Parental Choice Program (Statewide)

Wisconsin (outside of Milwaukee and Racine) families with income up to 220% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) ($93,600 for a family of four in 2024–2025) and who do not reside in the Milwaukee Public Schools or the Racine Unified school districts are eligible. Moreover, a family’s income limit increases by $7,000 if the student’s parents or legal guardians are married. Students who are continuing the program from previous years, and those who were on a school’s waiting list in the prior year because the school did not have space available, do not need to demonstrate income eligibility. In addition to the income limit, students must have been either: (1) enrolled in a public school or home school in the previous year; (2) not enrolled in school in the previous year; (3) enrolled in a private school under the voucher program in the previous year; (4) be entering kindergarten, first grade, or ninth grade; or (5) attended school in a different state in the previous year. If an applying student has a sibling already in the private school the applicant wishes to attend, he or she will receive preference in the event of an enrollment lottery. Each district currently has an enrollment cap of 9% of its public school district enrollment able to participate in the program. This cap will increase by one percentage point each year until the enrollment limit reaches 10%, then there will no longer be a cap. Students previously on a voucher wait list because of this cap will be eligible after it is expanded. _(Last updated July 10, 2024)_

Qualifying expenses include tuition and fees. _(Last updated July 18, 2024)_

For students who began participating in the program in the 2015–2016 school year or later, this program receives funding from the appropriations for state aid to public schools. The state pays the full voucher amount using funds that it withholds from the state aid payment to the school district. Voucher amounts are calculated so that the state pays the equivalent of a portion of the state and local per-pupil funding under the state’s funding formula. As a result, maximum voucher payments increase as general school aid to Wisconsin public schools increases. For students who began participating in the program before the 2015–2016 school year, a separate appropriation pays for the voucher amounts. Any qualifying Wisconsin K–12 student that wishes to participate may receive funding. In 2023, Wisconsin policymakers took the positive step of increasing the voucher amounts to be closer to per-pupil spending at district schools. Voucher students will now receive approximately 72% of per-pupil funding at the public schools. In 2024–2025, the maximum voucher amount is $10,237 for grades K–8 and $12,731 for grades 9–12. Parents of students in grades 9–12 that have an income greater than 220% of the Federal Poverty Level ($68,640 for a family of four in 2024–2025) may be charged additional tuition exceeding the voucher amount. _(Last updated July 18, 2024)_

No legal challenge is currently pending. On October 12, 2023, a lawsuit funded by the Minocqua Brewing Company SUPERPAC was filed by a group of parents, public officials, and other plaintiffs in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. The petition for original action argues the Independent Charter School Program, Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, statewide Parental Choice Program, and Special Needs Scholarship Program are all unconstitutional and asks the Court to immediately halt the programs. Plaintiffs allege the programs violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s Uniform Taxation Clause, as well as Article X, Section 4, and the superintendent supervision clause. Plaintiffs state that superintendents are not provided with sufficient control over participating private schools, arguing the Wisconsin Constitution requires superintendents to “supervise the instruction paid for by the public that is occurring at these private schools.” Plaintiffs also allege the choice programs violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s public-purpose requirement because there is less oversight and regulation of participating schools compared to public schools, thus the “private school programs serve no public purpose.” Plaintiffs further claim the programs “are affirmatively designed to undermine Wisconsin’s public education system by robbing it blind and forcing local districts into financial death spirals.” _Julie Underwood v. Robin Vos_ , 2023AP001896.The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear the case in December 2023. _(Last updated July 31, 2024)_