Voucher School Limits

2017 Assembly Bill 980

This legislation would require that a private school may participate in a parental choice program only if it has been in operation for at least two school years and that no more than 49 percent of a private school's enrollment may consist of pupils attending the private school under a parental choice program.

The most recent budget expanded Wisconsin’s Voucher Programs. These programs are paid for by the hard-working tax-payers of Wisconsin and steps should be taken to protect these tax-dollars to ensure they are spent responsibly.  Over the past decade, there have been several high-profile closings of tax-payer funded voucher schools, some of which closed overnight leaving parents and students reeling. Mismanagement of voucher funds has cost Wisconsin taxpayers millions of dollars.

With runaway expansion and property tax increases, these provisions are a commonsense safeguard against for-profit schools who are looking to gain at the expense of our students’ futures. By ensuring that private schools are honest operators who are able to exist without being exclusively funded by taxpayer dollars, we can curb potential abuse of the state’s current voucher programs. 

Click here to view the status of this legislation.