EXCLUSIVE: Students Join Campaign To Urge GOP Presidential Candidates To Prioritize Federal School Choice

Two former high school students who benefitted from Wisconsin’s school choice program have joined forces with a national campaign in an effort to urge Republican presidential candidates to prioritize federal school choice legislation, according to a press release, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Ahead of the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Invest in Education Coalition, an organization that focuses on enacting school choice legislation, released a TV ad pushing for candidates to prioritize federal school choice legislation in an effort to support parental rights. Since launching the ad, Sherlean Roberts and Gissell Vera, two former high school students, have joined the organization to talk about the benefits of school choice programs, which they utilized, according to a press release obtained by the DCNF. (RELATED: Democratic Gov Announces He Will Veto School Choice Program)

“Education isn’t one-size-fits-all, and for my parents and I, charter schools gave me the best chance to excel,” Roberts said in a statement to the DCNF. “School choice empowered my parents to choose the schools that were the best fit for me and empowered me to mold my own future.”

In 1990, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the country’s first school choice voucher, was created to provide funds to low and middle-income families looking to send their child to private schools, according to a website about the program. Both Roberts and Vera utilized the program while they were high schoolers in Wisconsin.

Under the program, Roberts attended a charter school which helped her get accepted into Marquette University on a full-tuition scholarship, the press release states.

After moving from Mexico to the United States, Vera utilized the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program to attend a Catholic school in Wisconsin, according to the press release. Vera is now enrolled at Marquette University.

Vera and Roberts join the Invest in Education Coalition to push for S. 120 and H.R. 531, two pieces of federal legislation that would establish a national scholarship program, privately funded by donors who receive a tax credit, in an effort to provide students with funds to cover the cost of tuition and tutoring, the press release states.

School choice legislation is increasingly being introduced across the country; Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders signed a piece of legislation in March which establishes a universal school program by the 2025-2026 school year. Shortly after, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law making the state’s school choice program universal.

“It was very important to my family that my education go beyond traditional curriculum to include our Catholic faith,” Vera said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “All parents should be afforded the opportunity to choose the education that is holistically representative of their child and values, whether that’s in a classroom that integrates academic and faith, public school, a charter school, or elsewhere.”

Editors Note: This article has been updated to clarify that Gissell Vera attended a Catholic school in Wisconsin. An earlier version of this story said she attended a Catholic charter school.

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