Most children applying to the Wisconsin’s expanded school voucher program already attend private schools without the help of taxpayer dollars, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin is spending $10.5 million over the next two years to expand school vouchers statewide.
The 2013-15 state budget expanded the school voucher program, which had previously been limited to Milwaukee and Racine, to school districts across the state. Just over 2,000 students applied to receive vouchers at schools participating in the new program. Sixty-seven percent of the students applying already attend private schools.
Because participation in the voucher expansion outside of Milwaukee and Racine is capped at 500 students for the 2013-14 school year and 1,000 students in 2014-15, a lottery will be used to determine which students will receive vouchers. Students in public school will not receive priority over students already in private schools. Only students from families with incomes of less than 185% of the federal