2023 Assembly Joint Resolution 105
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: declaring the week of January 21 to 27, 2024, School Choice Week and recognizing the right of parents to select the best educational path for their children.
Whereas, National School Choice Week informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K–12 education options available to their children, while generating widespread public awareness of the importance of opportunity in K–12 education; and
Whereas, Wisconsin's pioneering school choice program was launched in Milwaukee in 1990 to offer scholarships to low-income students wishing to attend a private school; and
Whereas, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was the first of its kind in the United States and has since grown to educate more than 29,000 students in 130 schools; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Legislature expanded school choice to Racine in 2011, statewide in 2013, and to the special needs scholarships in 2015; and
Whereas, the Racine Parental Choice Program educates more than 4,000 students in 35 schools, the Special Needs Scholarship Program educates more than 2,700 students in 160 schools, and the statewide choice program educates over 19,000 students in 330 schools; and
Whereas, over 124,000 students attend private schools in Wisconsin, and approximately 44 percent of private school students receive a state-supported scholarship via the four Wisconsin parental choice programs; and
Whereas, nearly 50,000 students attend charter schools in Wisconsin, including public, virtual, and independent charter options; and
Whereas, parents across Wisconsin choose public school open enrollment, with over 71,000 students statewide transferring from one public school district to another; and
Whereas, nearly 30,000 Wisconsin students are homeschooled; and
Whereas, 72 percent of Wisconsin parents enroll their children in their resident public school, while the remaining 28 percent choose a different option based on what works best for each child and family; and
Whereas, choice schools see significant success in student achievement and are regularly lauded as innovators in education; and
Whereas, all of these options provide parents with more educational opportunities and a variety of pathways to consider; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin Legislature hereby declares January 21 to 27, 2024, School Choice Week and encourages Wisconsin families to discover more about the different educational options available to them in our great state.
