Thirty-four new schools have signed up to participate in Milwaukee's voucher program beginning next fall, state officials said Monday.

That could signal another year of significant growth in the number of students taking part in the program, although new candidates to become voucher schools often don't get off the ground by the following September.

In total, 151 schools plan to join or continue in the program next year, the state Department of Public Instruction announced. The growth comes even as new rules, including an accreditation requirement, make it harder for schools to participate.

Through the program, private schools, including religious schools, receive publicly funded tuition vouchers for low-income students. Some take only a few voucher students; at others, all students receive vouchers.

Among the new names on the list of schools are Xcellar8, The Young Women's Institute for Global Studies and the More Than Conquerors Preparatory School.

Most of the new schools appear to be unaffiliated with larger institutions such as Catholic or Lutheran churches.

Some are schools that have participated in the voucher program in the past but ran into problems with the state and now want to rejoin. That includes Woodson Academy, which has been in a dispute with state officials over several issues. The school was ordered out of the program but has been reinstated.

As of September, more than 17,000 students were using vouchers worth up to $6,501 each to attend private schools in the city.