Sign Senate Bill 41 / Assembly Bill 59 for Equal Education Access for WI Families

Senate Bill 41/Assembly Bill 59, which passed last week, currently awaits Gov. Evers signature. The bill brings much-needed equality across the state to the income requirements in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, and the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. Currently, neighbors living across the street from each other could be unfairly excluded from the program because of invisible, arbitrary boundaries.

The bill increases the income threshold for parents who want to enroll in Wisconsin’s Parental Choice program to 300% of the federal poverty level, or about $78,000 a-year for a family of four.

At the current income threshold level, 220% of the federal poverty level (only $56,650 for a family of 4), essential workers such as a single nurse or educator with a stay at home spouse could be excluded from eligibility for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program based on their income. We celebrate frontline workers as heroes, and yet they could be disqualified from equal education options for their family.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.