AB 160 | SB 221
A bill to require Milwaukee Public School District to provide transportation benefits to private school students for the 2020-2021 school year after MPS refused to provide transportation to private school students. WILL worked with School Choice Wisconsin to bring attention to this issue and it ultimately resulted in a commitment from MPS to provide transportation benefits to private school families for the 2020-2021 school year.
Research and Analysis
Counting the Cost: Wisconsin School Closures and Student Proficiency
February 2, 2022 | Will Flanders and Miranda Spindt
WILL study finds that Wisconsin schools that closed for in-person learning to start the 2020-21 school year saw significant performance declines in math and English. These Wisconsin school closures, impacting more than 250,000 students, occurred in districts with large numbers of African American and low-income students. The findings highlight the growing body of evidence that school closures hurt the academic performance of students who can least afford setbacks in education.
Lost Kids: Exploring the Missing Results in Wisconsin’s Report Card
November 1, 2021 | Will Flanders
Wisconsin’s Forward Exam serves as an important benchmark for parents and policymakers to determine how well Wisconsin’s schools are educating students. But the state-required exam was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With all the disruption, it was critical that this year’s Forward Exam results provide some window into the state of education in Wisconsin.
Dreams Deferred: The Economic Cost of Learning Loss in Wisconsin
February 11, 2021 | Will Flanders
WILL estimates that spring 2020 school closures and incomplete curriculums could cost Wisconsin students more than $7 billion in lifetime earnings losses. The study, that only examines curriculum completion during the spring 2020 school closures, provides a stark warning about the potential costs of learning loss due to school building closures in the 2020-21 school year.
Opting Out: Enrollment Trends in Response to Continued Public School Shutdowns
December 16, 2020 | Will Flanders
WILL published a new study that reveals that school districts that started the 2020-21 school year with virtual learning saw significant enrollment declines. 34 Wisconsin school districts started the school year with virtual learning and experienced, on average, a 3% decline in enrollment. Enrollment statewide declined by 2.67%, on average, driven in large part by a drop in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten enrollment. The study also finds that school districts with established virtual charter schools saw a 4.5% increase in enrollment.
Politics in the Pandemic: The Role of Unions in School Reopening Decisions
November 16, 2020 | Will Flanders
As the new school year approached in 2020, individual school districts in Wisconsin had to make important decisions about in-person learning or using virtual options. But how much did the local presence of the COVID-19 virus factor into these decisions? Research Director Will Flanders, author of Politics in the Pandemic: The Role of Unions in School Reopening Decisions, finds that factors other than the local presence of the virus appear to have played a much larger role.
WILL POLLS REOPENED WISCONSIN
June 3, 2020 | Will Flanders
WILL conducted a statewide poll of Wisconsin voters to better understand their response to Wisconsin’s newly reopened economy in the wake of a Supreme Court decision terminating the ‘Safer at Home’ order. The poll included broad questions on policy and comfort levels with various activities, as well as a message test experiment to determine if certain messages move respondents.
WILL SURVEYS WISCONSIN PARENTS ON EDUCATION AND COVID-19
May 5, 2020 | Will Flanders
WILL conducted an online survey of 400 Wisconsin parents with children age 5-17. The survey was conducted from April 25-27 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.89%. WILL’s survey sought to better understand the experience of parents, their level of satisfaction, and views about the future.
Press Release | Report | Slides
How Wisconsin Should Spend its CARES K-12 Funding
April 6, 2020 | CJ Szafir and Libby Sobic
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act provides $2.2 trillion of relief for those impacted by COVID. Of this, CARES allocates about $30 billion for K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Soon, Wisconsin will need to make decisions on how to spend the huge influx of federal funds on its education.
Media and Commentary
WILL Blog | Governor Evers Can Do More to Alleviate School Closures
January 3, 2022 | Libby Sobic and Will Flanders
WILL Blog | SCHOOL FUNDING AND THE PANDEMIC: HOW MUCH MONEY IS ENOUGH?
May 25, 2021 | Libby Sobic and Will Flanders
WILL Blog | Will Evers Act Quickly to Receive the Federal Relief Dollars for Private Schools?
January 15, 2021 | Cori Petersen
WILL Blog | School Closures Saved Schools Money. But Where Did it Go?
January 6, 2021 | Will Flanders and Jessica Holmberg
The Hill | Closing classrooms may cost school districts thousands of students for years to come
December 28, 2020 | Will Flanders and Ben Degrow
RealClearEducation | Will Students Return to Public Schools After the Pandemic?
December 28, 2020 | Will Flanders and Cori Petersen
The Hill | Are teachers unions influencing virtual schooling more than pandemic science?
November 21, 2020 | Will Flanders
Wisconsin State Journal | If education is changing, so should the funding.
October 30, 2020 | Will Flanders
RealClearEducation | Private Schools Deserve a Fair Share of CARES Funds
August 17, 2020 | Libby Sobic
WILL Blog | Coronavirus Doesn’t Discriminate, But Bureaucrats Do
July 10, 2020 | Libby Sobic
RealClearEducation | The Pandemic Has Reawakened the School Choice Movement
June 29, 2020 | Libby Sobic
WILL Blog | Department of Education takes decisive action to ensure states do not deny federal funds to private schools.
June 26, 2020 | Libby Sobic
WILL Blog | Is DPI Leaving Private Schools Out in the Cold?
June 1, 2020 | Libby Sobic
Cap Times | We can ease the hardships of educating during the pandemic with smart policy
May 28, 2020 | Will Flanders
WILL Blog | 3 Policies To Help Wisconsin K-12 Education During the COVID Crisis
April 6, 2020 | CJ Szafir, Libby Sobic, and Will Flanders
WILL Blog | Expanding Course Access Will Empower Families for Post-COVID Education
April 1, 2020 | CJ Szafir and Libby Sobic
WILL Blog | How private and public charter schools are serving their families and communities during the COVID-19 crisis.
March 27, 2020 | Libby Sobic and Jessica Holmberg
