Many taxpayer-funded ‘choice’ schools in Wisconsin have anti-LGBTQ+ policies, often justified by Christian beliefs. And there’s little the state can do about it.
Author Archives: Phoebe Petrovic / Wisconsin Watch
Phoebe Petrovic is an investigative reporter on a two-year fellowship with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. She previously covered disinformation and democracy at Wisconsin Watch and was a 2022-2023 Law & Justice Journalism Project fellow. As a Report for America corps member from 2019 to 2022, Petrovic reported, produced and hosted “Open and Shut,” a podcast series co-published with Wisconsin Public Radio examining the power of prosecutors. Petrovic previously worked at WPR as a Lee Ester News Fellow, “Reveal” from the Center for Investigative Reporting as an editorial intern and NPR’s “Here & Now” as a temporary producer. Her work has aired nationally on all of NPR’s flagship news magazines. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Yale University.
Posted inEducation
Federal, state law permit disability discrimination in Wisconsin voucher schools
The state Department of Public Instruction says it has no legal authority to force private taxpayer-funded schools to accommodate students with disabilities
Posted inEducation
False choice: Wisconsin taxpayers support schools that can discriminate
Dozens of voucher schools have policies that allow them to exclude LGBTQ+ students or those with disabilities. In many cases, it’s legal.
Posted inEducation
Considering a Wisconsin voucher school? Here’s what parents of children who are LGBTQ+ or have a disability should know.
Private schools that accept taxpayer-funded vouchers have different rules from public schools.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Whistleblower claims Milwaukee doctor performed unneeded surgeries
Complaint says Aurora St. Luke’s Dr. Scott Kamelle endangered patients — and drove up costs — with extra surgeries and a product not OK’d for internal use
Posted inGovernment
Anti-trans ads favoring Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly peddle fear, false info
American Principles Project PAC is attacking trans youth to win elections and end transition-related care for people of all ages
Posted inGovernment
In Wisconsin Supreme Court race, ad spending for Kelly ekes past Protasiewicz after she led in ads 23-to-1
Outside spending to boost former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly now outpaces pro-Janet Protasiewicz spending as the April 4 election looms
Posted inJustice & Safety
Top Sheboygan officials lacked key details on police department sexual harassment probes
Citizen oversight board was not involved in reviewing police investigation; mayor says he was unaware independent review ordered by city had been halted.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Widespread sexual harassment draws discipline, resignations in Wisconsin police department
Ten officers disciplined, female officers quit, city official resigns amid widespread sexual harassment in this Wisconsin police department.
Posted inJustice & Safety
Sheboygan Police Department sexual harassment probes: What to know
Here’s some of the misconduct surfaced in the Sheboygan Police Department’s three 2021 sexual harassment investigations, and the resulting discipline.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Policing pregnancy: Wisconsin’s ‘fetal protection’ law, one of the nation’s most punitive, forces women into treatment or jail
Officials investigate about 400 pregnant people a year for alleged ‘unborn child abuse’ under Act 292. Critics say that can do more harm than good.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin’s law on substance use in pregnancy is wrong, leading doctors say
Practitioners say substance use during pregnancy should be treated like any other medical issue — not as a crime.