State test results from the 2022-23 school year show progress toward reaching pre-pandemic scores, but wide gaps exist for both racial and socioeconomic statuses. Also, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) acknowledged that "schools that remained in a hybrid or virtual instructional model for longer (like MMSD) saw greater declines in proficiency rates post-pandemic and a longer road to recovery."

These are critical reasons why we need to keep Wisconsin's School Choice program, so parents have the option to send their children to a school that best serves their needs. School choice helps address racial and socioeconomic disparities by expanding access to great education opportunities for the kids who may be struggling and encourages underperforming schools to reassess their curriculum.

School choice also increases parental engagement because when parents are more actively involved in selecting a school, they tend to be more engaged in their children's education. Research has shown that family and parent involvement in schools leads to better outcomes regardless of a family's ethnic background or socioeconomic status. Parent involvement has led to higher academic outcomes both for children from low and higher socioeconomic-status families.

For some reason, opponents of school choice want children to stay in low-performing schools or schools that can’t meet a student’s learning needs.

Right now, there is a lawsuit asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to eliminate funding for the state's four taxpayer-funded school voucher programs and independent charter schools. If successful, the lawsuit would eliminate school voucher programs, one of which is used by nearly 30,000 children in Milwaukee.

Private school voucher programs provide participating schools with a taxpayer-funded voucher to pay for the tuition for each student who is eligible to enroll. This lawsuit would hurt thousands of low-income families throughout the state who use the programs to attend private schools. Click below for a cheat sheet on the lawsuit against school choice.

School Choice has bipartisan support in Wisconsin, but so many continue to make this a partisan issue. Parents know what's best for their children, and we all want our kids to succeed.

Wisconsin needs more education freedom, not less. You can learn more about school choice by visiting schoolchoicewi.org.