MADISON, Wis. – The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the oldest private school voucher initiative in the nation, is continuing to experience enrollment growth in its 25th year of operation.

The program, which provides state-funded tuition to low- and middle-income children, has grown dramatically since its inception in the 1991-92 school year, when it served about 350 students.

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Over the years the state has been forced to lift previously established enrollment limits of 15,000 and 22,500, due to public demand.

The last 10 years have continued to bring steady growth to the program, with enrollment increases in all but one year.

That trend has continued in the 2015-16 school year, with an increase of 2.8 percent, bringing total enrollment to 27,619, according to a report published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, based on a release from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

In October, DPI also announced enrollment increases in the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and the separate Racine Parental Choice Program.

There are 2,514 students enrolled in the statewide program, an 18.8 percent increase over last year, when total enrollment was limited by law to 1,000 students. That cap has since been lifted.

There were 511 students participating in the statewide program in 2013-14, the first year of its existence.

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State officials have also reported a 23 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in the Racine Parental Choice Program, from 1,773 in 2014-15 to 2,127 in 2015-16.

Of the 646 first time students in the Racine program this year, 66 percent attended public schools last year, according to a news report.