Released: 8/1/2006
Author(s): Greg Forster, Ph.D.
This study compares segregation levels in Milwaukee public schools and in private schools participating in the Milwaukee voucher program. Using a segregation index that measures the difference between the percent of students in a school who are white and the percentage of school-age children in the greater metro area who are white, it finds that segregation is 13 points higher in Milwaukee public schools than in voucher-participating private schools. To put this finding in perspective, in a city whose school-age population was 50 percent white, a school that was 60 percent white and a school that was 73 percent white would differ by 13 points on the segregation index.
Programs
Launched 1990–91
Eligible low-income families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin may send their children to a participating private school of their choice.
New legislation in 2011 significantly increased the number of families and schools eligible to participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Now, children from all families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (e.g., about $67,000 for a family of four) will qualify to receive school vouchers. The cap on the number of students who can participate will be removed, and as a result, it is estimated that about 84,000 Milwaukee families—or more than 65 percent of all Milwaukee families—will be eligible to participate. Once a student receives a voucher, that student will be able to keep it, regardless of his or her family’s future income. The new rules also stipulate that parents earning between 200 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines can add their own funds on top of the voucher, which will give them a wider array of options. Voucher students are now allowed to attend any participating private school in the state.
