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…

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) released the results of a study on standardized test scores that accounted for socioeconomic factors for all school sectors across Wisconsin.  Here are some of the highlights of the test score study: Students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) scored 5% higher in reading proficiency and 4% higher in math proficiency on the Wisconsin Forward Exam than similar students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Students in the MPCP scored 8% higher on the ACT than similar students in MPS. Students in the Racine/Wisconsin Parental Choice Programs scored 17% higher on the…