Publications
Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance (SWSA) provides position papers and links to information about educational issues and policy decisions that affect public education. SWSA also provides members with access to leading edge studies to support their work. Below you will find some of the most recent publications impacting public education.
Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials
WASBO Research Director Anne Chapman describes the factors that have brought this situation about, why the option to go to operating referendum has become critical to public school survival, and what state policymakers can do to right the ship.
Fiscal Impacts of the 2025 - 27 State Budget for School Districts
Taking Care of Business: The Price of Parallel Systems: How changing the way Wisconsin pays for voucher schools could affect public schools and the state budget (May 2025)
Taking Care of Business Article: School referendums are sending a clear message. Will Wisconsin
lawmakers hear it? (December 2024)
The Wisconsin Policy Forum
The Wisconsin Policy Forum is a statewide nonpartisan independent policy research organization with offices in Milwaukee and Madison. The Wisconsin Policy Forum (WPF) provides outstanding research on the K-12 realm. SWSA partners extensively with the Wisconsin Policy Forum and appreciates the timeliness of their research.
Wisconsin Policy Forum | K-12 Levies Rise Sharply, Counties More Slowly (December 2025)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | A Partial Turnaround for Turnover - Recent Trends in Teacher, Principal, and Superintendent Turnover (October 2025)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Wisconsin Education Spending Falls Further Behind National Average (July 2025)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Student Homelessness at a New High (April 2025)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Wisconsin Sets More Referenda Records to Fund Schools (November 2024)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Chronic Absenteeism Persists in All Corners of Wisconsin (October 2024)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Raising the Bar: Local and National Lessons for Milwaukee's K-12 Schools (March 2025)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | School Referenda Passage Rate Remains Low (wispolicyforum.org) (April. 2024)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Who's Driving the Bus? (wispolicyforum.org) (February 2024)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Wisconsin's Teacher Pay Predicament (wispolicyforum.org) (November 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | State’s Immunization Rates Still Depressed (wispolicyforum.org) (October 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | School Enrollment Numbers Raise Question of Missing Students (wispolicyforum.org) (October 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Revolving Classroom Doors (wispolicyforum.org) (August 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Earning Extra Credit (wispolicyforum.org) (July 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | Not Mere Child’s Play (wispolicyforum.org) (May 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | In Case of Emergency (wispolicyforum.org) (March 2023)
Wisconsin Policy Forum | A Look at Chronic Absenteeism (wispolicyforum.org) (January 2023)
How Are School Districts Spending Their Federal Relief Funds?- May 2022
A Little Help: Is Financial Aid Keeping College Affordable in Wisconsin?-April 2022
Will Summer Be the Season for Student Recovery?- March 2022
Missed Tests Cloud View of Pandemic’s Student Impact- December 2021
Free-Falling FAFSAs- September 2021
Fewer education grads pose threat to teacher workforce- August 2021
Private school enrollment fell during pandemic; homeschool, virtual charters grew- August 2021
A Closer Look at English Learners in Wisconsin- May 2021
Fewer Wisconsin Kids Getting Subsidized Child Care- April 2021
Where Learning Went Virtual- April 2021
Opening Doors: Strategies for Advancing Racial Diversity in Wisconsin's Teacher Workforce-March 2021
A Teacher Who Looks Like Me- June 2020
Wisconsin's Digital Divide and Its Impact on Learning-May 2020
Wisconsin Policy Forum Research Brief: Special Education Funding in Wisconsin; How it works and why it matters
"One of the foremost fiscal challenges for state government and school districts throughout Wisconsin is the cost of providing special education." The Wisconsin Policy Forum published a research brief in February 2019 thoroughly explaining these challenges as well as sharing potential policy implications.
Special Education Funding in Wisconsin
No Time to Lose Report
The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) conducted extensive research and developed a report titled, How to Build a World-Class Education System State by State (August 2016).
"A bipartisan group of 28 veteran legislators and legislative staff, along with several partners from the private sector began an 18-month study in 2014. They focused on the highest performing counties on PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) to discover commonalities across their policies and practices. They met with education leaders from these countries, along with national and international experts who study their systems. They also visited several countries firsthand to see the differences."
This report provides the key components to building a World Class Education System. Wisconsin's own Senator Olsen (member of the Joint Finance Committee and Chair of the Senate Education Committee) was part of this important project.
Quality Education
The landscape of publicly funded K-12 education policy is changing rapidly. Some of the changes are healthy and promote a stronger and more effective learning experience, adding to the rich tradition of Wisconsin as a national education leader. Still, we find some changes are politically driven, ideologically based with a focus away from developing more effective schools and school districts. This White Paper provides an outline of priorities for policy makers emphasizing the essential aspects of defining a quality education and the elements of quality we aspire to provide all children whose K-12 education or educational services are publicly funded.
School and District Assessment
SWSA school district leaders are eager to embrace new and more effective methods to assess school success, to communicate those assessments to our public, and to use those assessments to improve instruction; all in a focused effort to improve outcomes and opportunity for all students. We oppose school accountability proposals that neglect to improve outcomes for students or are imposed unevenly. We welcome the opportunity to collaboratively develop a meaningful school accountability system that matches our vision.
Leveling the Playing Field
The landscape of publically funded K-12 education policy is changing rapidly; some of the changes are healthy and promote a stronger and more effective learning experience. Still, we find some changes are politically driven, ideologically-based and fail to focus on developing more effective schools and school districts. This white paper provides an outline of priorities for policymakers emphasizing equitable requirements for all schools and school services receiving public funds.