CFC IN THE NEWS

• “The data contained in this document is devastating. The question is, when will we muster the political will to change this unacceptable reality for our children?” says Howard Fuller on CFC’s latest report on student achievement on the North Side, to WPR

• “Achievement gaps between Black and white students are exacerbated by falling enrollment in Milwaukee Public Schools… Money goes toward maintaining facilities in half-empty buildings that could otherwise be invested in academic programs, student support services or teacher development, the report from City Forward Collective said,” from Urban Milwaukee

1

1 in 4 MPS Students Not Graduating in 4 Years

Context: The last year has shown that Milwaukee students’ achievement, especially Black students’, continues to lag behind that of students statewide — from last year’s results showing the nation’s largest Black-white achievement gap to last week’s CFC report showing low achievement on the North Side.

Why This Matters: More data confirmed this narrative this week, as new graduation rate data shows that more than 1 in 4 MPS students aren’t graduating in four years, and that the MPS grad rate lags the statewide rate by 20 percentage points. On the positive side, chronic absenteeism continued to fall from post-pandemic highs across the state.

What’s Next: Although much of the news coverage and public officials’ commentary on the graduation rates focused only on the positives, the reality for Milwaukee youth remains the same.

As CFC called for in its report on North Side achievement last week, “Every elected leader and candidate for office must answer one straightforward question: what concrete steps will you take to improve performance and student outcomes on Milwaukee’s North Side?”

Related:

• Milwaukee Public Schools Reaches Highest Graduation Rate In 16 Years

• Report: Wisconsin high school graduation rates show improvement

• Latest data shows more Wisconsin students graduating - WPR

• REPORT: Nearly Half of Wisconsin’s Lowest-Performing Schools Are in Milwaukee

2

Legislature Approves DPI Funds, but Exam Controversy Lingers

Context: In February, DPI’s wasteful spending made the news, as legislators learned that the department spent nearly $400,000 on a four-day junket at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells. DPI said that the work was done to update its student assessment, the Forward Exam. CFC has repeatedly argued these changes lowered expectations for students and widened the honesty gap.

The legislature delayed approval of DPI funds at that time, with a promise to investigate the spending.

Why This Matters: This week, the Joint Finance Committee approved $1.75m of the $2m request from DPI. Committee co-chair Mark Born said that, after the investigation, there was “nothing wrong” with the spending, but approved a lower amount as a “data-driven adjustment” to avoid overspending.

Rep. Mark Born and Sen. Howard Marklein

DPI had warned that the cut would force layoffs. This week, it changed its tune.

What’s Next: The exam changes behind the junket continue to lower expectations for Wisconsin students. Meanwhile, legislative negotiations continue over the massive increase in property taxes last year and the impact on school funding.

Related:

• GOP lawmakers approve reduced funding for Department of Public Instruction - WPR

• Lawmakers withhold $250K from Wisconsin DPI after water park dispute

• Wisconsin public schools demand more funding as 72 districts go to referendums

• Co-chair says ‘nothing wrong’ with DPI water park conference as Joint Finance releases $1.75 million to agency

3

Dems Reconsider Federal Tax Credit

Context: The new federal school choice tax credit, launching in 2027, could unlock millions for states to support a wide range of educational services---but governors have to opt in. Gov. Evers was one of the Democratic governors who said he would not, but Wisconsin’s next governor will ultimately decide whether the state participates.

Why This Matters: This week, three Democratic governors are reconsidering their decision:

According to Education Week, Govs. Green (Hawaii), Lujan Grisham (New Mexico), and Kotek (Oregon) had all previously said no, but pressure campaigns have ramped up. Now, all three say their teams are seeking more guidance before committing. The final Treasury rules are expected this summer. In Colorado, where Gov. Polis has led the way for Democrats opting into the program, legislators are exploring what guardrails they can put in to ensure nondiscrimination.

What’s Next: Education Week has updated its nationwide tracker, and in Wisconsin, MMAC is raising funds to demonstrate program support this year.

Related:

• They Said No to the Federal School Choice Program. Now, 3 Dems Are Reconsidering

• Trump voucher offers new money for public school students, and pressure for Democrats

• Colorado bill wants nondiscrimination in state’s use of Trump’s education tax-credit - Chalkbeat

• Federal Private School Choice: Which States Are Opting In?

• MMAC launches scholarship-granting organization

4

Cell Phones Out, AI In: Schools Navigate New Tech Pressures

Context: In 2025, Wisconsin banned student cell phones in school.

Why This Matters: Over the last year, as AI usage has skyrocketed, schools have had new technology issues to address:

• Youth mental health continues downward: A large-scale new research project shows that young people are using social media to cope with tough issues, which can hurt their mental health over time. Meanwhile, the expansion of high-speed internet into new communities has led to adolescents spending more time online and worsening mental health outcomes.

• Schools need to get up to date on AI: Two new reports urge schools to put student learning first rather than follow tech companies’ lead. The reports arrive as major cities sign contracts with large AI vendors, and as Congressional lawmakers expressed a bipartisan interest in training teachers how to use AI safely and effectively.

• Tech bans accelerate: More states are considering limits or deeper bans on technology in schools, as more evidence shows that phones are increasing loneliness and hurting learning. Some states are considering bans on all technology, including laptops.

What’s Next: Here in Wisconsin, a new legislative proposal would require schools to adopt “bell-to-bell” bans, a stricter standard than the one that passed in 2025. Gov. Evers hasn’t decided whether he would sign it.

Related:

• U.S. Schools Are Betting Big on A.I. Will New York City Be Next?

• House hearing stresses that AI teacher training is a must | K-12 Dive

• Study Links Increased Broadband Access to Suicide Risk Among Teens – The 74

• Two New Reports Urge ‘Human-Centered’ School AI Adoption – The 74

• Wisconsin could expand newly-implemented school cell phone ban - WPR

• Evers says he has to think about the ‘bell-to-bell’ cell phone ban lawmakers are pushing

• Phones at school: Less learning, more loneliness

• States weigh limits, outright bans on ed tech in schools | K-12 Dive

5

“Education Advocacy Needs More Strange Bedfellows”

Context: As student achievement nationally has lagged for a decade, both parties have retreated to partisan corners rather than focusing on results.

Why This Matters: This week, 50CAN President Derrell Bradford used his organization’s newest poll to make the case for cross-partisan coalition-building, saying that “Politics is, after all, about addition.”

Read Bradford’s entire piece here.

What’s Next: That argument lands close to home. In Milwaukee, student success will require exactly those kinds of new alliances. In nearby Wauwatosa, there are signs of the partisan freeze thawing: the Journal-Sentinel spotlights four school board candidates who are a “politically mixed bag, and their issue list isn’t a culture war playlist.”

Related:

• Education Advocacy Needs More Strange Bedfellows – The 74

• Can school board reform slate win in age of culture wars? | Opinion

• Student Achievement Is Down Overall — But Kids at the Bottom Are Sinking Faster – The 74

• Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning? - The New York Times

MORE

LOCAL

• ‘That is not your job’: These students say school resource officers are overstepping their authority

• Milwaukee students protest ICE actions. Why?

• MATC partners with high schools on dual enrollment pathways | Opinion

• Carmen Northwest’s move to Harambee brings new possibilities for students and the neighborhood, school leaders say

• MPS proposes incentives to retain and recruit workers while addressing budget deficit | News Detail

• Milwaukee schools unveil literacy plan after low reading scores

STATE

• ​​Fuller tells ‘UpFront’ universal school choice was never his intention

• Tony Evers calls for special session to ban partisan gerrymandering

• Three-year college degrees could be coming to some UW campuses

NATIONAL

• Trump aims to shrink the Education Department — while Washington tightens its grip on schools

• Future of IPS hinges on possible tax increase proposed by a new corporation, not the school board

• Parents are opting kids out of school laptops, returning them to pen and paper

CFC in the News

• “This question of math and numeracy is every bit as important as the conversation we’ve had around literacy,” CFC Executive Director Colleston Morgan, Jr. said to PBS Wisconsin, in a joint interview about the need for math with Angie From, a teacher at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee.

• Learning to Read: Executive Director Colleston Morgan is one of the business and community leaders who talked about reversing decades of Milwaukee’s literacy failures to the Milwaukee Biz Times

• Congratulations to Executive Director Colleston Morgan, nominated as a 2026 Milwaukee Biz Journal Power Player

1

Students on Milwaukee’s North Side Deserve Better Than Silence

Context: Wisconsin now posts the nation’s widest Black-white achievement gap in reading and math. State leaders called the results a wake-up call last year, yet little has changed since.

Why This Matters: CFC’s new brief focuses on Milwaukee’s North Side, the epicenter of the state’s educational crisis:

• Fewer than 20% of the roughly 55,000 students attend schools CFC defines as high quality.

• Of 2,280 high school students in quality schools on the North Side, just 3% are Black, and none attend MPS district-run schools.

• 22 of Wisconsin’s 50 lowest-performing schools sit on the North Side.

• Enrollment has dropped by 4,500 students since before the pandemic, leaving half-empty buildings and no clear rightsizing response. Birth rates are still falling, meaning the decline will continue.

CFC Executive Director Colleston Morgan summarizes the situation in his Substack: “Tens of thousands of children are trapped in failing schools, and the people seeking our community’s votes have almost nothing to say about it.”

School Performance on the North Side

What’s Next: Candidates in this election year face a direct question: what will you do to improve outcomes on Milwaukee’s North Side? CFC calls for rightsizing, stronger accountability for failing schools, and governance reform.

Read the full report here.

Related:

• Students on Milwaukee’s North Side Deserve Better Than Silence

• Nearly half of Wisconsin’s lowest-performing schools are in Milwaukee

• Milwaukee’s North Side Education Crisis: A Generation of Failure Demands Action

• Wisconsin again has widest gap in US for math

• New report finds that North Side schools are failing Black students

• The North Side’s Education Crisis - Forward Thinking

2

Districts Sue Legislature Over School Funding as State Stalemate Continues

Context: Last week, district leaders in Wisconsin called for increased funding as Gov. Evers delivered his final State of the State address. Then, lawmakers ended the session without a deal on property taxes or school funding.

Why This Matters: In response, a group of Milwaukee districts, teachers and parents filed a lawsuit arguing Wisconsin’s school funding system is unconstitutional. A similar coalition with the same legal representation sued in 2023, as well. While the case includes an attack on public charter schools and school choice, the plaintiffs are only seeking relief through funding for traditional districts. A 2000 ruling in a similar case upheld the formula, but plaintiffs argue conditions have worsened since.

Meanwhile, a new national report ranks Wisconsin among the states with the heaviest property tax burdens. The latest Marquette poll shows voters favor reducing property taxes over increasing school spending by a 60-to-40 margin.

What’s Next: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said that it’s “very likely” lawmakers will return to pass a tax relief package in a special session. Meanwhile, Wisconsin joins other states wrestling with the twin pressures of declining enrollment and financial sustainability.

Related:

• Wisconsin school leaders seek funding, property tax relief from surplus

• Schools are adding adults even as they lose students. Is that a problem?

• Parents, educators file lawsuit against Wisconsin lawmakers over school funding

• School districts, teachers, parents suing Legislature over state funding

• Wisconsin school districts sue state Legislature over funding system

• Wisconsin school funding unconstitutional according to lawsuit filed by teachers, parents, students

• Wisconsin ranked among states with the highest property taxes

• Wisconsin’s state Assembly adjourned without changes to school funding - WPR

• Marquette Law School Poll – A Comprehensive Look at the Wisconsin Vote

3

Unions, Budgets, and Student Outcomes: What Should MPS Learn?

Context: As MPS holds budget hearings and reconsiders planned raises, district leaders face mounting pressure from the local teachers union. How should school districts balance labor demands with student outcomes and financial reality?

Why This Matters: Three new national pieces this week lay out paths forward for districts and governments looking to help families and students while dealing with powerful public sector unions:

• “Districts need to do their job in labor talks---for the sake of their students,” writes Marguerite Roza in The 74. Roza highlights how, too often, negotiations with labor unions result in the most suffering for high-poverty schools. That pattern echoes Milwaukee, where budget strain and enrollment decline disproportionately affect North Side schools (see Item 1)

• “Democrats need a new bargain with public sector unions:” Nicholas Bagley and Robert Fordon call on Democratic leaders to rethink their alignment with public sector unions, arguing that failing to demand results undermines trust in government. In a city wrestling with deficits, declining enrollment, and low results, that warning lands close to home.

• “Public education prioritizes adults, not student learning”: Vladimir Kogan contends that public education systems too often reflect the preferences of organized adults rather than the families they serve. He argues that expanding choice can give disadvantaged families more leverage, a live debate in Milwaukee as charter schools expand and MPS struggles with rightsizing.

A photo from the recent strike in San Francisco

What’s Next: Wisconsin Democrats remain 23 points underwater in the latest Marquette poll. As MPS navigates raises, staffing, and school closures, leaders must decide how to prioritize measurable results for students.

Related:

• MPS to hold first of 4 informational budget meetings; community invited to attend

• MPS shares initial base wage proposals as budget planning continues

• For the Sake of Their Students, Districts Need to Do Their Job in Labor Talks

• Mamdani Will Need to Change How He Governs - The New York Times

• Can the politics of schools be fixed?

4

Indianapolis Passes Reform. What can Milwaukee Learn?

Context: Like Milwaukee, Indianapolis has struggled with declining enrollment, uneven accountability, and separate systems for district and charter schools.

Why This Matters: This week, Indiana lawmakers approved a sweeping overhaul. A new appointed body, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, will direct transportation, facilities, and accountability across both district and charter schools. Supporters call it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” The proposal rests on three distinct shifts:

• Funding parity: Charters and district schools will receive comparable per-pupil funding.

• Facilities and transportation overhaul: IPEC can shrink excess buildings and coordinate transportation citywide, aligning infrastructure with today’s student population.

• Equal accountability: The district will function as one operator among many. Schools, regardless of sector, will compete under common standards.

The Indiana Statehouse

What’s Next: The reform required alignment among local leaders, state lawmakers, the Governor, and civic groups. As Milwaukee debates rightsizing and governance, Indianapolis offers a concrete example of structural change rather than tweaks.

Related:

• IPS has biggest student enrollment loss since pandemic at 6% - Chalkbeat

• Indiana lawmakers pass bill to create appointed Indianapolis schools board

• As lawmakers push to unify operations for Indianapolis schools, charters could get an edge

• A Bold Restructuring of Indy’s Public Schools, An Opportunity for Students

5

Early Childhood Funding: Could Choice Expand Access?

Context: Child care costs strain families across Wisconsin, while providers struggle with low wages and limited capacity.

Why This Matters: A new Wisconsin Policy Forum report outlines state and local funding options to address rising costs and access gaps.

Meanwhile, Texas took a different route. Its new private school choice program includes preschool for low-income children. Already, 16,000 families have signed up for child care, more than any other grade level. By shifting thousands of children into the voucher program, Texas frees up seats for families on waitlists and expands overall preschool access. That approach could offer lessons for states like Wisconsin.

A Wisconsin Early Childhood Program

What’s Next: The new federal school choice tax credit, launching in 2027, could unlock additional preschool funding. Some Democratic leaders, including Colorado Governor Polis and Democrats for Education Reform, urge governors to opt in. Gov. Evers has said he will not. Federal guidelines are still pending, and Wisconsin’s next governor will ultimately decide whether the state participates.

Related:

• Wisconsin Policy Forum | Funding the First Years and Beyond

• How Texas School Vouchers Could Make Child Care More Affordable

• Democrats have a chance to boost education across the US. Will they take it?

• Wisconsin child care providers await federal funding freeze

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Why He’s Taking Trump’s ‘Free Money’ – The 74

MORE

LOCAL

• CDC awards Milwaukee Health Department with grant for lead testing

• Carmen Northwest’s move to Harambee brings new possibilities for students and the neighborhood

• Milwaukee continues preparing for possible ICE surge • Wisconsin Examiner

• What to know: Milwaukee classroom temperatures, MPS air conditioning

• 80-degree temperatures in MPS schools in summer and winter? Here’s why.

• Milwaukee’s Dr. Howard Fuller inspires change through new documentary

• Milwaukee school recruits male educators of color amid statewide teacher shortage

STATE

• Virtual charter schools draw in thousands — despite lower test scores

• These Wisconsin students are starting early on exploring careers

• Investigation: Wisconsin’s DPI took uncommon approach with Dells conference

• Wisconsin voters “haven’t tuned in” to the gubernatorial race, poll results show

NATIONAL

• School Choice, Tutoring and the Path to Better Schools – The 74

• Teachers Want ‘Guardrails and Guidance’ on AI Use, Experts Tell Congress

• NYC charter schools outperform city public schools, data shows

• The Education Department’s 9 interagency agreements: What is going where

• Education Dept. Dismantling Continues

• Community schools oversight, emergency response grants moving

City Forward Collective just released a new policy brief on Milwaukee’s North Side education crisis. At its core, it’s a straightforward story: tens of thousands of children are trapped in failing schools, and the people seeking our community’s votes have almost nothing to say about it.

Here’s what the data tells us is happening: Of the roughly 55,000 students enrolled in North Side Milwaukee schools, less than 20% attend schools that meet CFC’s definition of high quality. For high school students, that number drops to 14% — and every single one of those students attends one of three schools, none of which serve significant Black populations. Meanwhile, 22 of Wisconsin’s 50 lowest-performing schools sit on the North Side. Seventeen of them are MPS district-operated.

The statewide implications are just as stark. Fifty-seven percent of Wisconsin’s Black students attend Milwaukee schools. The North Side’s educational crisis is the primary engine behind one of the most shameful statistics in our state: Wisconsin’s largest-in-the-nation gap between Black and White student proficiency rates. And the most recent NAEP results tell us these gaps aren’t closing — they’re growing, driven by outright declines in Black student proficiency right here in Milwaukee.

As I’ve said before: When will it be enough?

We’ve known this for decades. We’ve commissioned study after study, formed task forces and issued reports. And generation after generation of North Side children has grown up in schools that failed them while adults argued over process and politics, frozen into inaction that’s calcified into complacency.

As Dr. Howard Fuller said in response to this report:

“For decades, we have failed to ensure that our children on the North Side of Milwaukee get the quality education they need and deserve. The data contained in this document is DEVASTATING!! The question is, when will we muster the political will to change this unacceptable reality for our children? When will we set aside our differences and unite to make sure all of our children receive the education they need to prepare them to engage in the practice of freedom- to be able to be full participants in the effort to transform their world. It’s time to quit making excuses and living in denial. We MUST act NOW!!!”

Here’s what bothers me most: this isn’t even part of the conversation.

You can watch candidate forums, scroll through campaign mailers, and read the coverage from Milwaukee’s political press, and you will struggle to find anyone treating this as the emergency it is. No bold plans. No urgency. No moral outrage. Just silence — and the vague call for “more resources” that never comes attached to an actual plan.

That silence is a choice, and it should disqualify people from leading.

Every candidate running for office — from the Governor’s race to the state legislature, from the Mayor’s office to the MPS school board — should be required to answer one simple question: what, specifically, will you do to improve school performance and student outcomes on Milwaukee’s North Side? Not platitudes. Not finger-pointing and blame-shifting. Not vague handwaving that “we need to address the root causes.” Specific. Concrete. Accountable.

The media should be asking that question too. Milwaukee has talented journalists covering education, and some of them do excellent work. But the North Side’s educational catastrophe rarely breaks through as a sustained story — the kind that follows candidates, shapes debates, and demands accountability. That has to change. The data in this brief is news. Tens of thousands of children trapped in failing schools, a system operating 25 more buildings than it needs while those buildings drain tens of millions of dollars every year in resources from classrooms, enrollment declining because families have lost faith and are leaving. That’s an accountability story – and it’s a story that cannot be ignored.

Our brief lays out a path forward built on three things:

1. rightsizing MPS so that savings from consolidation flow into academic programs, rather than heating half-empty buildings and shuffling staff between them;

2. real accountability for persistently failing schools – regardless of sector; and

3. governance reform that stops putting adult politics over student performance.

None of this is radical. All of it requires political courage that has been absent.

Schools like St. Marcus Lutheran and Milwaukee College Prep prove that zip code doesn’t have to determine destiny. That the same kids, in the same neighborhoods, can thrive when they have access to high-quality schools. The North Side doesn’t lack for capable students – as a proud child of the North Side myself, I know this first-hand. It lacks leaders willing to tell hard truths and act on them.

The brief is out. The data is clear. What Milwaukee needs now is the political will to do something about it.

READ THE FULL REPORT

COLLESTON’S CORNER

In this week’s Colleston’s Corner, Executive Director Colleston Morgan shared reflections on two giants in Milwaukee education for Black History Month: Howard Fuller and Annette “Polly” Williams.

1

Shrinking Enrollment Forces Hard Choices Statewide and in MPS

Context: School enrollment has fallen more than 7% statewide over the past decade. MPS alone lost another 2% last year. Now the district faces a $46 million deficit from last year’s overspending, a gap that could widen as charter exits reduce revenue by $15m (see Item 2).

Why This Matters: The consequences are no longer abstract.

• Closures spreading statewide:

  • Sixty-nine public schools have closed across Wisconsin in just two years. Districts are now weighing consolidations, including across district lines.

  • FACT CHECK: While several pieces and politicians have claimed that school spending hasn’t kept up with inflation since the legislature changed the per-pupil funding mechanism for the 2009-11 budget, it’s not accurate. CFC’s analysis shows that per-pupil spending is now on track with inflation, thanks to the per-pupil increases in the two most recent state budgets.

• MPS tweaks, not transforms:

  • Superintendent Cassellius has proposed several changes: shifting sixth grade into K-5 schools; potentially moving seventh- and eighth-graders to high schools; and delaying inflation-based raises, which could save up to $20m. These changes are insufficient for the scale of the problem.

  • Former MPS Superintendent William Andrekopoulos has it right in today’s Journal-Sentinel, writing, “It’s time MPS stops funding buildings instead of children.”

What’s Next: Cassellius is planning midyear cuts.

Related:

• Why 69 Wisconsin schools have closed in the past two years

• K-12 Education: Cassellius Wants to Restructure MPS » Urban Milwaukee

• Milwaukee Public Schools overspent its budget by $46M.

• These 23 MPS schools could add sixth grade this fall

• It’s time MPS stops funding buildings instead of children

2

MKE Charters: Pathways Expanding, Carmen Forced to Move, ‘More Bang for Your Buck’

Context: Last fall, the MPS board voted that Carmen Schools NW could not seek a contract or renewal with MPS. Milwaukee College Prep also announced it would leave MPS in 2025.

MPS’s moves against Carmen destabilized not just Carmen schools and families, but also its own budget and operations to the tune of $15m.

Why This Matters: This month has seen several charter changes in Milwaukee:

• Carmen forced to relocate: Carmen NW will move to the former HOPE site in Harambee this fall. MPS has not announced a plan for the building Carmen will vacate, even with falling enrollment.

• Pathways growing: Pathways High School will expand into middle grades next year, widening its project-based learning model.

Carmen Students, 2025

Meanwhile, a new study finds that public charter schools in New York receive less per-pupil funding than district schools yet produce stronger outcomes, reinforcing the debate over funding and performance.

What’s Next: Carmen has released a FAQ and is working with families on the transition.

Related:

• MPS Board grants 1-year extension for Carmen, school community furious

• Will Carmen NW move provide more stability for students? What about MPS?

• CFC Condemns MPS Decision on Carmen

• Milwaukee charter school Pathways High to expand to middle school

• Carmen Northwest moving to the former HOPE school in Harambee this fall

• Pathways High to welcome middle schoolers next year

• Charter Schools Are More Bang for Your Buck - WSJ

3

Evers’ Final State of the State: School Funding and Property Tax Fight Continues

Context: Last summer, Gov. Evers signed a budget that added hundreds of millions for education. Yet by the end of 2025, voters saw the largest property tax increase since 2018, driven by major school referendums. Lawmakers remain divided.

Why This Matters: In his final State of the State address, Evers rejected the latest Republican proposal and called for a $450 million increase in general school aid, arguing it would lower property taxes through Wisconsin’s complex finance formula. He also proposed $200 million more for special education reimbursement.

What’s Next: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a lead player in these negotiations and the state’s longest-serving Assembly leader, announced this week he will not seek another term in office. District leaders are calling for more school spending, but largely not addressing the long-term school finance issues. Negotiations continue.

Related:

• In final State of the State, Evers touts accomplishments and gives cold shoulder to GOP surplus plan

• Photo: Gov. Tony Evers delivers his final State of the State address

• Republican leaders propose tax relief package lacking key Evers demand

4

Democrats and School Choice: A Crossroads Moment

Context: As Gov. Evers gave his last State of the State this week, his decisions have highlighted the crossroads facing Democratic governors. In 2025, Congress passed a new federal school choice tax credit, leaving it up to governors to decide whether their states will opt in. Gov. Evers has decided to opt Wisconsin out.

His decision comes as polling continues to show strong support for charter and voucher schools, including among Black voters and other traditional Democratic constituencies.

Why This Matters: In the New York Times, Jorge Elorza, head of Democrats for Education Reform, frames school choice as a new governing model: public dollars flow to multiple types of schools, while the government sets guardrails for access, funding, and standards.

He also urges Democrats to support the new federal tax credit:

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has signaled he will opt in.

• Several Democratic governors, including Gov. Evers, have rejected the credit before the federal government finalizes rules, despite the potential to secure hundreds of millions of dollars for students.

• In Illinois, advocates are working to place the tax credit before voters this fall.

What’s Next: MMAC has launched its own effort here in Wisconsin to persuade the next governor to opt in to the new tax credit. Meanwhile, new national polling from 50CAN shows bipartisan support for school choice remains strong.

Related:

• Opinion | Democrats Can’t Leave School Choice to Republicans

• Governors Who Refuse Education Dollars - WSJ

• The very local politics of the federal tax-credit scholarship

• Milwaukee commerce association launches effort to nudge Wisconsin into federal voucher program

• The State of Educational Opportunity in America - 50CAN National

• Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12

MORE

LOCAL

• This school helps MPS families experiencing homelessness

• Milwaukee Public Library’s ABC Academy hopes to help close local literacy gap

• Dr. Howard Fuller: A true soldier for Black empowerment! - Milwaukee Community Journal

• How Milwaukee residents and civil rights activists pushed Milwaukee Public Schools to desegregate

STATE

• WI should join others in appointing top education official | Opinion

• When after-school programs are out of reach, kids miss more than activities

NATIONAL

• A Minnesota school leader has doubts about news of an ICE drawdown in Minneapolis

• Babies Born During COVID Are Now in Kindergarten. Here’s What Educators Are Learning – The 74

• Parents opt kids out of school laptops, ask for pen and paper

• How 12th Grade Math & Reading Scores Have Changed Over Time – The 74

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs classroom smartphone ban for Michigan schools | AP News