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29 J.L. & Educ. 175 (2000)
Vouchers as School Choice: An Analysis of Jackson v. Benson - The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

handle is hein.journals/jle29 and id is 185 raw text is: Vouchers as School Choice: An Analysis of Jackson v. Benson- The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program ELIZABETH T. LUGG* and R. ANDREW LUGG Abstract On June 10, 1998, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court filed its opinion in the long-standing dispute regarding the constitutionality of the Milwaukee voucher program. The Wisconsin legislature enacted the original Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (original MPCP) in 1989. As amended in 1993, the original MPCP permitted up to 1.5% of the student membership of the Milwaukee Public Schools to attend, at no cost to the student, any private, nonsectarian school located in the City of Milwaukee, subject to certain eligibility re- quirements. In 1995, the Wisconsin State legislature opened the program to religious schools, while at the same time expanding the program from 1,500 students to 15,000 students. In January of 1997, a trial court judge in Wisconsin ruled that the Milwaukee voucher program's inclusion of religious schools violated the state's constitution. On August 22, 1997, a state appellate court upheld the trial judge's ruling, letting stand the trial judge's invali- dation of the state's expansion of the nonsectarian portion of the Milwaukee choice program. On review of the appellate court's decision, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court, concluding that the amended MPCP did not violate the Establishment Clause or the Wisconsin Constitution. This paper will examine the constitutionality of vouchers for both secular and sectarian private schools, as well as the policy implica- tions for state legislatures growing from debate on voucher propos- als. With the 1973 United States Supreme Court decisions in Com- mittee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist I and * Elizabeth T. Lugg, J.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Educational Administration at Illinois State University. B.A., University of Iowa; J.D., University of Iowa College of Law; Ph.D., University of Iowa. R. Andrew Lugg, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Education at Illinois State University. B.A., University of Pittsburgh; M.Ed., University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University. 1. 413 U.S. 756 (1973).

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