Parents want school choice, and are willing to make sacrifices to obtain it:
Most parents prefer private schools over public. Fully 58% of survey respondents report that their children currently attend traditional public school, but only 35% report that public schools are their first choice of school (an additional 12% of parents say that their children attend a combination of public and private schools). In contrast, 59% of parents indicate that they would prefer for their child to attend a different type school (29% religious school, 18% private non-religious and 11% charter school).
American parents (and grandparents) are willing to take action so their children could attend a private school for free. Almost 3 in 5 parents picked three or more from a list of possible personal sacrifices “to send (their) child to a private school for free.” The most popular actions during this first week in January mirrors common New Year’s resolutions: cutting all eating out and take-out from restaurants for a year (62%) and stop drinking coffee or caffeine for a year (62%). In addition, about half of the parents indicate that they are willing to drive their child 25 miles each way to school (49%), move 10 miles away (46%) or change jobs (41%). Only 13% wouldn’t be willing to take one of the actions to enroll their child in private school for free.
Voters want their elected officials to get behind school choice.
It’s not surprising that a strong majority of voters want elected officials to take a stand on school choice. Three out of five voters are more likely to support a Member of Congress or state legislator who supports expanding school choice, including 21% who are much more likely to vote someone who supports choice. Latinos are even more likely to back a school choice candidate; 71% say they are more likely to vote for a school choice candidate, including 35% who are much more likely.
The full polling memo from Beck Research is here: https://www.federationforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-National-Release-Memo-FINAL-1.17.19.pdf |