SB 989

Private School Choice Program

Under current law, the Department of Public Instruction administers the

Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, and the

Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. Current law includes a pupil participation

limit on the WPCP that applies through the end of the 2025-26 school year.

Under the bill, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, DPI will administer the

MPCP, the RPCP, and the WPCP as a single program, to be known as the Private

School Choice Program. The bill does not change the pupil eligibility requirements

that exist under each of the current parental choice programs. For example, under

the bill, to be eligible for the Private School Choice Program, a pupil who resides in

the Racine Unified School District must meet the eligibility requirements under the

RPCP: certain prior year school attendance requirements and a family income that

does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Similarly, to be eligible for

the Private School Choice Program, a pupil who resides in a school district other than

the Racine Unified School District or Milwaukee Public Schools must meet the

eligibility requirements under the WPCP: certain prior year school attendance

requirements and a family income that does not exceed 220 percent of the federal

poverty level.

Under the bill, to participate in the 2025-26 school year, private schools will

submit to DPI an intent to participate for the MPCP, RPCP, or WPCP. Similarly, for

attendance during the 2025-26 school year, pupils will apply to attend a

participating private school under the MPCP, RPCP, or WPCP. During the 2025-26

school year, DPI will transition to the Private School Choice Program created under

this bill but will continue to administer the combined program as the three separate

parental choice programs. Under the bill, intents to participate and pupil

applications made during the 2025-26 school year for participation or attendance in

the 2026-27 school year are for the Private School Choice Program.

Other changes

In addition to establishing the Private School Choice Program, the bill includes

the following substantive changes:

1. The bill creates a reenrollment process for choice pupils who attend a

participating private school on the January count date. Beginning in the 2025-26

school year, during a reenrollment period that occurs at the end of January, a

participating private school must determine, for each grade it will offer in the

following school year, if it will have enough choice program seats in the following

school year to offer a choice program seat to each of its current choice pupils. If the

participating private school has enough choice program seats for all of its current

choice pupils, the participating private school must notify the parents of each current

choice pupil that the pupil has been offered a choice program seat for the following

school year and the process for the parent to accept the choice program seat. If the