Children and parents wearing yellow monogrammed “School Choice Wisconsin” scarves poured into the Wisconsin State Capitol rotunda Wednesday to rally in favor of school choice programs. While sunlight shone through the stained glass ceiling, students held signs that said “Parents Know Best!”, “Put Kids First!” and “Let Me Learn!”
Wisconsin is considered to be the birthplace of school choice. More than 1,000 families and students from private schools across the state traveled to Madison to attend the event held by School Choice Wisconsin during National School Choice Week.
In Wisconsin, Republicans have strongly advocated for school choice for years, which they define as the right for parents to choose where their child goes to school, public or private, and what their school teaches them.
The rally kicked off with School Choice Wisconsin President Nicholas Kelly, who spoke on the importance of choice in education, calling School Choice Wisconsin a “pro-parent organization.”
During the rally, Republican lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, voiced support for school choice. LeMahieu said he was a product of the movement, having gone to Oostburg Christian School and Sheboygan Christian High School.
“When I first ran for office 10 years ago, one of the main things that was sort of bewildering to me is that some people opposed me because I supported school choice…Why would it be me telling you and your parents the best school for you? Don’t the parents know the best school for their kids?” he said.
Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson supported Wisconsin’s first school choice movement of the 1990s, which saw Milwaukee’s private school population increase from 341 students in 1990 to 29,000 students in 2021, according to School Choice Wisconsin.
Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, said the proposed $280 million budget expansion for school choice in Wisconsin is important for those who rely on voucher programs to pay for private education.
“Politics should not play a role in education. Politics is for people in this building. It shouldn’t be for the people in the buildings that you all work in and that you learn in and that you send your kids to,” August said. “The only thing that should matter is our kids’ learning.”
Parents, students say Wisconsin’s school choice program makes private education more accessible
For many families interested in private or parochial education for their children, the price of private education is a limiting factor. In Wisconsin, 21,638 students rely on the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) to fully fund their education across 344 choice schools, according to the School Choice Wisconsin website.
Private school voucher programs in Wisconsin service 43% of students in private schools. This number is expected to grow by around 60% once the voucher program’s enrollment cap sunsets in 2026.
Janelle, a mother of seven who attended the rally, chose to educate her six school-age children through the virtual learning programs offered through Academy of Excellence (AOE).
“We chose that school because it allows us to keep our children at home, but gives us some support and accountability in our children’s education,” she told The Daily Cardinal.
When doing research for schools to send her kids to, Janelle said she was thorough. She appreciates the flexibility online schooling provides as well as the amount of extracurriculars AOE offers. She said her kids love their virtual classes and meeting with other students.
She also mentioned the price of schooling as a factor in their decision.
“As far as academics, it allows us to use curriculum that we are not able to afford otherwise,” she said.
Since the pandemic, private schooling has grown in Wisconsin in popularity, with around 17% of students being privately educated or homeschooled in Wisconsin. This number is at the highest it’s been in Wisconsin since 2012.
Throughout the rally, speakers and students representing School Choice Wisconsin expressed excitement over the growing number of students in private schools.
Natali and Javier, two students from a private religious school in Milwaukee called St. Anthony School, said these programs — when coupled with school choice — allow some families to afford a private education when they previously could not afford it.
“I think it makes it way easier for us families to get through the whole actual whole school year without worrying about how to pay for anything,” Natali said.
Mixed opinions on state funding for private schools
Additionally, State superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser, attended the rally, and is one of two challengers running against incumbent State Superintendent Jill Underly.
Kinser told The Daily Cardinal she is passionate about school choice for Wisconsin families and is the only candidate in the race who voices support for school choice. She believes the voice of parents in their children’s education is invaluable.
“We know that 95% of students can read well enough to go to college and get a career. However, right now in Wisconsin, it’s only three out of 10 according to our nation’s report card,” she told the Cardinal.
Recently, the Department of Public Instruction lowered benchmarks on how students performed on final exams. These changes resulted in the test no longer being aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
In 2023, Evers sided with school choice advocates to expand funding statewide for school choice programs, signing into law a bill that increased the amount of funding given per pupil in private schools by over $1,000 each.
This upset many progressive leaders, who worried about the repercussions for public schools that already are underfunded. The bill raised the revenue ceiling for public schools, allowing more intake of tax dollars to fund students’ education.
Democrats traditionally advocate for increased funding for public schools, though they do not fully disavow school choice initiatives. All of the lawmakers that spoke at the School Choice Wisconsin rally were Republican.
