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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Private schools that want to participate in Wisconsin's voucher program would have to meet new, tougher requirements under a bill before the state Senate.
Under the voucher program, students receive a taxpayer subsidy to pay for their private school tuition. The program now operates statewide, after initially being only in Milwaukee.
The proposal up for a vote Tuesday has generated support from both the state Department of Public Instruction and groups that advocate for the voucher program.
The Republican-sponsored bill would require voucher schools to maintain accreditation from legitimate agencies. Previous state law only required the schools to get accreditation, but not to keep it.
That provision allowed many ineffective or unstable schools to keep getting taxpayer dollars.
The new requirements would begin with the 2015 school year.
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