Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Summary: Wisconsin is a national leader in providing parents school choice options.  The state is home to the landmark school voucher program in Milwaukee.  Since 1990, disadvantaged children have received school vouchers to attend private school through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.  The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction reports that 17,410 students were participating in the program as of February 2007.  The program has seen steady growth in participation from the early years when, according to School Choice Wisconsin, less than a thousands students were participating.  At present, private school choice options are not available outside of Milwaukee. 

In addition, Wisconsin offers extensive choice within its public education system.  The Education Commission of the States reports that Wisconsin has implemented two open enrollment policies: mandatory statewide inter-district open enrollment and a voluntary inter- and intra-district open enrollment policy to promote racial integration in Milwaukee and the surrounding school districts.  The Center for Education Reform reports that Wisconsin has a strong charter school law.  In all, approximately 32,700 students attended one of the state's 198 public charter schools in 2006-07.

Recent Developments: According to School Choice Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Assembly's original budget included several provisions that would have enhanced school choice, but those items were not reflected in the final budget.  These provisions included increasing the Milwaukee voucher program's enrollment cap annually by 2,250 students, allowing participating students to attend private high schools anywhere in Milwaukee county,  creating a similar private school choice program in Racine county, and creating a statewide autism scholarship program to provide up to 200 tuition scholarships to autistic students attending private schools. 

Click here for detailed information on Wisconsin's public school system and see below for school choice contacts in Wisconsin.