Cap Raised

Courtesy of WisPolitics

MILWAUKEE - Governor Jim Doyle today signed legislation that will increase the cap on the Milwaukee Parental Choice program, bring strong new accountability to it, and provide funding to help reduce class sizes in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

"This legislation allows the choice program to continue its growth like advocates wanted, but it will also help public schools in Milwaukee and across the state by providing significant new funding to help lower class sizes," Governor Doyle said. "It is a victory for schools, not just in Milwaukee, but all across the state."

The agreement calls for:

An Increase in the Choice Cap.
The cap on the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program will be increased by 7,500 students.

Strong Accountability.
All schools participating in the choice program will be required to obtain independent accreditation by an outside group such as (but not limited to) the Wisconsin North Central Association, the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation, the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, or the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In addition, all choice schools will be required to administer the nationally normed standardized tests such as the Iowa Basics Test. The test scores will be reported to the Legislative Audit Bureau for analysis and also reported to researchers at Georgetown University for use in a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of the program.

Small Class Size Funding.
Funding for the SAGE program, which funds smaller classes in public schools for grades K-3, will be increased from $2,000 to $2,250 per student effective in the Fiscal Year 2008 to Fiscal Year 2009 budget. This results in an increase of $25 million statewide, approximately $8 million of which will directly benefit Milwaukee Public Schools.

Eligibility Changes.
The agreement eliminates the requirement that a student can participate in the choice program only if they have attended a Milwaukee Public School in the prior year. It also allows families currently in the program to remain eligible even if their income rises above the current limit. While the current limit of 175 percent of the federal poverty level will remain in place for newly enrolling families, children in the program and their siblings will be able to remain as long as their family income does not rise to exceed 220 percent of the federal poverty level.