GREEN BAY, Wis. — Residents could petition to create a new school voucher program in Green Bay, Wis., under legislation passed by a committee of the Wisconsin Legislature, an advocacy group is reporting.
The legislation is now headed to the full Wisconsin Assembly, according to a press release from the American Federation for Children.
If a petition were successful, eligible families in Green Bay could access vouchers to send their children to qualifying private schools, the report said. In a press release, the federation called the “parent petition” for a school voucher program the first of its kind in the country, noting that California residents used a “parent trigger” law there to convert a failing elementary school into a public charter school, the report said.
The new voucher program, if triggered by a petition, would begin with 250 students in the first year, 500 in the second and progress to no cap on voucher enrollment in subsequent years, the press release said.
SOURCE:
American Federation for Children, “Wisconsin Legislature
Moves Forward with ‘Parent Petition’ Voucher Effort for Green Bay,” June 4,
2011
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, “School choice programs gain
ground,” April 12, 2011
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