Wisconsin Parental Choice Program |
The Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) is a private school voucher program that allows low-income families to attend a participating private school of their choice via publicly-funded vouchers. According to the Department of Public Instruction, about 1,000 students were enrolled in WPCP as of January 2015 and 98 schools have registered to participate in WPCP for the 2015-2016 school year. Private school voucher programs also exist locally in Milwaukee (MPCP) and Racine (RPCP), and a child living in one of these cities must apply to the local program instead of WPCP.
The Governor's proposed budget...
- Expanded the Parental Choice Program statewide.
- Eliminated the cap on number of pupils and private schools that can participate in WPCP.
- Changed the Department of Public Instruction's funding formula for per-pupil reimbursement of private school vouchers.
Final 2015-2017 Wisconsin Parental Choice Program Budget
In addition to state funding for public K-12 education, there was significant debate during the budget process regarding how much state taxpayer money should go to support private schools and what, if any, cap there should be on the number of students and schools that can participate in the WPCP. Below is a summary of the key provisions contained in the final 2015-2017 budget regarding the WPCP and other private school issues:
This list is not inclusive of all the of the changes to the WPCP in the 2015-2017 budget. For even more detailed analyses, see these reports from the Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, and the Wisconsin Budget Project.
- The final budget expanded the WPCP statewide. However, it grows the program more gradually than the Governor proposed. Under final budget, the total number of pupils in a particular district that could participate in the WPCP would be limited to no more than 1% of the district’s prior year enrollment. This enrollment limit would increase by 1% each year beginning in 2017-2018 until the enrollment limit reaches 10% of the district’s prior year enrollment. After 10 years, there would be no enrollment limit.
- The final budget also reduced funding for public schools as a result of resources being shifted to private schools. According to the Wisconsin Budget Project, public school funding will be reduced by $48 million in order to provide $48 million more to private schools.
- School districts that have more students in the WPCP will face the largest cuts. Individual school districts will have their state per-pupil aid reduced proportionately for each student that resides in the district who attends a voucher school.
- The final budget also included a controversial new program that creates publicly-funded vouchers for students with disabilities to attend private schools. Most advocates for children with disabilities strongly opposed this measure because private schools are not required to follow federal disability laws and other regulations that apply to public schools to help ensure that children with special needs receive an education that is tailored to their needs.
- The final budget contained many other provisions regarding private schools, ranging from allowing some of the worst-performing schools in Milwaukee, Racine, and Madison to potentially be turned over to private school operators to a mechanism that would allow the creation of independent charter schools without the input of the local school board.
This list is not inclusive of all the of the changes to the WPCP in the 2015-2017 budget. For even more detailed analyses, see these reports from the Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, and the Wisconsin Budget Project.
Many advocates for accessible and quality public education have raised significant concerns that the 2015-2017 budget's redirection of resources away from public education towards a separate, but publicly-funded, private school system is already eroding the quality of Wisconsin's public K-12 schools. As mentioned in the section on Public Education, Wisconsin's public schools have faced tremendous budgetary pressures and constraints the past seven years, which this budget does little to alleviate.
Resources
For more information on the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, please follow these links:
