“To drastically cut our school budgets will cripple our children's ability to build the skills they need for our state to compete in the future economy. We will become a backwater, poor state that offers no hope for its people.”
Why should politicians care?! Preschoolers don't vote!

Why is getting support for public preschool in Wyoming like pulling teeth?

The benefits of preschool are clear, but middle-class and rural Wyoming families face huge hurdles enrolling their kids. Most states have public preschool, but not Wyoming—and trying to encourage lawmakers who are busy arguing over hot-button national issues to do something about it is an exercise in frustration and disappointment.
"No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution." — Wyoming Constitution

“Voucher” proposal would give Wyo. parents money to enroll children in private, religious schools

So-called “school vouchers” or “education savings accounts” hand over taxpayer money to parents who pull their kids out of public schools and instead enroll them in private, religious, or home schools. The Legislature’s Joint Education Committee will hear such a proposal this week, despite the fact that the Wyoming Constitution prohibits public money from being spent at religious institutions or given to schools that have zero oversight.
Childcare in Wyoming is both expensive and hard to come by.

Wyoming barriers: Young families struggle to find childcare

More than one third of Wyoming's population lives in a "childcare desert," and the cost for those who can find it can equal a second mortgage. While other states take steps to address this nationwide issue, Wyoming lawmakers drag their feet finding solutions.
We all pay more when students can't attend preschool

Wyoming barriers: The high cost of neglecting preschool

Early childhood education sets kids up for success. Children who go to preschool do better in K-12—requiring less help and driving down overall education costs—and they go on to earn more and require less government assistance. But two-thirds of Wyoming kids don’t attend preschool, and the state does not invest a dime in it, creating an early-life hurdle for many children that is both costly and difficult to overcome.
No public money will be paid to private religious schools and no librarians will be arrested ... for now.

Lawmakers defeat bills targeting Wyo. public schools and libraries

Proposals brought by the so-called "Freedom Caucus" to divert public money to private and religious schools and to criminalize librarians for "obscene" books have all failed this session.
Students perform a science experiment at Dean Morgan Junior High in Casper. Wyoming eighth-graders are consistently among the best in the nation at science (via Natrona County School District Instagram)

Wyoming students perform among the best in the nation. Will far-right lawmakers ruin that?

National standardized tests show Wyoming fourth graders rank #1 nationwide in math, and our students perform far above average across subjects and grade levels. But the Wyoming Legislature, taken over by the far-right Freedom Caucus, is intent on cutting public teacher pay and promoting private religious schools. Will they wreck our K-12 system?
Do your local legislators make the grade?

Pass or Fail: Wyoming teachers union launches legislative scorecard

Sure, teachers and principals impact your kids’ education. But so do state legislators and the laws they pass. The Wyoming Education Association’s new scorecard grades state lawmakers according to their votes and informs the public about which bills shape K-12 education in the state.
Sometimes good things happen when adults screw up!

Wyo Senate scuttles education funding bill, sparing school cuts

In a last-day legislative surprise, lawmakers from the Wyoming House and Senate failed to agree on the details of a bill that would have dramatically cut public education funding. As a result of legislators’ failure to govern, K-12 schools will be spared budget cuts for now. But the structural problem of our education funding model remains.
Bigger classes and less one-on-one attention are among the drawbacks of decreased school funding.

Wyo Legislature looks to end fifth straight session with deep education cuts

The House and Senate have come up with two different versions of an education funding bill: One that cuts public school budgets, and another that cuts them even more. Lawmakers will end the session tomorrow debating which version will prevail.
Some lawmakers think it makes no sense to cut school funding while sitting on billions in savings.

House Education Committee dials back Wyoming education cuts

Wyoming is not broke. And funding schools is a constitutional requirement. As lawmakers deliberate a bill to dramatically cut education funding, second thoughts begin to emerge.
Voucher programs across the nation have decreased student achievement, but they have succeeded in helping to defund public education.

Proposed school voucher program would further defund Wyoming public education

A bill to funnel public money to private, religious, and home schools will appear before a Wyoming legislative committee this week, providing lawmakers the option to offer students “thoughts and prayers” rather than sustainable school funding.
“To drastically cut our school budgets will cripple our children's ability to build the skills they need for our state to compete in the future economy. We will become a backwater, poor state that offers no hope for its people.”

Screw the schools, screw the youth: Wyoming lawmakers refuse tax proposals to fund education (and everything else)

Wyoming’s population is shrinking and aging, and the Good Ol’ Boys in the Legislature staunchly oppose new taxes. But younger generations who would like to build their lives here are starting to speak up against budget cuts that would cripple the state’s education system and economy.