Happy School Choice Week!
Here in Wisconsin, we are grateful for the many school choice options available to students in our state. We celebrate school choice because it expands opportunities for students and places parents – the ones who know their children best – as the decision makers in their children’s education.
A Growing Program
Since the first nationwide school choice voucher program began in Milwaukee in 1990, similar programs have sprung up across the United States. Here in Wisconsin, our statewide voucher program began in 2013 and has experienced rapid growth ever since. As a whole, the state of Wisconsin boasts four school choice voucher programs: one for students in Milwaukee, one for students in Racine, one for students throughout the rest of the state, and one for students with disabilities. Combined, these programs experienced a growth of over 2,000 students this school year.
Once again, Wisconsin’s voucher program has broken enrollment records. This school year, nearly 61,000 students are enjoying the school choice benefits provided by over four hundred participating schools. Currently, more than half of Wisconsin private schools accept vouchers and close to half of Wisconsin private school students take advantage of the voucher system.
More than likely, Wisconsin’s voucher program will see more growth in upcoming years with the enrollment cap coming off at the end of this school year. Since 2017, the percentage of students from each district eligible for the voucher program has increased by one percentage point, reaching 10% this school year. The 2026-2027 school year will be the first year with no cap on enrollment in choice schools meaning that more families than ever before will be able to tap into school choice benefits.
The Benefits of School Choice
Whether through traditional public schooling, charter schooling, private schooling, homeschooling, or a mix-and-match approach, school choice empowers families to make the best educational choices for each child. A study conducted by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation found that, 60% of U.S. parents of school-aged children considered sending at least one of their children to a different school in 2024. The results of this study demonstrate a rising interest in non-traditional school options.
But what is causing parents to take advantage of school choice opportunities?
To begin with, school choice students consistently outperform their public-school peers. According to the Department of Public Instruction’s annual state testing results, last year choice students unanimously outperformed public schoolers. In every subject, choice students scored between 3 to 30 percent higher than public schoolers. While Wisconsin public schools lag concerningly behind on their test scores, choice schools enable students to thrive.
More importantly, school choice allows parents to choose educational options that align with their values. In recent years, the progressive bent of the public education system has become clearer than ever before. From encouraging middle schoolers to write erotic poetry to designing sex education courses for kindergarteners, public schools in Wisconsin proudly promote unbiblical and sexually inappropriate agendas. Whether through home schooling, private schooling, or other options, parents should have the right to choose a school for their children that aligns with their values.
Parental Responsibility
Having options means that parents have the responsibility to make wise and biblically informed decisions for their children. Parents have the God-given responsibility to ensure that their children receive biblical training. To be sure, a Christian education isn’t a guarantee that a child will grow up to love the Lord, and nothing can replace the benefits of regular church attendance and biblical training in the home. But parents must take seriously the responsibility to shield their children from exposure to non-age-appropriate content and the consistent indoctrination of worldly messages while also instilling in them a biblical worldview and a love for God and His Word.
Proverbs 22:6 admonishes parents, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Biblical training from the youngest years should be top priority for Christian parents. School choice brings both opportunity and responsibility. Parents must use wisdom and discernment in choosing if and how their family will take advantage of the privilege of school choice opportunities.
School Choice Legislation
Wisconsin Family Action consistently supports legislation that provides your family with the most educational choices possible. Here are a couple of school-choice-related bills we are supporting this session:
- Senate Bill 452 expands eligibility for the state’s voucher programs by allowing students to participate if their sibling or a dependent child of their parent or guardian was in a parental choice program the previous year, removing prior income and grade-level restrictions for these families.
- Senate Bill 600 expands educational options by opting Wisconsin into the federal tax credit scholarship system. This program uses private donations to provide educational resources for students.
Wisconsin lawmakers should act on these opportunities to increase educational options for students. “Parents are speaking loudly and clearly about what they want for their children: more educational options different than those offered by public schools,” says Carol Shires, Vice President of Operations for School Choice Wisconsin. “Lawmakers in Madison should continue to prioritize protecting these private-school options for all students.”
Much to Celebrate
This Tuesday, hundreds of students, parents, educators, and policy makers will gather at the Capitol Rotunda in Madison. This event, hosted by School Choice Wisconsin and National School Choice Awareness Foundation, provides an opportunity for Wisconsinites to voice their support for school choice and to share with legislators how school choice has benefited them. Last year, over a thousand participants attended this event. School choice supporters are anticipating another successful rally this year.
While we continue to fight for increased school choice in Wisconsin, we also have much to celebrate. Our trailblazing voucher system and many school choice options grant families the privilege and the responsibility to choose between a myriad of educational opportunities. This School Choice Week, we are thankful for the opportunities Wisconsin’s school choice programs are providing to thousands of students this school year.
The work of Wisconsin Family Action is possible because of generous friends who partner with us financially and in prayer. If you value the work WFA does, we invite you to invest in this unique work that is all about you, your family, your faith, your freedom, and your future! As always, we welcome and covet your prayers.
