At Wednesday night’s gubernatorial debate, David Crowley reiterated that he will not expand Wisconsin’s school voucher program if elected governor.
Crowley may say he wouldn’t “abruptly end” school choice, but parents should pay very close attention to those words. Make no mistake, refusing to expand school choice will be the beginning of squeezing it out.
Crowley defiantly stated, “We cannot expand the voucher program in the state of Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin does not need a governor politicizing educational freedom. We need a governor willing to expand opportunities for families, particularly those whose children are struggling academically. This issue is especially important in Milwaukee where 73% of fourth-grade students lack basic reading skills.
School Choice impacts over 30,000 Choice families, nearly half of them Black.
For families who believe their neighborhood school is failing their child, School Choice provides another option. Those parents shouldn’t be told that educational opportunities must be frozen while politicians continue promising that simply pouring more money into the existing system will eventually produce better results.
Crowley also raised concerns that voucher schools lack accountability and transparency. The notion that choice schools operate entirely outside Wisconsin’s accountability system is simply wrong.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School and District Report Card Portal generates report cards and Forward Exams for all private schools participating in Wisconsin’s choice programs, just as it does for public schools.
That’s accountability.
But there is another form of accountability that may be even more important, parents.
Parents know their children. They see whether their children are learning, whether they feel safe and whether a school is meeting their needs.
When a choice school doesn’t deliver, parents have the ability to walk away. Families, not bureaucrats, should have the final say. That is the fundamental principle behind school choice.
Tom Tiffany presents Wisconsin voters with a dramatically different philosophy.
During the campaign, Tiffany advocated expanding parental choice rather than restricting it. Tiffany said, “I just think people should have whatever choice that they make.”
Do we empower families with more educational options, or do we protect a system and tell families to wait for it to improve?
There is also an important political relationship voters shouldn’t ignore.
The Wisconsin Education Association Council lists David Crowley as its recommended candidate for governor in its 2026 endorsement. That matters when evaluating Crowley’s education agenda.
But education policy cannot exist primarily to protect institutions, political organizations or the status quo. It has to work for the children.
Supporting school choice doesn’t mean being against public schools. It means advocating for parents to have options.
When a candidate for governor says,“We cannot expand the voucher program,” school choice families should know he means restricting and finally ending it.
Wisconsin needs educational reform that produces better outcomes for students and families. We need innovation, higher expectations, and the courage to change what isn’t working. Most importantly, we need to trust parents.
A child’s ZIP code shouldn’t determine the quality of education that child receives. A family’s income shouldn’t determine whether parents can escape a school that isn’t working for their child. School Choice is about protecting the right of Wisconsin families to choose what’s best for their children. And Wisconsin’s next governor should be listening to families above all else.
