Politicians Want Universal School Vouchers. But What About The Public? – By Monica Potts and Mary Radcliffe (FiveThirtyEight) / Mar 29, 2023
Earlier this week, Florida became the fourth state this year to enact a bill that would allow parents to receive taxpayer-funded vouchers to send their children to private schools, joining Iowa, Utah and Arkansas. At least 18 other states have introduced similar bills this term, meaning that almost half of the country’s state legislatures have passed or are considering passing legislature that could reshape the funding of public education by creating voucher programs open to almost any family, rather than reserving funding for students in failing schools or from low-income families.
Legislators are moving forward with these bills as if they’re universally popular, often acting as though they have a mandate to pass them. Iowa state Rep. John Wills told RadioIowa that the expanded Republican majority in the legislature and reelection of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds meant parents wanted school choice. “Her stance was she’s going to campaign on school choice all across the state of Iowa,” he said. “She never stopped talking about it.” In Florida, a Republican co-sponsor of the recently passed bill, state Sen. Corey Simon, told Jax Today, “We are funding students in this state. Parents have spoken.”
But public opinion doesn’t suggest there’s a mandate — it suggests that support for such bills is complicated, varying by state, program design and how the polling questions are asked. Still, these bills are being considered at the same time that support for public schools is declining, especially among Republicans, which could be helping them gain momentum across the country.
