Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Tony Evers discusses his call on the Republican-controlled Legislature to act on a broad array of his priorities in his final year in office on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

On Monday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed a bill that would have forced the state to opt into a national voucher school program.

Assembly Bill 602, which passed in both chambers of the Wisconsin State Legislature on party lines last year, would have required Wisconsin to adopt the Educational Choice for Children Act, which was included in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that he signed into law last July. The program allows people to receive up to a $1,700 federal tax credit if they donate to organizations that award scholarships to private schools.

“This nationwide voucher program has no student achievement metrics, no school accountability measures, no minimum or maximum scholarship size, no certain end date, and no cap on how much the federal government can spend,” Evers said in a press release after issuing the veto.

“Republicans in Washington have given private voucher expansion carte blanche to run roughshod over public education in this country — and a blank check to do so at taxpayer expense, clearly without any regard for whether it actually does what is best for kids.”

AB 602 was written by state Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek). In an email to the Wisconsin Examiner, Rodriguez said she wasn’t surprised but that she wants to take action before the Jan. 1, 2027 deadline to governors to adopt the program. 

“It’s just unfortunate, because opting in would have cost the state nothing, and by not opting in Wisconsin will sit idly by while our residents donate to scholarship granting organizations in other states and receive a federal tax benefit for doing so,” Rodriguez said. “Sadly, we can’t just wait for a new governor in January.”

Evers’ opposition to voucher schools

During his two terms as governor, Evers has been at odds with Republican leaders in his state about school vouchers and charter school expansion. Republicans have controlled both chambers of the state legislature since 2010. During that time, the GOP used their power to divert resources to the state’s voucher schools, including diverting millions in state money to private schools.  

Democrats in the state have criticized Republicans for neglecting Wisconsin’s public school system, which is underfunded to the point where more than 70 school districts will ask voters in their districts to raise their own property taxes to bridge the funding gap.