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Does Wisconsin require autism training for school staff? What Wisconsin law asks, and where outside training fits

The short answer

In the Wisconsin education statutes and educator license rules we searched, we found no requirement for school staff to complete autism training. Wisconsin's seclusion and restraint law requires a covered individual to receive training with specified components before using physical restraint on a pupil at school, except in an emergency when a trained covered individual is not immediately available due to the unforeseen nature of the emergency. Each school where physical restraint is used must have at least one trained covered individual and keep a record of that training.

What we found

On October 29, 2026, we searched chapters 115 and 118 of the Wisconsin Statutes for autism, positive behavior, de-escalation, restraint, seclusion and training, and chapter PI 34 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code (educator licenses) for autism, aides, behavior and professional development, on the Wisconsin Legislature's site. Autism appears in chapter 115 only in the list of disability categories for special education. The special education program aide license in PI 34.036 is valid for five years and is renewable. Applicants must be at least 18 and recommended by the administrator or designee of the employing school district, CESA, charter school or CCDEB. The section specifies no training content. We did not read the special education rules in chapter PI 11.

Related training rules for Wisconsin school staff

Training before using physical restraint (Wis. Stat. § 118.305(6)).

"(a) Except as provided in par. (c), no covered individual may use physical restraint on a pupil at school unless he or she has received training that includes all of the following components:"

The components are evidence-based instruction related to positive behavioral supports and interventions, safe physical escort, understanding antecedents, de-escalation, conflict prevention and conflict management; evidence-based techniques, including debriefing, shown to prevent or reduce the use of physical restraint; identifying dangerous behavior that may indicate the need for physical restraint and evaluating the risk of harm; the effects of physical restraint, monitoring signs of physical distress and obtaining medical assistance; documenting and reporting incidents; and "A requirement that the trainee demonstrate his or her ability to identify prohibited techniques in administering physical restraint."

The governing body must ensure that in each school it operates in which physical restraint is used, "At least one covered individual has received training under par. (a)," and that the school keeps a record of the training, "including the period during which the training is considered valid by the entity that trained the covered individual." A covered individual who has not been trained may use physical restraint "only in an emergency and only if a covered individual who has received training under par. (a) is not immediately available due to the unforeseen nature of the emergency."

A "covered individual" is someone employed by a governing body, or engaged by it as an independent contractor, to provide services for the benefit of its school; someone employed by a contractor of the governing body for that purpose; or a student teacher supervised by someone in the first category. Members of the governing body and certain law enforcement officers are not covered. The law applies to public schools, including charter schools, to private schools in the program under s. 115.7915, and to private schools where a local educational agency has placed a pupil. The law sets no hours or renewal interval for the training. Our course does not teach restraint, crisis intervention or de-escalation.

Source: Wis. Stat. § 118.305(6); Wis. Stat. § 118.305; Wis. Admin. Code PI 34.

Where outside training fits

Section 118.305(6) does not name a training provider. It requires the school's training record to include the period during which the entity that provided the training considers it valid. Its required components are about restraint, de-escalation and related practice, which our course does not teach. We do not claim that our course satisfies § 118.305(6) or any other Wisconsin requirement, or that it counts toward an educator license. Our course teaches basic ABA methods for daily practice. Before buying outside training for any Wisconsin requirement, ask your district or the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction how it evaluates outside courses.

What our Intro to ABA Level 1 course covers

The Intro to ABA Level 1 course teaches methods and techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for parents and caregivers, teachers, paraprofessionals and behavior technicians who work with a child every day. Topics include what autism is, what ABA is, pairing, errorless teaching and prompting, and active student responding. Complete the course and pass its 40-question final exam with a score of at least 80%. Completing this course earns a Special Learning certificate of completion. That certificate is not a continuing education (CE) certificate. It is basic training in ABA methods for daily practice, not a professional credential. We do not claim Wisconsin state approval or continuing education credit for this course.

A paraprofessional who took it wrote: "I want to learn everything I can to help my student succeed in the public school system. I found Special Learning's ABA level 1 course so fascinating and inspiring."

Two ways to start

Last reviewed: October 29, 2026.

See every state's school autism-training rules