In the late 1940s a reorganization within the Dept. of Public Instruction's Division for Handicapped Children (WIHV87-A592) created the Bureau for Special Education. In the early 1970s it became the Bureau for Exceptional Children. In the Wisconsin State Archives' database, entries for all records, 1940s-1990s, are cataloged under this name, after the 1990s records can be found under the Department of Public Instruction.
The Bureau for Exceptional Children administers, monitors, and supervises services for children with exceptional educational needs. The bureau is responsible for statewide coordination of local efforts to implement Subchapter V, Ch. 115, Wis. Stats; P.L. 94-142, the federal Education of All Handicapped Children Act; and for administering parts of Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935.