In an age where no one seems to be able to agree on anything, school choice is shaping up to be the one issue which can bridge the Grand Canyon of national division. Huge majorities support school choice—particularly Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which allow education dollars to follow a student to the school of his choice.
A new poll out from Odyssey and John Zogby Strategies sings the same tune. The poll, conducted in September 2023 in nine different states, found that 73% of parents “want ease of access to publicly funded education programs — including Education Savings Accounts (‘ESAs’).”
ESAs enjoy great support even in more progressive arenas that haven’t always been on board with school choice. In California, for instance, 70% of parents agreed that they would like ESAs to be an option in their state. Likewise, over 60% of all minorities want to see ESAs enacted in their state, with Hispanic and Black support standing at 73% and 69% respectively.
Such support is mirrored in other polls on ESAs, which show that 75% of parents and 70% of teachers support them.
Perhaps most interesting of all is how support for ESAs continues after parents have tried this school choice option. As seen in the graph below, 80% of parents who used ESAs “said the program had a positive impact on their child’s education.”
With such success and support like that—bipartisan, multi-racial, and overwhelming—there’s only one question left to ask: Why is it taking the Minnesota Legislature so long to bring ESAs to our state?
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Image Credit: Pickpik
