ACP4Schools was originally created in response to a clear need: helping schools move away from cumbersome paper and PDF processes for Academic and Career Planning (ACP). It met that need at the time.
Today, while ACP4Schools remains functional, it no longer meets modern standards. It lacks full ADA accessibility, responsive design, and the flexibility to support customizable pathways for districts.
Feedback from districts and our CESA 6 partners also highlighted growing needs around posting and communication, such as annual state/federal publication requirements and family engagement related to ACP, Curriculum & Instruction, and Education for Employment (E4E). The current software module does not adequately support these evolving demands.
New Rule on Accessibility for Digital / Web Content and Mobile Apps Impact
The other need we've observed is that much of the digital communications surrounding school districts' C&I, ACP, E4E plans do not meet accessibility requirements. PDFs, email, and other applications are included in the new ruling. Keep in mind that PDFs can be challenging and time consuming to make fully compliant. This extends to any link to Google or Microsoft documents as well.
Based on updated federal guidelines, district feedback, and the insights shared above, we are moving forward with a next-generation replacement pilot for ACP4Schools.
Introducing the new ACP, C&I, E4E Web Template Module
4Schools now offers a flexible website template designed to organize and share key components like curriculum, academic and career planning, and career exploration.
Customize navigation, features, and communication tools—including third-party links and social media feeds. Use it to house all curriculum info, just middle and high school content, or focus solely on ACP. Start where it fits your needs, build your content, and expand over time.
Key Features of the ACP / C&I Template Module
- Fully mobile designed, and fully ADA digital accessible ready.
- Your logo and brand color have been added to the site.
- Unlimited internal pages allow you to build the content you need and organize it your way.
- Secure, password-protected pages and plans with flexible approval and publishing options.
- Flexible Call to Action (CTA) buttons that you design allow you to set up your landing page to meet the communication needs of your district.
- Permissions allow you to open up certain sections or even pages to your team, enabling you to have your whole team update content and communications.
- Fully accessible content templates to customize your Academic and Career Planning (ACP)|Education for Employment (E4E) program outlined in s. 121.02(1)(m) Wis. Stats.,(administrative rule)PI26 creating a digital communication piece.
- Preloaded Wisconsin Labor Market Data that you can drop in and add to your site. (other states, by request)
- Access to all 16 federally defined career clusters with icons and color codes. Add only the ones you need and update any time.
- Connected to a robust icon library, which has a growing number of career and course-based icons to help aid visual recognition and improve the User Experience.
- Connected to CMS4Schools powerful user-side security, you can create sections for groups such as your Board of Education, Counseling teams, and more. Google and Microsoft Single Sign On makes signing in easy.
- Content Templates to design your Education for Employment (E4E) plan on this site, creating a fully accessible digital communication piece.
- Connected to the Course Module* (currently in ACP4Schools), allowing you to ditch the static PDFs and manage your courses online for easier updates and sharing.
- CMS4Schools customers will have this fully connected to their district site. Other customers will be provided with a link to the site that can be added to the district and school websites and directly shared.
- Included admin user training sessions as well as ongoing user training free throughout the year.
The largest advantage to our new template module concept is that it moves your school district towards full ADA digital accessibility compliance.
What To Expect for Transitioning
If you are a new ACP4Schools customer, you will onboard directly to the website template module.
If you are an existing ACP4Schools customer, you will have the option to continue with your ACP4Schools site as it is for the 25-26 year, or to onboard to the new site template module at any point in this year. The migration and onboarding will be unique for each district based on setup and features in-use, so we will be working with each of you individually to develop your transition plan.
For all customers, watch for an email invite to join our tour of the new module, coming this summer!
*Course module will no longer have the connected student database functionality as the current ACP4Schools system does. This was not used by most customers, and we will explore other options based on your input for future enhancements.