Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

Milwaukee families who earn up to 300% of the FPL are eligible for this program. For married families, $7,000 is subtracted from this limit when determining income eligibility. A participant whose family income later increases beyond the income cap may continue to receive a voucher, provided the student meets the other program criteria. Lawmakers significantly increased the voucher amounts in 2023 for the first time in the program’s 33-year history.

Funding Mechanism: Formula-based; starting this year, paid from the general purpose revenue.

Honorable Mention Fact: Excluding the two tuitioning voucher programs in the Northeast, this is the first voucher program enacted by a state legislature in the modern era of K–12 education.  

Universal Eligibility: ❌
Universal Usage: ❌
Universal Funding: ✅
Truly Universal: ❌

(Last updated December 16, 2025)

Qualifying expenses include tuition and fees at approved private schools. 

(Last updated December 16, 2025)

View program requirements for parents, schools, and scholarship granting organizations by clicking on each hyperlink.

(Last updated December 16, 2025)

Wis. Stat. §§ 119.23 and 235, 121.08(4)(b) 

(Last updated September 27, 2024) 

On March 3, 1992, the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Davis v. Grover held that the Milwaukee voucher program was constitutional. The court held that the voucher legislation was not an impermissible private or local bill, and the program does not disturb the uniformity of public school districts or violate the public purpose doctrine. Justice Ceci, in a concurring opinion said, “Let’s give choice a chance!” Davis v. Grover, 166 Wis.2d 501, 480 N.W.2d 460 (Wis. 1992).

On June 10, 1998, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in Jackson v. Benson that the Milwaukee voucher program does not violate either the state’s Compelled Support Clause or Blaine Amendment. The court also affirmed the conclusions of Davis v. Grover (above), an earlier unsuccessful challenge to the school choice program. Jackson v. Benson, 218 Wis. 2d 835, 578 N.W.2d 602 (1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 967 (1998).

On December 23, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division of the Educational Opportunities Section (US DoJ) responded to an ACLU complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in June 2011, alleging that the Milwaukee voucher program violated federal laws prohibiting discrimination against students with disabilities. The US DOJ issued a letter to Wisconsin’s state superintendent of public instruction, informing the superintendent that after a rigorous evaluation, the Department of Justice had determined that no further action was warranted, and their investigation was closed. There were no findings of wrongdoing related to the voucher program.

(Last updated September 27, 2024)