(The Daily Caller) — Over 70% of Americans support funding students’ education rather than public education systems, according to a new poll.
Among a majority of respondents, 72% support school choice, according to a poll conducted by RealClear Opinion Research, which surveyed over 2,000 registered voters from Feb. 5 – 9, 2022.
Only 18% of voters are opposed to school choice, which the American Federation for Children (AFC) defined in the poll as parents’ “right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their needs.”
Support for school choice has increased since the pandemic began, according to a press release from AFC.
In April of 2020, among all parties, 64% of Americans supported school choice. Support from all three groups, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, all went up, with Democrat support increasing the most from 59% to 68%.
Additionally, over 80% of Republicans said they support school choice, compared with 67% of Independents and 68% of Democrats.
“These poll numbers are stunning,” Tommy Schultz, CEO of the AFC said in a statement. “The past two years have exposed to the world what many in the parental choice movement have known for decades: no single educational environment is right for every child.”
Schultz said there are consequences for policymakers who go against what the majority of parents want, urging them to expand educational options for “every child in America” so “children can thrive.”
“As the battle over educational freedom continues, party affiliation is secondary to ensuring all families are empowered to choose the best educational setting for their children,” he added.
White and black voters supported school choice by similar margins at 72% and 70% respectively, while 77% of Hispanics and 66% of Asians expressed support.
“Families have figured out there isn’t any good reason to fund failing government institutions when we can fund students directly instead,” Corey DeAngelis, national research director for the American Federation for Children, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Solid majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents support school choice. Parents are the new special interest group in town, and they aren’t going away any time soon.”
“Politicians from all parties would be wise to listen to parents going forward,” he added. “Opposing parental rights in education is essentially becoming political suicide. School choice is the only way to truly secure parental rights in education.”
