School Choice For K-12 Students Gets Bipartisan Support In New Poll

Both Democrats and Republicans expressed significant support for public school choice initiatives for K-12 students, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

School choice has become a hot-button issue for parents across the country, and several states like Oklahoma and North Carolina recently approved different measures that created more options when deciding where to send kids to school.
The poll, published by the Yes. Every Kid. Foundation (YEKF), which is an organization dedicated to supporting “educational freedom” for families, asked respondents on both ends of the political spectrum whether or not they would support giving students the ability to go to whatever school best supported their needs, and 88% of Democrats responded yes alongside 83% of Republicans.

The poll noted that many children in the U.S. are assigned a school based on their zip code and asked voters if they would get behind initiatives to make “it possible for students to access any public school in their state regardless of where they live.” Over 60% of both Democrats and Republicans responded affirmatively, but when asked if they would support allowing children to attend whatever public school in the state helped them get the best education, both parties increased their approval rating by nearly 20%.

“Americans believe more education options will improve our nation’s education system,” Matt Frendewey, vice president of the foundation, said in a press release. “A child’s access to a great education should not be determined by their family’s income or where they live. By expanding opportunities for families to customize the education to meet their kids’ needs, we can improve education more broadly. We will continue to listen to Americans while empowering families by removing barriers to learning.”