Chapter 49: Wisconsin

The Wisconsin public education system has a rich, long history dating back to the founding of territorial Wisconsin in 1836. In 1840, the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature established a set of regulations for the establishment and administration of public schools. While the 1849 Act faced much opposition and has gone through many iterations, it served to establish a tax-supported funding system for free public education in the state that persists today.¹

Presently, the Wisconsin public school system educates 854,959 elementary and secondary students via 421 public school districts, 236 charter schools (44,703 student enrollment), and 129 Statewide Parental Choice program voucher schools (28,770 2student enrollment). School districts can be identified by three configurations: (1) elementary and secondary grades combined (PK-12); (2) elementary grades only; and (3) high school grades only. Intermediate configurations include 12 regionally based cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs) and four county-based children with disabilities education boards (CCDEBs). All school districts are fiscally independent. In contrast, CESAs are fiscally dependent on their respective school district members while CCDEBs represent a mix, with three fiscally independent and one fiscally dependent.