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Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate and business owner Tim Michels has advocated for removing enrollment and income limits on school choice programs in Wisconsin to allow any parent to send their child to private school with a taxpayer-funded voucher, also known as “universal school choice.” 

Multiple newsrooms have reported that the Michels campaign has not responded to questions about his plan or how much it would cost, nor does his “education blueprint” provide specific costs.

Currently, families who do not wish to enroll in their public school district have the option of open enrollment in another public school district or enrollment in a private school paid for by families. School choice vouchers allow some low-income families in certain communities or below a certain income threshold to get vouchers. Michels has said that implementing universal school choice would be in his first budget in 2023. 

Sources

The Cap Times: Explainer: How would universal school choice work in Wisconsin?

NBC15: The cost of education: Evers, Michels split on plans

Michels For Governor: Michels: I don’t know why Universal School Choice hasn’t happened yet in Wisconsin, but it will when I am governor.

Michels For Governor: The Tim Michels “I Trust Parents” Education Blueprint

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Erin Gretzinger joined Wisconsin Watch as a reporting intern in May 2022. She is a journalism and French major at UW-Madison and will graduate in spring 2023. Erin previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal as a reporting intern and served as the 2021-22 editor-in-chief at The Badger Herald. She is a recipient of the Jon Wolman Scholarship, the Sigrid Schultz Scholarship and the Joseph Sicherman Award Fund for her academic and reporting work.