Specific Learning Disability Eligibility in Wisconsin: The SLD Criteria Under PI 11

Wisconsin changed how it identifies students with specific learning disabilities more than a decade ago, and many parents — and some school staff — still don't fully understand the shift. If your child has been denied eligibility for a specific learning disability, or if you're trying to understand how the evaluation works, the details of Wisconsin's PI 11.36(6) are what matter. Here's what the law actually requires.

What "Specific Learning Disability" Means Under PI 11

A specific learning disability (SLD) is a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that may manifest as imperfect ability in:

• Listening
• Thinking
• Speaking
• Reading (including reading fluency, decoding, and comprehension)
• Writing
• Spelling
• Mathematical calculation or reasoning

Wisconsin uses the federal IDEA definition of SLD, but operationalizes it through PI 11.36(6), which governs eligibility criteria in the state. The most significant feature of Wisconsin's approach is the model it uses to determine whether a student's achievement is inadequate: the Response to Intervention (RtI) model, also called the Scientific Research-Based Intervention (SRBI) model.

Wisconsin's RtI-Based SLD Model

Under PI 11.36(6), a public school student's achievement is considered inadequate if, after receiving intensive, scientific research-based intervention, their score on one or more valid achievement assessments falls at or below 1.25 standard deviations below the mean for their age group.

That threshold — 1.25 standard deviations below the mean — is approximately the 11th percentile. A student scoring at the 10th percentile in reading after receiving documented, intensive intervention would meet this criterion.

But the RtI data doesn't stand alone. The IEP team must also document:

• That the intensive intervention was implemented with fidelity (meaning it was actually delivered as designed, with consistency, by trained staff)
• That the intervention was closely aligned to the student's specific learning needs
• That the intervention was culturally appropriate and not discriminatory

This documentation requirement is where many evaluations fall short. If the district's intervention records are thin, inconsistent, or show that the student wasn't actually receiving what was documented, the evaluation data is compromised.

The Exclusionary Criteria: What Rules Out SLD

The IEP team must also determine that the student's inadequate achievement is not primarily the result of:

• A visual, hearing, or motor impairment
• Intellectual disability
• Emotional or behavioral disability
• Cultural or environmental factors
• Limited English proficiency
• Lack of appropriate instruction in reading or math

That last exclusionary factor — "lack of appropriate instruction" — matters. If a student hasn't been exposed to scientifically validated reading instruction (which is more common than many parents realize, particularly in districts that historically used non-evidence-based reading programs), the IEP team must rule out inadequate instruction as the primary cause before attributing the difficulty to a learning disability.

The Private School Exception: When the Discrepancy Model Still Applies

Wisconsin carves out a specific exception for students who attend private schools or who are receiving home-based private education. Because districts can't compel private schools to implement specific interventions or generate the RtI progress monitoring data the public school model requires, IEP teams evaluating these students may still use the traditional "significant discrepancy" model.

Under the discrepancy model, the team compares the student's intellectual ability (typically from a cognitive assessment like the WISC-V or KABC) to their academic achievement (from standardized achievement tests). A statistically significant discrepancy between ability and achievement supports an SLD identification.

If your child attends a private school or is homeschooled and the district is trying to apply the RtI model to them, cite PI 11.36(6) and the specific exception for non-public school students. This is a common procedural error.

What an Adequate SLD Evaluation Should Include

A comprehensive SLD evaluation in Wisconsin typically includes:

• A cognitive/intelligence assessment (WISC-V, KABC, or similar)
• Achievement testing across relevant academic areas (reading decoding, fluency, comprehension; math calculation and reasoning; written expression)
• A review of the student's response to documented interventions
• Curriculum-based measurement data showing progress trends
• Observations of the student in the classroom
• Teacher input and rating scales
• Parent input and developmental history

The team must assess the student in all areas related to the suspected disability. If your child's struggles are in reading but the district only assessed math, the evaluation is incomplete. Parents can request that specific areas be assessed and can disagree with the scope of the evaluation.

When the District Denies SLD Eligibility

If the district determines your child doesn't meet SLD criteria, they must provide a Prior Written Notice (PWN) explaining the decision. Read it carefully. Common problems include:

• Applying the wrong model (RtI for a homeschooled student)
• Claiming interventions were provided when service logs show inconsistent delivery
• Using achievement scores from tests that aren't appropriately normed for the student
• Failing to assess all areas of suspected disability
• Treating a single intervention data point as definitive

If you believe the evaluation was flawed, you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at district expense. In your IEE request, cite 34 CFR § 300.502. The district must either fund an independent evaluation or file for due process to defend its own evaluation.

The Wisconsin IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook includes templates for requesting a comprehensive evaluation, challenging inadequate SLD evaluations, and requesting an IEE — with the statutory citations Wisconsin districts actually respond to.

See more United States guides →