‘Put students ahead of systems’: Wisconsin policy experts tackle state’s stagnant K-12 education 

As public school enrollment continues to decline, Wisconsin’s education reformers are promoting practical changes to improve public and private education alike.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) released its “Roadmap for Student Success,” a conservative agenda chock-full of policy recommendations to revitalize Wisconsin’s K-12 schools.

“For decades, Wisconsin was regarded as one of the strongest education states in the country, but we are losing ground in key areas,” observed WILL Research Director Will Flanders. “The answer cannot be to simply spend more money and hope for better results.”

Public schools in the Badger State currently spend nearly $19,000 per student, but less than half of students read or do math at grade level.

WILL’s roadmap lists a variety of policy recommendations, ranging from expanding school choice to stricter student discipline. It argues Wisconsin policymakers should:

• Remove income caps and eschew enrollment caps from the state’s school choice programs 

• Remove unnecessary barriers to charter school growth 

• Update the charter funding model to be more similar to traditional public schools 

• Establish an independent statewide charter authorizer, rather than the current one operating within the University of Wisconsin system 

• Expand open enrollment opportunities 

• Promote “course choice,” which allows students to enroll in individual classes at public schools they don’t attend 

• Establish clear protections for microschools by creating a legal category for microschools and reducing facility barriers 

• Establish a parental bill of rights 

• Require all public school districts to maintain an online curriculum transparency portal for parents, taxpayers and school board members 

• Opt into the federal school choice tax credit 

• Establish a statewide process for managing surplus school properties, including making them available to charter or private schools for purchase 

• End grade inflation by prohibiting schools from telling teachers to assign a “minimum grade” that doesn’t reflect actual performance 

• Limit technology in the classroom, particularly in elementary grades 

• Promote teacher safety with stricter disciplinary action 

• Strengthen alternative pathways to teacher licensing 

“The common thread running through these recommendations is simple: Wisconsin should put students and families ahead of systems,” WILL concluded. “That means giving parents greater authority to choose the education that works best for their children, directing education dollars toward the students they are intended to serve, demanding honest information about school performance and spending, and giving educators and schools the freedom to innovate while holding them accountable for results.”

The state was a pioneer in the modern school choice movement with a program for Milwaukee residents in 1990. It has several other regional and state programs, but many students still aren’t eligible.

Gov. Tony Evers is one of several Democrat governors across the country to declare their state won’t participate in the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, which takes effect in January. Evers said the program would be “catastrophic” for public schools, but WILL and others, including The Wall Street Journal, disagree.

“Wisconsin does not need to choose between strong public schools and educational choice, or between accountability and autonomy,” WILL said. “A system built around students can embrace all of these principles.”