January 26, 2022 By Edgar Zaragoza Wisconsin’s private school choice program has benefited my family and—through my work at the Green Bay Area Catholic Education School System (GRACE)—I’ve personally seen it change the lives of hundreds of families for the better. Why not bring the blessing of choice to more families? About a decade ago, I worked at a public school, but hoped for a different quality of education and faith-based environment for my oldest daughter. By asking many questions about our options, I learned about Wisconsin’s School Voucher Program and applied for it through GRACE. When we received a voucher, I thought the…

January 24, 2022 By Susan Mitchell In 1990, the Milwaukee School Choice Program served only 341 students at seven schools. Last year nearly 29,000 students — 1 in 4 Milwaukee school children —used it to attend 129 private schools. More than three decades have passed since former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson signed into law the nation’s first modern parent choice program. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program inspired a national movement. Thirty-two other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico now have their own parent choice programs, serving more than 600,000 students. The pandemic has fueled recent growth and awakened…

Around the country we have seen a number of new education policy proposals that empower parents in K-12 education. Even in states that are not traditional sources of educational options, the pandemic has engaged parents in a manner that is garnering strong reactions. Today, here in Wisconsin, we see a new proposal that expands our existing parental choice options.  By eliminating a number of remaining barriers, parents would have significantly more control across all sectors of education for all parents. Common Sense Wisconsin released the Power Education Blueprint with an agenda for reforming and enhancing the way families engage with…

Last August, days after some schools had opened and days before most schools were ready to open, the Dane County Health Department issued a school closure order for all schools, public and private serving grades 3-12. School Choice Wisconsin Action, along with several private schools and other stakeholders, immediately filed suit through the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.  The petition asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an injunction that would allow schools to open while the Court deliberated. The injunction was granted allowing private schools in Dane County to open for in-person instruction, but the Court’s final decision was…

Due to the evolving nature of EANS funding, School Choice Wisconsin Action (SCWA) hosted a roundtable discussion on May 12, 2021 for school staff members to ask questions and share information. Our panel included Lori Saqer of Messmer High School, Brian Frank of St Augustine Preparatory Academy, and Donna Bembenek of Catholic Memorial High School. The FAQ from that roundtable is below.  * SCWA Disclaimer: While seeking to be a helpful resource to schools, SCWA has pulled together answers from CESA6 and DPI for the following questions submitted to the May 12th SCWA roundtable on EANS. This tool in no…

MPS is moving forward with a current-law application of transportation benefits with private schools and parents for the entire school year. They have made commitments to legislators that their intent is to fully allocate eligible resources by June 30, earlier if possible. In April, School Choice Wisconsin Action was instrumental in getting AB160 / SB221 before the Education Committee in Madison. The bill, introduced by representatives Jessie Rodriguez and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, relates to transportation to a private school during the 2020-21 school year for pupils who reside in a first class city school district. In her testimony before the Education…

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Milwaukee schools and universities that have been planning to offer face-to-face instruction this fall may need to shift gears after the city health department quietly enacted stricter guidelines for when in-person classes may resume.” Later in the article, Jim Bender explained that schools had been blindsided by Milwaukee area health officials, “Nobody saw this coming. Schools did not have any sort of consultative role in these changes. And they didn’t get any communication from the health department that the changes were being made.” Read the entire article.

In the business world, organizations look for people whose experience can benefit them. So why would a company employ teenagers who need to be trained in the very basics of the working world? “We do it to help break down barriers for disadvantaged students,” says Peggy Coakley, President and CEO of Coakley Brothers, of the workforce development program her company has embarked upon with Milwaukee’s Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. The work program is designed to teach kids skills that will help them network in the Milwaukee business community and find jobs after graduation. Other corporate partners include Aurora Healthcare,…

Data released today by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) shows that again this year, students in the Parental Choice Programs are outperforming their peers. As with all test data, a one-year snapshot has limitations but the trend of higher scores for students on a voucher is great news for students and taxpayers. “All three Parental Choice Programs, comprised predominately of low-income students, outscored their full-income counterparts across the entire state in public schools on the ACT,” Jim Bender said. “Combined with the Forward Exam, these results highlight superior outcomes at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers.” Below is…

The US Department of Justice launched an investigation concerning discrimination against students with disabilities by private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) after the ACLU and Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) filed a compliant. After four years, the DOJ closed the investigation without finding any discrimination. Of importance, however, was that the investigation used a dubious and unprecedented legal theory – apply public school laws to private schools under Title II of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the private school accepts state dollars. This legal theory contradicts a Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision, a US Supreme Court Decision, and…