Wisconsin school choice faces legal challenge as families fight to keep options

Although Wisconsin pioneered the first modern school choice program in the 1990s, that hasn’t stopped opponents from trying to end education freedom.

The latest attempt, a lawsuit filed in February by several teachers’ unions, school districts and other opponents, alleges public schools are underfunded and places part of the blame on the state’s four school choice programs: the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, the Wisconsin Special Needs Scholarship Program, and city-based programs in Milwaukee and Racine.

EdChoice Legal Advocates, which defends school choice, has filed to intervene in the case, representing two families who would experience harm if their school choice programs end.

Melinda Hudson, an attorney with EdChoice, said the lengthy suit seeks broad relief from an outcome that could include curtailing or ending school choice.

“All four of those programs are mentioned as being part of the cause for the alleged inadequate funding,” she told The Lion in an interview. “We’re representing families who rely on the programs and would be devastated if anything happened to them.”

Those families include Olivia Jimenez, a Racine single mom raising three children who attend a Lutheran school, and Anthony and Gina Ellis of Greenleaf, parents of nine children, three of whom use or plan to use the scholarship to attend a Catholic classical school.

In both cases, private school would be cost-prohibitive without the approximately $11,000 per student the programs provide.

“So many families around Wisconsin are relying on these programs,” Hudson said. “The families of the choice programs are the ones who are the direct beneficiaries. They’re the ones who have the most to lose, so that’s why we’re representing them to hopefully get their voices heard in this important case.”

Wisconsin has about 61,000 students enrolled in school choice, or about 7% of its K-12 population, demonstrating the programs’ popularity.

Hudson said the Wisconsin Supreme Court has twice ruled in favor of school choice and dismissed a 2023 case against it. The current lawsuit is filed in circuit court in Eau Claire but could find its way to the high court through appeals.

EdChoice Legal Advocates is active in cases across the country, helping win a unanimous decision for school choice in Idaho in February and a Missouri verdict last week in favor of the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program, or MOScholars.

Hudson said that despite repeated wins, the opposition continues.

“I think there are certainly opponents of school choice that are taking every opportunity to try to undermine choice programs in states,” she said, adding that she hopes enough wins will lead to a tipping point.

“It’s pretty clear that parents really want these opportunities to be able to choose the best education for their children. But at the same time, that comes with opponents bringing these cases.

“We’ve gotten quite a few wins lately, so I think certainly the tide is in favor of school choice. And hopefully those wins just continue to compound and make it clear that that choice is constitutional.”