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Report challenges voucher program critics’ opposition that schools are “unaccountable” August 1, 2017 – Milwaukee, WI – School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) have co-authored a new, comprehensive study on the impact of Wisconsin’s accountability laws on private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). The study, the first of its kind, explains how these laws – and parental choice – have influenced the manner that private schools have gained or lost access the MPCP, their fiscal viability and enrollment trends over time. The study focuses on the current administrative accountability measures and how…
Read MoreIn this report, School Choice Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty explore the impact of fiscal accountability and parental choice on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. “The debate over private school vouchers has shifted away from their mere existence towards whether – and how – accountability provisions should impact the ability of private schools to participate in the program. The education community is divided over this question. Some argue that test-based accountability should sanction poor-performing schools of all types, others argue that parental school choice, fiscal, and market forces are the strongest forms of accountability and are…
Read MoreYesterday, a LFB memo was released highlighting the state aid portion of education funding and the relative levels between the Parental Choice Programs and traditional public school district funding increases. As has been the practice, the request for the memo is selectively narrow to give only a portion of the data without context. The memo pointed to an increase in voucher funding compared to a decrease in public school funding. In this instance, the illusion of higher voucher funding is woven into a narrative that lacks context by only using the state portion of funding. While the per pupil voucher…
Read MoreThe Department of Public Instruction (DPI) published a press release this morning noting that 28 private schools in 5 counties have registered for the new Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP). In total, there are 416 seats available for students ranging from grades K4-12 and ages 4-21. “Once again, parents and students are showing their demand for options in education in Wisconsin,” said Jim Bender, President of School Choice Wisconsin. “The Special Needs Scholarship holds promise for many families seeking a new direction for their children.” All schools were required to complete a school profile outlining which special needs services they…
Read MoreData 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 test 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…
Read MoreData 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MoreSchool Choice Wisconsin surveyed schools to find out what standardized tests they would prefer to use in the future. A total of 27 schools responded to School Choice Wisconsin’s survey, seven in Racine out of twenty schools in the program for 2015-2016 (35%) and twenty-one in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) out of 72 total (excluding Milwaukee schools in the WPCP) for 2015-2016 (29%). Survey respondents were asked to name two tests each, but a few named more. The most commonly named tests in the WPCP were the ACT Aspire (9), ACT (7), and ACT Explore (1). Iowa Basic…
Read MoreStarting in 2015-16, new RPCP and WPCP students’ vouchers will be funded similar to the open enrollment. While this ensures there is no voucher amount reduction, public districts unfairly receive a subsidy for students they do not educate due to revenue limit counting purposes. Below are some models showing how much “skim” would go to public districts throughout the state under varying enrollment projections. Approximately 75% of voucher students are in grade K-8 and 25% in grades 9-12. Using the current voucher amounts of $7,210 and $7,856, we can estimate how much undue funding public districts will receive. 2,000 Voucher…
Read MoreEach year, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) collects WKCE results from all public schools[1] as well as all choice pupils[2] at private schools and publishes them on WISEdash. Usually DPI attempts to skew the data in order to favor public schools. However, the aggregate results from the choice schools were too high to make this possible. The choice students outperformed the RUSD students in every grade in both subjects. The tables below show the percent of students who scored either proficient or advanced in the two subjects that the WKCE assesses, science and social studies. School System 4th…
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