For Immediate Release:
January 27, 2025
School Choice Week: How the Courts Saved Education Freedom in Wisconsin
Delafield, Wis. – As School Choice Week begins, the Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) released the first “Court Watch” primer of its new weekly occurring series focused on why state courts matter. The primer outlines how previous decisions made by a conservative majority have protected education freedom, and how future litigation could put School Choice in jeopardy.
WHY IT MATTERS: Parents of nearly 59,000 Wisconsin children use School Choice to send their children to preferred schools, oftentimes allowing the kids to escape failing schools in a variety of areas across the state. For decades, activist groups on the left have attempted to use the courts to declare School Choice unconstitutional in Wisconsin.
Conservative majorities in the Wisconsin Supreme Court have stopped previous attempts to declare Wisconsin’s School Choice program unconstitutional. Liberal majorities have signaled openness to overturning the program, pulling the upcoming fight for the majority of the court into focus for School Choice advocates.
THE QUOTE: “The education of nearly 59,000 Wisconsin students could hang in balance if future challenges against school choice are brought before the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” said Jake Curtis, General Counsel and Director of CIO of IRG. “IRG will continue to educate on the importance of the courts.”
WHAT’S NEXT: State courts impact everyday Wisconsinites’ lives and IRG’s new Court Watch initiative will lead in educating on the importance of the judicial branch.
Read the primer here.
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The Institute for Reforming Government is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that seeks to simplify government at every level by offering policy solutions to thought leaders in American government in the areas of tax reform, government inefficiency, and burdensome regulations.