Support For School Choice Shot Up Following COVID-19 Pandemic: POLL

Voter support for school choice programs jumped 7% since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Tuesday RealClear Opinion Research poll.

At least 71% of registered voters support school choice programs, with 66% of Democrats, 80% of Republicans and 69% of Independents saying they support such policies, according to a RealClear Opinion Research poll. In 2020 and during the COVID-19 pandemic, 64% of registered voters supported such policies that give taxpayer-funded vouchers to students to be used on education costs outside the public school system.

“School choice support is here to stay, and politicians who ignore this reality do so at their own peril,” Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children (AFC), an organization that advocates for school choice, said in a statement. “Parents are the new interest group in town, and legislators would be wise to keep responding to their needs. The days of the old one-size-fits-all model are numbered, welcome news for the countless students who need something different to learn and thrive. AFC is thrilled to continue standing behind parents as they do for their children’s education.”