Survey says ... Parents support school choice!

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EdChoice's annual Schooling in America survey finds the majority of Americans continue to believe that K-12 education in our nation is on the wrong track while support for school choice policies are growing.

The survey also found that parents whose children attend traditional public schools have the lowest level of satisfaction compared to those whose children attend public charter and private schools or are homeschooled. Further, parental preference for school type doesn’t reflect actual enrollment patterns – 82% of children attend traditional public schools while nearly two-thirds of their parents prefer a different school type.

Support continues to rise among Americans for school choice policies such as Education Savings Accounts (74% support), school vouchers (64% support), scholarship tax credits (66% support), and public charter schools (61% support).

With all of this support, why aren’t these policies being implemented in our educational system here in Kentucky? The answer is simple: political clout.

Teachers’ unions, who notoriously stand in the way of these reforms, are some of Kentucky’s biggest political spenders. Huge amounts of union dues are spent on efforts to oppose school choice. Their political clout obstructs progress at the expense of poorer families with no political clout who too often find their children in failing schools.

Public opinion is on the side of school choice policies which improve a child’s ability to receive a high-quality education. Kentucky legislators need to stop protecting the unions and start focusing on what is best for our children. -Sarah May Durand