Wisconsin: "Rising prevalence of mental health, behavior issues in classroom"

May 4, 2026, MacIver Institute: The Growing Burden of Behavior and Special Education in Wisconsin Classrooms

The Republican-led state legislature and the Evers administration have been clashing on how to best address the pressure being put on K-12 teachers due to the rising prevalence of mental health and behavior issues in the classroom.

On March 27, 2026, Governor Evers vetoed A.B. 614, a Republican-proposed bill that sought to give teachers more control over their classroom and control behavioral disruptions. A.B. 614 was introduced by Rep. Joy Goeben on October 31 of 2025, stemming directly from concerns over behavioral issues leading to lower educational outcomes for all students.

Additionally, as learning levels reach an all-time low, teacher resignation is reaching an all-time high, with students' disorderly behavior being cited as a top reason why. A.B. 614 sought to address this issue through four changes to classroom behavioral protocol.

First, A.B. 614 would clarify when students are being disruptive or violent enough for a teacher to remove that student from the classroom. Secondly, the bill would also require schools to create a better plan for classroom re-entry after a student has been removed for disruptive behavior. This would hopefully prevent students from simply being placed back into the classroom without any clear path to remedy their behavior issues. . . .

Governor Evers said he was choosing to veto A.B. 614 because he rejects the "Wisconsin State Legislature encroaching upon the daily decision-making of schools and school district boards.” The governor also added that Republican lawmakers have repeatedly rejected his calls for funding increases for behavioral and mental health support in schools, further stating that this is creating “a new unfunded mandate for school districts.” . . .

The debate over A.B. 614 comes on the heels of a bigger and growing issue in Wisconsin’s public schools, where behavioral issues, mental health problems, physical and mental disabilities, and classroom accommodations are all on the rise.

The IEP Designation

According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), roughly 14% of Wisconsin K-12 students have some form of disability as of 2021 and receive classroom accommodations through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

An IEP refers to a special agreement made between parents and the school, which outlines special educational needs or services for students with a qualifying disability. Schools conduct their own evaluations of the students’ disabilities, and no outside diagnosis is needed.

Of all Wisconsin students with IEPs, 20.56% have learning disabilities, 14.65% have autism, 21.05% have a speech or language impairment, 6.48% have an emotional behavioral disability, and 21.64% have a different health impairment. Other, smaller categories include deaf, blind, orthopedic impairment, and significant developmental delay. DPI does not offer public data breaking down the disabilities or impairments any further.

Moreover, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) also estimates that between 2020 and 2023, a whopping 9.9% of children in Wisconsin had ADHD. . . .

Meeting the needs for all of these Wisconsin students with physical, mental, and learning disabilities can be expensive. A recent study from the state of Ohio found that special education costs associated with a specific learning disability cost, on average, an extra $9,000 per student. Additionally, the costs associated with a student who has an autism spectrum disorder are an extra $37,000. We can expect that Wisconsin would have similarly high numbers to Ohio as they are both midwestern states with similar educational costs.

Moreover, most of these high costs are borne locally by the school districts. State reimbursements cover approximately 27% to 31% of IEP costs, with 59% of costs funded locally by the school district and 11% funded by the federal government through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

If a student’s IEP plan is considered “high cost,” meaning the cost exceeds $30,000 per year, the state will reimburse the school district at a 90% rate. . . .

Conclusion

Overall, Governor Evers' vetoes of A.B. 614 and 602 highlight the disagreement on how to best support Wisconsin’s students and special education needs.

As the number of students with IEPs, mental health challenges, and behavior issues continues to grow, Wisconsin lawmakers need to focus on taking a more targeted and transparent approach. This means looking at exactly what challenges and disabilities students are facing and seeing if disability funding is being effectively used to create good outcomes.

Spending on special needs has resulted in exorbitant costs that school districts have no ability to fund without going to referendum. However, simply allocating more state funding for disabilities and mental health with no clear goals, performance data, or accountability will only further raise Wisconsin's already high spending without solving the underlying reasons for widespread behavioral issues and disabilities among Wisconsin’s students.