Voucher Issues

There are a couple of voucher issues worthy of updating.



First, the plan to expand Milwaukee's
voucher program to more students is moving along in the Wisconsin Legislature.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has really been on top of the issue, and is
worth checking out. The  Edjurists out there will remember that Milwaukee has generated
quite a bit of litigation concerning their voucher program. Here are some of the cases: Jackson v. Benson, Miller v. Benson (878 F.Supp. 1209 (E.D. Wis. 1995)), and Davis v. Grover (166 Wis. 2d 501 (1992)).



Also, Indiana
is taking steps to fund a full day kindergarten program through tax credits.
Details of the program are still a little fuzzy, and there is still debate on
the issue, but it looks as though schools (either public or private) could be
reimbursed. Check out this video from the Jan. 29, Indiana Lawmakers interview. Here is a link to the bill.

Finally, vouchers have managed to survive the cuts in the latest round
of the budget. While many program were zeroed, vouchers recieved an
additional $100 million. In the plan, parents could recieve up to
$4000.00 that could be transferred to private schools. Here
is a decent EdWeek article on it (registration required - which is
annoying). And here is a quote from the Department of Education page on the virtues of the budget.

More Options for Parents.
While states have made improvements to implement NCLB choice options,
there are still too few alternatives in many districts for parents
seeking a quality education for their children. The 2007 would increase
this range with:

• $100 million for a new America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids
  program, which would provide parents of students enrolled in schools
  identified as in need of restructuring with more opportunities to
  transfer their children to a private school or obtain supplemental
  services.