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SCHOOL CHOICE Advisor
August 21, 2002
Vol. 1, Issue 6
School Choice Opponents Greet Voucher Victory with Inaccurate, Misleading Claims
Voucher Helps Special Ed Student Learn to Read
School Choice Opponents Greet Voucher Victory with Inaccurate, Misleading Claims
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding school vouchers, there has been widespread coverage of school choice and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in the Wisconsin media.
School choice opponents have used the increased media interest to circulate misinformation about educational vouchers and the MPCP. The following examples typify inaccurate and misleading statements that have appeared in the Wisconsin media.
Claim: Voucher schools are not accountable. There are no plans to show if the MPCP works. Stan Johnson, President, Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Wisconsin State Journal July 5; Chippewa Falls Herald Telegram July 14; East Troy News July 25.
Truth: For the last three years, Milwaukee school choice supporters have sought legislation authorizing the state's Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a comprehensive longitudinal study of the MPCP. This study would have included the use of state standardized tests.
Gov. McCallum, and Gov. Thompson before him, have supported this plan. Last year, the state Assembly adopted it. However, at the specific urging of WEAC, Sen. Chuck Chvala and other choice opponents in the State Senate killed the plan. These efforts by WEAC - a group Johnson heads to block a comprehensive study have been documented in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Milwaukee Magazine.
Claim: "Diverting public tax dollars to private and religious schools ... drains money from public schools ...” Letter to the Editor, Wisconsin State Journal July 25.
Truth: A Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) report last year estimated that if school choice were eliminated and about 10,000 students transferred to public schools, MPS could incur $70 million of added operating expenses and could have to borrow up to $70 million for new facilities. "Analysis of FY02 Fiscal Impact on MPS if MPCP is eliminated," Milwaukee Public Schools, June 25, 2001.
Claim: School choice supporters favor "giving [Milwaukee] public schools less money..." Joel McNally, Kenosha News July 3.
Truth: Following the enactment of Milwaukee's choice program for low-income families, inflation adjusted per-pupil spending in MPS has risen from $7,646 to $9,502.
Claim: Private schools in the MPCP turn away children in special education programs, students with special needs, and students with discipline problems. Letters to the editors, Madison Capital Times July 13; Wisconsin State Journal Aug. 7.
Truth: State law prohibits schools in the MPCP from screening students based on special education needs, English proficiency, or behavioral problems. There are many documented examples* of such students using vouchers in Milwaukee, some of whom have been referred to private schools by MPS. For example, an MPS student expelled for a weapons violation was accepted at Messmer High School when then Department of Public Instruction Superintendent John Benson asked the private school to admit the boy.
In contrast, it is common for individual Milwaukee public schools to use admission criteria involving a student's prior academic record, special education needs, behavioral problems or language ability. For example, MPS language immersion schools require students after grade 1 to pass a language proficiency exam before being admitted.
Claim: Religious fundamentalists outside the mainstream will start schools to attract voucher students. Professor William Lowe Boyd, Racine Journal Times Aug. 1.
Truth: Despite similar predictions when the MPCP was created in 1989 and expanded to include religious schools in 1998, during the entire 12-year history of the program, there is no evidence to support such concerns.
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Voucher Helps Special Ed Student Learn to Read
When school choice opponents claim that private schools refuse to take students with special needs, parents like Carmellett McVicker get annoyed.
McVicker's daughter, Willetta, has special education needs and is enrolled in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.
"My child is soaring because of what the private school has given her. After enrolling her at the Lutheran Special School, she finally learned how to read when she was 12. For the longest time, she couldn't make the difference between letters and numbers.
"If it wasn't for choice, I don't know where I'd be. I'm a single mom. Without the choice program I couldn't afford to send Willetta to Lutheran Special School."
"Without choice, I'd have to sell my car to afford tuition. I really need a car to get to work and pick up Willetta from school."
In Milwaukee, dozens of private schools serve children with disabilities for the same voucher amount as other kids.
"I have non-stop calls from parents wanting to place their children in our school. The majority are low-income parents who want more choices for their children with special needs but can't afford it, says Judy Schultz, Lutheran Special School Principal.
For more examples of how private schools use vouchers to serve special needs students, read a report by Dr. Howard Fuller, "Selective Admission Practices? Comparing the Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program." Go to www.SchoolChoiceInfo.org. In the left menu bar, click on "Research" and then click on Milwaukee to find Fuller's report.
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