Lawmaker wants review of Milwaukee voucher program

MILWAUKEE - A Wisconsin lawmaker is calling for a federal review of the longstanding Milwaukee voucher program.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to conduct a study comparing the city's voucher schools to its public schools. He wrote to an official last month asking the agency to scrutinize the program on areas such as academic achievement, special-education services and accountability practices.

Pocan tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he would like to know the strengths and weaknesses of the 24-year-old program since other states are looking to expand their own voucher programs.

He says a study makes sense now because voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs have proliferated across the country since 2001, when the agency last reviewed the Milwaukee program.