The past three months have been great for school choice supporters, as a series of new studies show the educational and social benefits of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), the nation’s first school voucher program.
Enacted in 1990, MPCP now enrolls 30,000 students at 129 schools. To be eligible for the program, a student’s household income must not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($77,250 for a family of four.) Each voucher has a value of $7,708— two-thirds the cost per student in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).
In June, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) released its third annual peer-reviewed study of school academic performance across the Badger State: Apples to Apples. According to the study, students at private schools in Wisconsin’s school choice programs are outperforming their peers in traditional public schools. In Milwaukee, MPCP schools had proficiency rates 4.65 percent higher in English language arts (ELA) and 3.95 percent in math, respectively, than MPS. Student growth, how much they increase their performance from one year to the next, was 7 percent higher in MPCP than MPS.
As in previous years, WILL finds Catholic and Lutheran schools are the main drivers in the proficiency advantage MPCP schools hold over MPS. MPCP Catholic schools were 8.9 percent more proficient in ELA and 4.1 percent higher in math than similar traditional public schools (TPS). Lutheran schools were 7.1 percent more proficient in math than TPS.
A Reason Foundation study from May found Wisconsin private schools receive 27 percent less funding than TPS. However, they produce 2.27 more points on the state’s Accountability Report Cards for every $1,000 invested, making them 36 percent more cost-effective than TPS. Private schools in Milwaukee itself are 50 percent more cost effective.
In July, the Urban Institute released The Effects of Means-Tested Private School Choice Programs on College Enrollment and Graduation, which used MPCP as one of its study areas. This report found ninth-grade MPCP students were 7 percent more likely to enroll in college than their public school peers. Students starting MPCP in grades 3–8 were 11 percent more likely to enroll in college than their public school peers. The grade 3–8 MPCP students were also 38 percent more likely to graduate college than their public school peers.
Also in July, a peer-reviewed study published in Social Science Quarterly, “Private School Choice and Crime: Evidence From Milwaukee,” showed persistent, long-term participation in MPCP can lead to decreased criminal activity for Milwaukee children later in life. (Earlier research finds high school students participating in MPCP have lower levels of criminality than their MPS peers, and MPCP students are expected to generate almost $475 million in additional economic benefits “associated with higher graduation rates” from 2016 to 2035.)
These new studies, and many others, show MPCP and other education choice programs offer families improved access to high-quality schools that meet their children’s unique needs and circumstances. Legislators should use the upcoming 2020 legislative session to either expand these choice programs where they already exist and enact school choice programs where they don’t.
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Budget & Tax
Tobacco Harm Reduction 101: A Guidebook for Policymakers
This new Heartland policy booklet by State Government Relations Manager Lindsey Stroud seeks to help lawmakers understand the tremendous health (and economic) advantages e-cigarettes provide. The booklet explores the nature of nicotine, which is highly addictive but not necessarily harmful. The booklet also analyzes all of the e-cigarette products currently available for consumers, compiles a comprehensive account of claims by public health advocates on the benefits of e-cigarettes, examines current regulations and taxes on electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, and debunks several myths surrounding e-cigarettes.
Education
Poll Shows Texas Voters Support Education Choice Programs
In this Research & Commentary, Policy Analyst Tim Benson writes about a new survey from the American Federation for Children that shows Texas voters overwhelmingly favor education choice programs, such as education savings accounts (ESA) and tax-credit scholarships (TCS). The poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, surveyed 625 registered Texas voters about education choice. Nearly three-quarters of respondents, 74 percent, answered they favor an ESA program. Additionally, 64 percent of Texans favor a TCS program.
Energy & Environment
The Rise and Fall of the Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climate Change (Guest: Rex Fleming)
In this edition of the Heartland Daily Podcast, Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett is joined by Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Rex Fleming to discuss his new book on why carbon dioxide cannot be causing climate change.
Health Care
Bringing Obamacare Back to the Courts (Guest: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton)
In this episode of the Heartland Daily Podcast, Policy Advisor Sarah Lee interviews Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on the Obamacare constitutional challenge his office is currently arguing in a Louisiana appeals court.
From Our Free Market Friends
The 123’s of School Choice
This report from EdChoice provides an in-depth review on private school choice programs in the United States. Areas of study include: private school choice program participant test scores, program participant attainment, parent satisfaction, public school students’ test scores, civic values and practices, racial/ethnic integration, and fiscal effects.
Tim Benson joined The Heartland Institute in September 2015 as a policy analyst in the Government Relations Department.
