by Kevin Zimmermann
WAUKESHA, WI (WHBL) – All schools in Wisconsin are required to complete a minimum number of instruction days in a school year. When weather cancellations occur, public schools were allowed to use virtual learning online to fulfill those requirements, but private choice schools were not.
Yesterday, Waukesha Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren issued a summary judgement order in favor of School Choice Wisconsin Action, ruling that the state’s education agency acted illegally in preventing private choice schools from counting “virtual instruction” towards classroom learning requirements.
The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin last March after the DPI ruled in February that private schools couldn’t count virtual learning the same way as public schools did.
According to the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation, Sheboygan County has over 25 private schools participating in the school choice program.