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Fiscal Impacts - Private School Choice Programs, Special Needs Scholarship Program, and Independent Charter Schools

School Finance Resources

Funding Comparison Resources - These resources provide information about how different education options and programs are funded.

Fiscal Impacts - The sheets below provide projected impacts based on unaudited 3rd Friday in September count data. Final impacts are based on audited 3rd Friday in September and 2nd Friday in January data.

Parental Education Options Resources

Private School Choice Programs and Special Needs Scholarship Program

The Private School Choice Programs (PSCP) include three separate private school voucher programs:

  • Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP)
  • Racine Parental Choice Program (RPCP)
  • Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP)

The Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP) is a fourth private school voucher program in Wisconsin.

The Department is unable to provide information on what specific students are participating in the PSCP or SNSP and/or the schools that the students attend. Private schools participating in the programs receive a state aid payment for each eligible student on behalf of the student’s parent or guardian.

Program resources, including participating FTE and aid payments by district, are linked above.

WPCP/RPCP Funding (beginning in 2015-16)

The funding for private school choice students enrolled in the WPCP/RPCP in 2015-16 or thereafter works as follows:

  • resident school district pays for WPCP/RPCP students through a reduction in its state general aids;
  • WPCP/RPCP students are counted in their resident district’s membership for state general aid purposes in the following year; and
  • in 2015-16 and 2016-17, the total number of pupils residing in the district who could participate in the choice program from each district was limited to no more than one percent of the district’s prior year membership. Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, the enrollment limit will increase by one percentage point in each year until the enrollment limit reaches 10 percent of the district’s prior year enrollment (2025-26). Beginning in 2026-27, no student enrollment limit would apply.

WPCP/RPCP Funding (prior to 2015-16)

The funding for private school choice students enrolled in the WPCP/RPCP prior to 2015-16 worked as follows:

  • vouchers paid with state GPR funding until the student exits the private school choice program; and
  • students are not counted in a school district’s membership for state general aid or revenue limit purposes.

Summary Table -- School Enrollment and Estimated Payment (MPCP, RPCP, WPCP and SNSP)

A summary table available on the DPI Parental Education Options (PEO) Private School Choice Programs: Data and Reports webpage contains:

  • participating private schools;

  • the number of participating students (enrollment and FTE) by program (MPCP, RPCP, WPCP and SNSP) and by private school;

  • estimated total annual payment received by the private school; and

  • total number of students receiving a state funded voucher (the four programs combined) and the percentage of total private school student enrollment.

Independent Charter Schools

For information about independent charter schools, please see the Independent (2r or 2x) Charter Schools webpage.

For membership information and historical data related to independent charter schools, please see the Independent Charter Schools-Membership Information & Historical Data page. The Department is unable to provide information on what specific students are attending an independent charter school.

Legacy independent schools are funded by general purpose revenue. New independent charter schools are funded by an aid transfer equal to independent charter school payment from resident school districts. For additional information, see the School Finance Resources section above.

For questions about this information, contact dpifin@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-9114