Survey Results are in: Virginians Support School Choice – But what do we do next?
So I should start off with apologies for not having a chance to write on this earlier this week, but those of you who follow us on Twitter know that we’ve been trying to keep up with sharing all the coverage of our announcement of the new survey conducted here in Virginia by the Friedman Foundation on education issues.
On Monday, we were honored to be a part of a large group joining the Friedman Foundation in the release of “Virginia’s Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice.” (The folks from Friedman have told us that our coalition of release partners was larger than any state so far, including: The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Virginia Catholic Conference, The Family Foundation, The Chase Foundation of Virginia, The Alderson Family Foundation, Virginia Council for Private Education, Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium, Old Dominion Association of Church Schools, Agudath Israel of America – Mid-Atlantic Region, Verizon Virginia, Markel Corporation, Joe Ragan’s Coffee and Office Products, School Choice Virginia, The Lexington Institute, and Americans for Prosperity – Virginia. National organizations include the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), Association of Christian Schools International, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, National Catholic Educational Association, and United States-Mexico Cultural and Educational Foundation.)
As if that list of partners wasn’t impressive enough, the findings of the statewide survey added the real punch.
Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those of us on the ground working for education reforms (and those of us who have ever talked to parents about educational choices for their kids), but a majority of likely voters support school choice options (including tax-credit scholarships, vouchers and charter schools) and would opt for schools other than their traditional public schools.
Now before someone jumps in with the old argument that “well they must all be AGAINST public schools then!” – one of the interesting finds of the survey was that actually a majority of Virginians rate their public schools as good or excellent (which Friedman hasn’t found in other states). But while they have high opinions of their public schools, they STILL support more educational choices, showing again what we’ve said all along that this isn’t about public versus private, and that you can support your traditional public schools AND be for school choice.
Second point- this isn’t some right-wing Republican plot against the public school system. Nope. In fact there is strong support for tax-credit scholarships AND vouchers among Democrats, Republicans and Independents. And that support is significant:
* Tax-credit scholarships: D: 64% | R: 68% | I: 66%
* Vouchers: D: 53% | R: 67% | I: 58%
* Special needs vouchers: D: 81% | R: 79% | I: 76%
Yes, you read that right. The majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents support school choice options- even VOUCHERS! (And here we were being told “voucher” was practically a dirty word!)
Perhaps even more significantly (especially for those of us who enjoy the numbers game), the favor-oppose gaps between those who support versus those who stated their oppposition to these choice options was very large.
* Tax-credit scholarships: D: +43% | R: +46% | I: +44%
* Vouchers: D: +15% | R: +39% | I: +22%
* Special needs vouchers: D: +67% | R: +64% | I: +60%
So, the big question has been: Well, what does this all mean for Virginia?
Well, some of that is in your hands. While we are doing our part to share the results of this survey with newly elected lawmakers, the media, parents and other policy-influencers, you can help by getting involved! Share this survey with your Delegate and Senator. Ask them if they will support education reforms that will provide parents greater access to educational options. Because at the end of the day, a survey is good at telling you the overview, but actually hearing directly from voters living in your own legislative district is even better. So join us in sharing this survey- and join us in sharing your support for education reforms!
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