Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) — the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association — filed an amicus brief with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday, urging the court to reject a lawsuit seeking to end the state’s school choice and independent charter programs, according to a recent press release.
The lawsuit appeals to the Supreme Court directly, rather than allow the case to proceed through the lower courts. WMC Litigation Center Executive Director and WMC attorney Scott Rosenow argues in the brief that the lawsuit is inappropriate for the Supreme Court to resolve because the state’s highest court is not a fact-finding institution.
WMC also argues in its brief that thousands of families would be devastated and the entire education system disrupted if the school choice and charter programs were to end. Wisconsin, home to the first school choice program in the nation, currently has over 50,000 students enrolled in programs across the state. These students outperform their public school peers on standardized test scores, despite economic and socioeconomic disadvantages, WMC argues.
According to a recent poll, 67% of likely Wisconsin voters support school choice, including a majority of Republicans, independents, and Democrats.
