Voucher Accountability

Background

Under the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, state funds are used in the form of vouchers to send children from low-income families to private and/or religious schools located in the City of Milwaukee. Despite the use of state taxpayer dollars to fund the voucher program, participating private schools are not required to meet the same standards as our public schools.

The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was established in Act 336 in 1989 as the nation's first voucher program.

Since the inception of the program, the standards for participating schools have been minimal. Private voucher schools are not required to employ certified teachers, nor are they required to accept students with Exceptional Educational Needs. In addition, students are not required to participate in state level testing programs and report the results.

The state Legislature did enact a number of fiscal accountability measures as part of 2003 Wisconsin Act 155. The law requires participating private schools to provide evidence of sound fiscal practices and financial viability. It also gives the State Superintendent of Public Instruction the authority to 1) withhold aid if a participating private school is not in compliance with program requirements 2) under certain circumstances, issue an order prohibiting a private school from participating in the current year and 3) immediately terminate a private school's participation in the program if conditions at the school present an imminent threat to the health and safety of pupils.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council believes that taxpayer dollars should fund public schools, not private and/or religious schools. However, if public dollars are used to fund private and/or religious voucher schools, those schools should be accountable to taxpayers as well as parents and communities.

WEAC supports legislation to hold private and religious voucher schools to the same standards as public schools including:

• Minimum hours of instruction.
• Licensure of all instructional staff.
• Background checks on teachers.
• Grade advancement, high school graduation, attendance and parental involvement requirements and standards.
• Administration of required state standardized tests including reporting requirements.
• Prohibition of forced religious activity.
• Nondiscrimination standards.
• DPI enforcement of rules and regulations.
• Certified reading specialists and reading programs.

WEAC believes voucher schools should participate in the same state-level testing that is required of other publicly-funded schools such as the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam, adhere to the same guidelines under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as public schools, meet the requirements of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and be subject to ESEA sanctions.

• More than $250 million has been spent on the Milwaukee private school voucher program, yet there is no public record of student achievement -- no accountability.
• If true accountability is to exist in the Milwaukee voucher schools - accountability so that parents can make a truly informed choice of schools - accountability standards for voucher schools and public schools should be identical.
• Accountability measures will protect children and provide a quality control mechanism for the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.
• Enhanced accountability will not impair innovation or impose unnecessary regulation on private voucher schools.

Additional Information

Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e-mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.

Posted May 4, 2006