to use the DPI method to verify income, they must provide proof of their 2025 income.

WPCP Program Brochure - USE THIS LINK: Wisconsin Private School Choice Program Overview
WPCP Frequently Asked Questions - USE THIS LINK: Private School Choice Programs: Frequently Asked Questions for Parents | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Family income includes the income of the child’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) that reside in the same household as the student applicant.
The following are NOT included in the family income calculation:

Public assistance programs such as Wisconsin Works (W2) cash benefits and FoodShare (food stamps), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Caretaker Supplement.
Child support payments. Alimony payments are considered taxable income and would be included in family income.
Social security benefits.
Supplemental Security Income “SSI” benefits are not included in total income.
Amounts received under W2 (Wisconsin Works) by an individual for job access loans, health care coverage, child care subsidies, and transportation assistance. Amounts received under W2 for trial jobs are considered taxable wages and would be included in family income.
Tax credits such as the federal earned income credit, the federal child tax credit, the Wisconsin earned income credit and the Wisconsin homestead credit.

Family size includes parents/guardians and their children by birth, marriage or adoption that reside in the same household as the student applicant. Foster children and children in the kinship care program are counted as a family of one (1) because they are still supported by the state or county. Therefore, the income of parents/guardians is not counted when determining eligibility for the Choice program. The parent/guardian should indicate that the pupil is in kinship care or foster care on the online parent application.

220% of the Federal Poverty Level for 2026-27
Family Size Yearly Income Must Not Exceed
1 $34,430
2 $46,530
3 $58,630
4 $70,730
5 $82,830
6 $94,930
For each additional member add $12,100.

*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).

RESIDENCY VERIFICATION All applicants must submit current residency documentation (dated within 90 days of the application period) directly to the school during the open application period to which they have applied. Acceptable proof of residency:

Wage statement or W2 year-end earnings statement that is in the name of one of the parents/guardians at the address on the student application and dated within 3 months of when the application is received.
Water, sewer, gas, electric, cable, satellite, or landline phone bill in the name of one of the parents/guardians at the address on the student application and dated within 3 months of when the application is received. Cell phone bills are not acceptable.
Lease agreement with a term that includes the date the parent applies to the school that is in the name of one of the parents/guardians at the address on the student application. Expired leases are not acceptable.
Governmental correspondence that is in the name of one of the parents/guardians at the address on the student application and dated within 3 months of when the application is received. Examples include a property tax bill, Supplemental Security Income “SSI”, Wisconsin Works “W2” Cash Benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families “TANF,” Food Share “Food Stamps,” or Housing Assistance letter with the address listed and the name of the parent/guardian. Printed statements from Access.gov can be used as residency support if the statement includes a date that is within 3 months of when the application is received.

SECURITY E-MAIL VERIFICATION A security feature will be included in the online parent application to help ensure application related emails are sent to a parent’s correct email address. This feature will send an email to the parent’s email account after the parent logs into the online parent application and will ask the parent to verify the email address.

Parents applying to the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program will verify their email address when they log into the system to apply for the 2026-27 school year. Once an email address is verified, it will not need to be verified in the future.

Please remember only parents may use the online parent application. Email addresses used to apply must be the parent’s address and passwords may not be shared. Schools can answer questions and have computers available for parents to use.

How the process works:

The parent or guardian logs into the online parent application.
Once logged in, the application will take the parent to an instruction page on how to verify the email address. The parent’s instructions read as follows:

You need to verify your email address for the Private School Choice Program Online Application.
Go to the inbox for your email account for: “email address@email.com”
Click the "Confirm Email Address" link in the email to confirm your email address.

Once the parent clicks the “Confirm Email Address” link in the email, the link will take the parent to the email verification confirmation page where it notifies the parent that their email address has been verified.
On the email verification confirmation page, the parent will be instructed to click on a link to return to the online parent application log-in page where the parent will need to enter his or her email and password to continue the application process.

Please note the following regarding the email verification process:

Parent does not receive verification email: Please note that it may take 5 minutes to 24 hours for the email to arrive. The parent should check his or her spam or junk folders for an email from PrivateSchoolChoice@dpi.wi.gov with a subject of "Verify your School Choice Program Email Address".
Parent must have a valid email: If the parent does not have a valid email, the parent will need to create an email using any email provider (such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook.com).
Parent does not remember the password to their email account: The parent must use the email provider password recovery service or create a new email address to use in the online parent application.
Email address is incorrect or the parent no longer has access to the email account: The parent must create a new Choice application account using a new email address. The only impact that the parent will have when using a new email address is that the parent will need to re-enter data. The system remembers and recognizes continuing students by their first and last names with date of birth.
Need a new verification email sent: If a parent has not verified his or her email address, the parent may go to the login page for the online parent application and enter their email and password again and a new verification email will be generated.

Parents or guardians enrolling students for the Choice program should direct any questions to St. John Lutheran at (920) 893-5114 or kmeyer@sjlplymouth.com

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