WILL

An estimated 14% of students in Wisconsin school choice programs have a special needs disability, according to a new analysis conducted by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and School Choice Wisconsin (SCW).

The Quotes: Will Flanders, Research Director at WILL, stated: “The data is clear. Wisconsin’s school choice programs serve thousands of students with disabilities—far more than choice opponents acknowledge. The Department of Public Instruction’s method of counting grossly undercounts these students. This fuels a false narrative about private schools’ commitment to serving children with disabilities.”

Mike Metoff, Director of Research at SCW, added, “This research shows why official state estimates greatly understate the actual number of choice students with disabilities. Our data is consistent with prior scholarly work and dispel misinformation circulated in some media outlets and by opponents of school choice programs.”