Created in 1990, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) is the nation’s largest and oldest school voucher program for low-income families.
In February 2007, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its report on the MPCP. Download the full report at the bottom of this page
Enrollment
The program has grown from 337 students (FTE) at seven schools in 1990-91 to 20,328.3 students (FTE) at 111 schools in 2009-10. Enrollment is capped by statute at 22,500 students.
Eligibility
Eligible students are from Milwaukee families with incomes at or below 175% of the federal poverty level – $38,175 for a family of four in 2009-10. Once a child enters the MPCP, a family’s income is allowed to rise to 220% of the federal poverty level - $47,991 for a family of four in 2009-10. In addition, initial income eligibility for siblings of students already using a voucher is at the higher 220% threshold.
Eligible students may receive up to $6,442 in 2009-10 to enroll at the private Milwaukee school of their choice.
Constitutionality
The Wisconsin Supreme Court twice has upheld the constitutionality of the MPCP. On June 27, 2002 the United States Supreme Court upheld voucher programs, such as the MPCP, that let parents choose among non-religious and religious private schools.
Cost
According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), the state pays 61% of MPCP costs. Milwaukee taxpayers pay the remaining 39%. The LFB has also concluded that the program does not have a negative state aid or property tax impact on districts outside Milwaukee.
Fiscal Impact of Ending the MPCP
Ending the MPCP would:
- transfer thousands of students to MPS;
- increase state costs; and
- shift state aid to MPS from all 425 districts outside Milwaukee. See FISCAL EFFECT.
Regulations
State law requires private schools in the MPCP to:
Comply with non-discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Admit all eligible choice students and use a random selection process when applications exceed available space.
Follow health and safety codes that apply to public schools.
Follow uniform accounting standards established by DPI.
Submit an annual financial audit to DPI.
Allow students to “opt out” of religious activity.
Provide 1,050 hours of instruction per year for pupils in grades 1 to 6 and 1,137 in grades 7 to 12 .
Provide a “sequentially progressive curriculum” in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health.
Administer the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam to all participating pupils in the same grades and subjects as public schools:
- 3rd: Reading/Math
- 4th: Reading/Math/Science/Social Studies/Writing/Language Arts
- 5th: Reading/Math
- 6th: Reading/Math
- 7th: Reading/Math
- 8th: Reading/Math/Science/Social Studies/Writing/Language Arts
- 10th: Reading/Math/Science/Social Studies/Writing/Language Arts
Test results must be submitted to the School Choice Demonstration Project and DPI.
Apply for and obtain accreditation within three and half years of participation in the MPCP from an approved agency. Schools approved for scholarships from Partners for Advancing Values in Education during the 2005-2006 school year are exempt from this requirement. New schools seeking to enter the MPCP must obtain pre-accreditation from the Institute for the Transformation of Learning prior to participating in the MPCP.
Employ teachers aide's with at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency.
Employ teachers with at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
Adopt academic standards in math, reading and writing, geography and history.
Have their governing board specify criteria for granting a high school diploma. Beginning in September 2010, no private school may grant a diploma to an MPCP student unless that student meets the governing board’s criteria.
Have their governing board develop criteria for promoting students from grade 4 to grade 5 and from grade 8 to grade 9. Criteria must include the pupil’s score on the state test in grade 4 or grade 8. Other criteria are recommendations of teachers and any other academic criteria specified by the governing board. Schools may not promote students who do not meet criteria.
Ensure an accreditation agency performs an audit of the school's progress records for MPCP students. The statutes define progress records to include: grades, courses, attendance, immunization records, any lead screening records required by state law, and extracurricular activities.
Ensure an accreditation agency performs an audit of the school's records for high school graduates to ensure that they satisfactorily completed the course of instruction.
Provide to DPI, pupils, and parents or guardians who apply to the school:
- The name, address, and phone number of the school and the name of one or more contact persons.
- A list of members of the school’s governing body and shareholders, if any.
- A notice stating whether the school is operated for profit or not for profit and a certificate of nonprofit status, if applicable.
- A copy of appeals process if the school rejects an applicant.
- A copy of the non-harassment policy used by the private school, with the procedures for reporting and obtaining relief from harassment.
- A copy of suspension and expulsion procedures, including appeal procedures.
- A copy of the policy for accepting or denying transfer of credits from another MPCP school.
- A copy of the visitors policy.
Submit to DPI, for each of the previous five years:
- MPCP students and non-MPCP students in grade 12 and the number who graduated.
- MPCP and non-MPCP students in grade 4 and the number of those who advanced to grade 5.
- MPCP and non-MPCP students in grade 8 and the number of those who advanced to grade 9.
- Individual pupil scores on all standardized tests given since 2006 and going forward.
Submit annually to DPI academic standards adopted by the governing board of the school and a signed statement from each member of the school’s governing body verifying that the individual is indeed a member of that body.
Failure to follow program regulations may result in termination from the MPCP.
Benefits
MPS Superintendent William Andrekopoulos and several elected MPS board members believe school choice has a positive impact. MPS data show that, during a period of rapid MPCP expansion, district enrollment and spending per pupil grew. Academic achievement and high school graduation rates also have improved, though they remain too low. “Milwaukee’s Public Schools in an Era of Choice,” a document published by School Choice Wisconsin in October 2005, outlines these changes.
Harvard economist Caroline M. Hoxby analyzed MPS test scores in schools with the most students eligible for vouchers. She concluded:
“Overall, an evaluation of Milwaukee suggests that public schools have a strong, positive response to competition from vouchers…. [S]chools that faced the most potential competition from vouchers had the best productivity response.”
University of Wisconsin Professor John Witte, the state’s official MPCP evaluator from 1990 to1995, said in a 2000 book:
“Choice can be a useful tool to aid families and educators in inner city and poor communities where education has been a struggle for several generations … If programs are devised correctly, they can provide meaningful educational choices to families that now do not have such choices. And it is not trivial that most people in America ... already have such choices.”
More Information
Additional information on the MPCP is available at SchoolChoiceInfo, another site maintained by School Choice Wisconsin.
Information also is available from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which administers the MPCP.
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LFB Report on MPCP, Feb. 2007
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