Jackson v. Benson

Litigation: Challenging the first in the nation voucher for a city, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Opposed to educational choice program: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York City; American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation; American Jewish Congress; American Jewish Congress, New York City; Americans United for Separation of Church & State; Anti-Defamation League; Milwaukee Public Schools Administrators and Supervisors Council; Milwaukee Teachers Education Association; NAACP; People for the American Way; Wisconsin Education Association In support: American Legislative Exchange; Arkansas Policy Foundation; Center for Education Reform; Center for Public Justice; CEO America; CEO Central Florida; CEO Connecticut; Christian Defense Fund; Christian Legal Society, Annandale, VA; Christian Legal Society; Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Family Research Council; Family Research Institute; Focus on the Family; “I Have a Dream” Foundation (Washington, D.C. Chapter); Individual amici Howard L. Fuller, John O. Norquist, Steven M. Foti, Alberta Darling, Margaret A. Farrow, Joseph Leean, John S. Gardner, Warren D. Braun, Bruce R. Thompson, Jeanette Mitchell and David Lucey; Institute for Justice; Institute for Public Affairs; James Madison Institute for Public Policy Studies; Jewish Policy Center; Landmark Legal Foundation; Liberty Counsel; Lutheran Church­ Missouri Synod; Maine School Choice Coalition; Menomonee Falls for the Family Research Institute; Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations; Minnesota Business Partnership; Minnesotans for School Choice; National Association of Evangelicals; Parents For School Choice; North Carolina Education Reform Foundation; Putting Children First; Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association; Reach Alliance; Texas Justice Foundation; Toussaint Institute; Toward Tradition; South Carolina Policy Counsel; United New Yorkers for Choice in Education; Wisconsin Jewish Conference

Outcomes: On June 10, 1998, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the Milwaukee voucher program does not violate either the state’s Compelled Support Clause or Blaine Amendment. The court also affirmed the conclusions of Davis v. Grover, 480 N.W.2d 460 (Wis. 1992), an earlier unsuccessful uniformity challenge to the school choice program.

Why it Matters: This was the first major challenge to the nation’s first modern voucher program. Advocates and opponents exerted tremendous effort to defend or defeat this voucher, sensing that this would be a bellwether for future school choice programs. The Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed this case with the highest degree of professionalism, with care to avoid bias based on politics or policy. As a result, the opinion of the course upholding the constitutionality of vouchers stands firm as a foundational case addressing the key legal issues related to vouchers. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to accept the case on appeal – there was nothing more to say, Wisconsin was right on the law.

Effects: Wisconsin expanded its Milwaukee vouchers and enacted a few more. When it first began in 1990, 340 students used vouchers to attend six participating schools. After the ruling in favor of the program in 1998, over 5,700 students and 83 schools participated. Ten years later, over 19,000 students and 129 schools participated in the voucher program. Twenty years later, over 28,000 students and 127 schools participated in the program. This has clearly been a success for children and families. Success in Wisconsin led to success across the country.