The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) released a new report, “Charting A New Course: Improving The Charter School Sector in Wisconsin.” The report is the second in WILL’s Wisconsin Education Comeback: A Roadmap for Student Success series and examines why Wisconsin’s in-state charter school sector has stalled while chartering continues to expand across the country.

Wisconsin was once at the forefront of the charter school movement, being one of the first states to enact a charter school law in 1993. Today, however, the state is falling behind. WILL’s latest report identifies major barriers in funding, authorization, regulation, and governance that make Wisconsin an increasingly difficult place to open and grow innovative public schools.

The Quotes: WILL Research Director Will Flanders stated, “Wisconsin once led the nation in education reform, but charter schools—a vital option for families—have stagnated in recent years. Families want and deserve innovative public-school options, but unnecessary and costly roadblocks prevent charter school expansion. Wisconsin must reverse this trend so our students can access real education options and thrive.”

Key Findings: Since 2015, independent charter enrollment has grown 35%. But over the past three years, enrollment growth has slowed to just 11.6% with Wisconsin ranking 41st out of 45 states in the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ 2022 ranking of state charter laws. To reverse this slowdown and revitalize Wisconsin’s charter school environment, WILL’s report identifies the following key takeaways:

  • Charter Law Still Outside the Top Tier: The Center for Education Reform rates Wisconsin’s charter school law a ‘B-,’ ranking it 15th nationally — solidly in the middle of the pack, well behind top states like Florida, Arizona, and Indiana.
  • Slow Growth Amid National Expansion: Wisconsin charter enrollment growth ranks in the bottom tier nationally, with key authorizers not expanding their portfolios significantly in recent years.
  • Funding Gaps Undermine Schools: Lack of facilities funding leaves schools financially strained and reliant on philanthropy with significantly less funding per student ($12,369 per student in independent charters) than traditional public schools ($18,746 on average).
  • Authorizer Instability Blocks Progress: Inconsistent and politicized authorizing deters national operators and stifles growth of high-quality charter schools.
  • Political Volatility Fuels Uncertainty: Wisconsin’s shifting political climate and inconsistent bi-partisan support of charters makes the state’s environment unpredictable and discourages long-term investment.
  • Targeted Reforms Could Reignite Growth: State-backed facilities support, a formal appeals process for charter denials, and a politically-insulated statewide authorizer would create stability and attract high-quality operators.

What We Heard From Charter School Stakeholders: As part of the report, WILL interviewed 15 charter school operators, authorizers, advocates, and policy experts in Wisconsin and across the county. Stakeholders consistently described the state as a difficult environment for charter growth and cited inadequate facilities funding, unstable or politicized authorizing of schools, heavy-handed regulations, licensing barriers, and lack of a support network for new schools.

National charter school operators said Wisconsin is rarely considered for expansion because schools face expensive startup costs, limited financing options, political instability, and few predictable pathways to authorization. As one national charter school strategist put it, “You’re one election away from the whole thing falling apart.”

A Roadmap For Reform: WILL’s report identifies several paths forward, but not limited to:

  • Create New Statewide Charter Authorizer: Wisconsin could establish an independent, politically balanced statewide charter board that gives operators a stable pathway for approval and renewal outside local districts. The board could also serve as an appeals body when applications are denied and help insulate charter schools decisions from shifts in partisan control.
  • Activate Dormant Charter Authorizers: To increase transparency, Wisconsin could require existing entities with chartering authority to publish application processes, timelines, standards, and contact information while reporting annually on applications and final decisions. The state could also offer targeted grants to institutions that authorize schools aligned with their mission, such as technical colleges authorizing career and technical education-focused charter schools.

Why It Matters: Charter schools are public schools designed to give educators greater freedom to innovate while remaining accountable for student outcomes – and in Wisconsin that freedom is paying off.

WILL’s 2026 Apples to Apples analysis found that Wisconsin charter schools generally perform as well or better than traditional public schools when comparing similar students, with non-instrumentality charters in Milwaukee outperforming traditional public schools by more than 10 percentage points in math and reading. Yet even as those schools deliver results, Milwaukee Public Schools continue to push high-performing charter operators out from under its umbrella. Both Carmen Schools of Science & Technology and Milwaukee College Prep are leaving MPS authorization for UW-Milwaukee after the district failed to offer a stable, long-term contract.

Wisconsin’s current funding, authorizing, and regulatory structure makes it increasingly difficult for new charters to open and successful charters to expand. Without targeted reform, Wisconsin risks falling even further behind other states with stronger charter school environments.

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