Educational Options Notice

The Green Bay Area Public School District 2026-27 Notice Of Educational Options For Children Who Reside In The School District And Special Needs Scholarship Program

The Green Bay Area Public School District educates all students to be college, career and community ready, inspired to succeed in our diverse world. The District offers students a variety of educational options throughout their 4K-12 educational experience. 

The District’s primary educational pathway and instructional program for students involves a progression from 4-year-old kindergarten through 12th grade, leading to a high school diploma. 

The District’s schools are listed below with their corresponding DPI-issued report card overall accountability score, unless no score was issued. The state provides a star rating to each of the District’s schools: 5 stars – significantly exceeds expectations, 4 stars – exceeds expectations, 3 stars – meets expectations, 2 stars – meets few expectations, 1 star – fails to meet expectations.

Note: The District offers its 4K program at one or more community-based locations other than the elementary school(s) that are listed above.
Note: The District’s Bayview school received Satisfactory Progress on its state issued report card.

Some of the specific educational programs offered to eligible students who are enrolled in and attending the District’s schools include the following: 

• Head Start (for students who are 3 and 4 years old and meet income eligibility requirements)
• Early childhood special education (for students who are at least 3 years old but not yet school-age)
• Special education for students with disabilities 
• Multilingual Learner (ML)
• Dual language program 
• Gifted and talented education 
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs 
• Individualized program and curriculum modifications 
• Alternative education program(s)
• At-risk education (e.g., for students identified as being at-risk of not graduating from high school)
• Summer school programming 
• Fine Arts Pathway
• International Baccalaureate for grades K-12
• Bay Link Manufacturing®
• City Stadium Automotive®
• Bridges Construction and Remodeling
• Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
• Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Education
• GPS
• After school programs
• Intra-District transfer program (i.e., the opportunity to apply for approval to attend a District school outside of the student’s assigned attendance area)
• Youth Apprenticeships

The full version of the District’s most recent school and school district accountability report, as issued by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction under Wis. Stat. § 115.385, can be accessed via the District’s website “About GBAPS” page and on each of the corresponding school’s homepages.

Educational options for students who are enrolled in the Green Bay Area Public School District that involve part-time attendance at an educational institution other than a school of the Green Bay Area Public School District include the following:

• Part-time Open Enrollment
  • A pupil enrolled in grades 9-12 at a public high school may attend a public school in a nonresident school district to take a course offered by the nonresident district. 
  • A student may take no more than two (2) courses per semester in nonresident school districts. 
• Start College Now Program
  • Allows students in grades 11-12 the opportunity to take college courses at Wisconsin Technical Colleges. 
• Early College Credit Program
  • Allows students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to take courses at an institution of higher education for high school and/or college credit. 
  • Includes institutions within the University of Wisconsin System, tribally-controlled colleges, or private, non-profit institutions of higher education located in the state. 

Additional educational options for children who reside in the District that involve full-time enrollment/attendance at a school, program, or other educational institution that is not a school or instrumentality of the Green Bay Area Public School District include the following:

• High school students meeting certain age and other eligibility requirements may be permitted to attend a technical college or certain other programs for the purpose of completing a program leading to the student’s high school graduation or to a high school equivalency diploma. 
• Full-time Open Enrollment involves physical attendance in a public school of a nonresident school district or attendance through a virtual charter school that is associated with a nonresident school district. 
• A child with a disability who meets the program’s specific eligibility requirements may apply to attend an eligible, participating private school under a scholarship awarded through the state’s “Special Needs Scholarship Program,” as established under Wis. Stat. § 115.7915. 
• Enrollment in a private school participating in the Wisconsin parental choice program. The following participating private schools are located within the District’s boundaries, and their accountability score is provided (5 stars – significantly exceeds expectations, 4 stars – exceeds expectations, 3 stars – meets expectations, 2 stars – meets few expectations, 1 star – fails to meet expectations). Where available, the scores below are the Choice Students Report Card.
  • Bay City Christian School ★★★★
  • Green Bay Adventist Junior Academy (N/A)
  • Green Bay Area Catholic Education East (N/A)
  • Green Bay Area Catholic Education South (N/A)
  • Green Bay Area Catholic Education West (N/A)
  • Green Bay Trinity Lutheran School (N/A)
  • N.E.W. Lutheran High School ★★★★
  • Notre Dame de la Baie Academy ★
  • Pilgrim Lutheran School (N/A)
  • Saint John Paul II Classical School (N/A)
  • Saint Mark Lutheran School (N/A)
  • Saint Paul Lutheran School (N/A)
• Enrollment in a private school of the family’s choosing (at the family’s own cost, as applicable). 
• Enrollment in a home-based private educational program as provided under state law. 

Educational options for children who reside in the Green Bay Area Public School District, but who are enrolled in and attending a private school or home-based private educational program include the following:

• Such students have the opportunity to attend summer school classes/programs offered in the District. 
• Such students have the opportunity to enroll and attend the 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) programs.
• Such students have the opportunity to participate in middle school after school athletic activities.
• Private school students in the high school grades have the opportunity to apply for approval to take up two courses per semester in a District school, pursuant to Wis. Stat.  § 118.145(4). 
• Students who are enrolled in a home-based private educational program have the opportunity to:
  • Apply for approval to take up two courses per semester in public schools as provided under Wis. Stat. § 118.53. 
  • Participate in District interscholastic athletics and other District extracurricular activities as provided under Wis. Stat. § 118.133. 

The State of Wisconsin has established the Special Needs Scholarship Program for students with disabilities. Under this scholarship program and as further specified in state law, a child with a disability who has been denied the opportunity to attend a nonresident school district under the full-time open enrollment program may be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) that allows the child to attend an eligible private school that is participating in the Special Needs Scholarship Program. 

This is a state-administered program. A parent or guardian who is interested in the Special Needs Scholarship Program should independently verify the participating private schools and the specific terms, eligibility criteria, and application procedures of the scholarship program with the DPI. 

The Special Needs Scholarship Program is further defined under Wis. Stat. § 115.7915.  However, special eligibility requirements not found in that statute exist for program scholarships that are awarded for private school attendance. Additional information about the program is available at the DPI website at http://dpi.wi.gov/sms/special-needs-scholarship.

For more information about any of the educational options listed in this notice, please contact the District’s Associate Superintendent at 920-448-2000 or the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction at (608) 266-3390 or (800) 441-4563.