New poll results show strong support for school choice expansion in Oklahoma

 
Oklahoma City (Nov. 25, 2015) – The American Federation for Children (AFC), the nation’s voice for educational choice, highlighted recent polling results out of Oklahoma. Overall, 70 percent of likely Sooner voters across the state support empowering parents to choose the best educational option for their child through a school choice program.
“The poll shows what we have seen time and time again across the country – education is top priority for voters and they are overwhelmingly supportive of providing greater educational options to families and children in their community,” said Kevin Chavous, executive council for the American Federation for Children. “Every child in Oklahoma deserves access to a quality education that suits their needs, and voters know that offering an array of educational options will help every child access that education and put themselves on the path to success.”
“It is evident that access to high quality educational choices are a top priority for Sooners,” added Matt Ball, lead lobbyist for AFC at the Oklahoma Capitol. “Legislative members now need to respond to this clear message from voters that families, both in urban and rural Oklahoma, want more choice and options in K-12 education.”
The poll, conducted by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates, Inc., was a survey of 500 likely voters and was conducted between Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 2015.
Fast Facts

• 47 percent of respondents “strongly favor” and 23 percent “somewhat favor” the concept of school choice
• 67 percent of respondents indicated they believe school choice is an important issue in Oklahoma
• Support for school choice is bipartisan with 79 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Democrats indicating support for the concept
• 74 percent of those surveyed believe the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship Program, a school choice program in the state serving special needs children, is a “good thing”
• Over half of respondents (54 percent) favor creating an education savings account program in Oklahoma

Additional poll details can be found in the Sooner Survey newsletter.

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American Federation for Children is the nation’s leading school choice advocacy organization and works in states across the country to help secure additional, high-quality educational options for families.
Kevin P. Chavous is executive counsel and a founding board member for the American Federation for Children. He is a former member of the Council of the District of Columbia and a former chairman of D.C.’s Education Committee. Chavous was responsible for enacting numerous education reforms in D.C. Chavous is chair emeritus of the Democrats for Education Reform and a former chair of the Black Alliance for Educational Options.