(The Center Square) – Another Wisconsin minority grant program is the subject of a lawsuit as the state’s $10,000-per-yer Minority Teacher Loan Program is the subject of the latest legal action from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
The firm, representing Citizens Defending Liberty, said that the race-based loans, which can be forgiven for teachers who teach in qualifying Wisconsin schools, are unconstitutional.
"Wisconsin cannot decide who receives taxpayer-funded educational opportunities based upon the color of their skin,” WILL Deputy Counsel Rebecca Furdek said in a statement. “By imposing this race-based barrier, the current program also undermines a near-universal goal of addressing Wisconsin’s teacher shortage. In response to our lawsuit, we hope Gov. Evers and HEAB will follow the Constitution, end this discrimination, and ensure these opportunities are available to all Wisconsin students, regardless of race.”
Earlier this year, WILL won a case in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court regarding a grant program that sent financial aid to students based on specific race, national origin and ancestry cannot legally operate because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
WILL has since filed additional lawsuits over a $250 million supplier program operated by the Wisconsin Department of Administration and more than 20 race-based scholarships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Minority Teacher Loan Program provides the $10,000 loans each year for three years to students pursuing teaching licenses in designated teacher-shortage areas.
WILL said that the loan program has nearly the same race-based criteria as the financial aid program that was deemed unconstitutional.