The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program: A Constitutional Victory for School Choice

Abstract

This Comment will focus on the impact of both the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and its accompanying litigation on the constitutional debate over school choice. Although the MPCP implicates many important considerations of public policy that deserve attention, this Comment will not address these issues. Rather, the focus will be on a single constitutional question: does the Establishment Clause prohibit school choice initiatives which-like the MPCP-involve religious schools?

Part I of this Comment will discuss the history of the Establishment Clause with particular attention given to cases involving educational programs. Part II will introduce the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, and then focus on the constitutional analysis used by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in its decision upholding the state voucher program. Finally, part III will examine the impact that Jackson v. Benson will have in the continuing national constitutional debate over school choice initiatives involving private religious schools.