Debate over school choice finds itself in new territory with proponents and opponents alike fighting over accountability. Opponents of school choice like Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., made the news when he pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to include some undefined accountability standards in any federal school choice program. Among education reform proponents, a division has emerged on the balance between governmental accountability and accountability to parents.

A new study from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and School Choice Wisconsin is shedding fresh light on this question with a look at the country’s oldest voucher program. Using a decade of data on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, this study finds that voucher schools are far from unaccountable, facing extensive state regulations along with parental accountability. While these regulations are chiefly financial, they have the effect of removing poor performing academic schools and increasing enrollment at high-performing academic schools.