MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Insurance Alliance is calling on Wisconsin to use some of the money it sends to the state to fund driver’s education for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
High school senior Jahmorris Torres-Currin is months away from getting his diploma, but another achievement he wants to accomplish hasn’t become a reality.
"I really want to do driver's ed,” he said. "I could be able to provide transportation to school. I would be able to have transportation to my college classes. That way I wouldn't rely on people I'm close to or I wouldn't have to use the city bus."
Jahmorris says it hasn’t been for a lack of effort, but rather a lack of means.
"My mom doesn't work, she heavily relies on food stamps so it's hard, especially for parents trying to afford groceries or food for their children so it puts like a lot of stress because they have this responsibility,” he said.
Jahmorris says he wanted to enroll in MPS Drive which is a Milwaukee program that’s providing driver’s ed classes to 4,400 students this year. But as a charter school student, Jahmorris didn’t qualify for the reduced rate of $35. Meanwhile, alternatives such as private driver’s ed classes cost around $400.
“What was the biggest barrier for you to get into driver’s ed? Was it the cost or was it the accessibility to a program?" TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan asked.
“It was both, honestly,” Jahmorris said. “I’ve been trying to get into driver’s ed for two years and nothing’s changed.”
Stories of struggles for students like Jahmorris motivated a Milwaukee organization called ‘Common Ground’ to advocate for free driver’s ed for disadvantaged teens.
“There’s a huge need for this,” said Common Ground Executive Director Jennifer O’Hear. “It’s been since 2004 that the state stopped funding drivers education so we’ve got a whole generation out there that didn’t have access to driver’s ed.”
Common Ground is now partnering with the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance to work toward that common goal.
O’Hear says the trade association that represents insurance companies in Wisconsin sends the state roughly $26 million a year for insurance industry fees.
They’re calling on the state to use $6 million of those funds to provide students with grants for free driver’s education if they qualify for free or reduced lunch programs.
For instance, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction data shows a family of four would need to have a household income of no more than $51,338 to be eligible.
“Some people may wonder why not provide these grants to every student in high school instead of just those on free or reduced lunch,” Jordan said.
“Well, we think that’s a great idea, but in terms of just being practical and making sure we move a step in the right direction, we think just asking the state to fund driver’s ed for all free and reduced lunch students is a good start,” O’Hear replied.
As Jahmorris prepares to graduate, he knows he wouldn’t be able to benefit from this initiative if it comes to fruition, but he says it would remove the obstacles he faced for his younger brother.
“For him, this would be like an immediate step forward for him. He could already have his permit.”
The initiative would need the approval of the state legislature. Common Ground says Governor Tony Evers backs the proposal and some Republican state lawmakers tell TMJ4 they support it as well. They’re expecting a decision by July.
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