CV NEWS FEED // A poll found that most Democrats now support giving federal education dollars directly to students and their families instead of to public school systems in order to provide options for parents who want to pull their children out of schools that don’t enforce mask mandates.
The new poll from Echelon Insights, conducted in August, asked over 1,000 registered voters across the United States: “If a family feels their child is unsafe in their public school because the district is not imposing a mask mandate, would you support or oppose providing school vouchers so that their child may attend a private school or homeschool?”
Democrat respondents approved more strongly than Republicans, and considerably more than the average of both parties, with 76% of Democrats indicating they would “support” or “strongly” support funding students and not systems.
According to the poll, 65% of Republicans would “support” or “strongly support,” as would 69% of all respondents.
These latest numbers come amid a steady increase in support for school choice. In July, a RealClear Opinion Research released a poll that showed majorities of both major parties now support school choice, as CatholicVote reported:
74% of voters support school choice, including 83% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 69% of independents, according to the poll, which was conducted in June. A majority (66%) of both Republican and Democrat poll respondents also supported giving public education funding directly to parents, rather than the education system, “to use for home, virtual, or private education expenses.”
“These results represent a marked increase in support for school choice since similar polling was conducted in April 2020,” a statement from the American Federation for Children (AFC) pointed out. “Overall support has increased from 64% to 74%; public school parent support has increased from 68% to 80%; Democrat support has increased from 59% to 70%.”
“While the majority of American voters from all political parties support school choice,” the latest poll numbers show a remarkable increase in support among Democrats, Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, said in a statement this week:
This just affirms that the one-size-fits-all system of education cannot serve the needs and interests of all families. No family should ever feel unsafe sending their children to school, whether due to bullying or health and safety protocols. Elected officials should take note and put children first by empowering families with educational options.
