MADISON, Wis. – Critics continue to say that Wisconsin’s expanding school choice options are an unwarranted attack on public education.

But parents continue to embrace their new ability to choose the most appropriate schools for their children, even if that means using their kids’ share of state education dollars to send them to private schools.

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That became even more apparent recently when state media reported that the number of schools that will participate in the statewide private school voucher program will increase by 67 percent – from 82 to 135 – in the 2016-17 school year.

That means more private schools are hearing from parents who want to take advantage of the program and enroll their children, and are reacting to the demand.

Many of the new schools participating in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program come from the northern and western sections of the state, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There was also significant growth in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, where the number of schools taking part in the statewide program will increase from 19 to 41, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the number of schools participating in the much older Milwaukee Parental Choice Program will increase by seven, and one school will join a similar local program in Racine, the Journal Sentinel reported.

The statewide voucher program, in its third year, currently enrolls 2,514 students, according to the Journal Sentinel. That’s a significant increase from the 511 students who participated when the program began, according to Watchdog.org.

Enrollment is expected to continue to spiral in coming years as the state cap on student participation is gradually lifted.

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A previous statewide cap of 1,000 students has already been eliminated. State law currently limits enrollment at voucher schools to one percent of any district’s school-age population, but that limit will increase by one percentage point every year until it reached 10 percent, then will be eliminated altogether, according to Watchdog.org.

“This increase in the number of schools is not surprising,” Jim Bender, president of School Choice Wisconsin, told Watchdog.org. “We know from conversations around Wisconsin that many more schools are considering entering the program to further serve families in their communities.”