Nearly 80 Percent of Florida Voters Want Choice in Education

New poll says voters overwhelmingly support giving parents opportunity to choose where they send their children to school.

A new statewide survey of 800 registered voters in Florida released this week found that nearly 80 percent of voters support allowing parents to choose a school instead of sending them to a school based on their zip code.  

“The vast majority of voters—nearly 80 percent—believe parents should have education choices for their children,” said Patricia Levesque, CEO of ExcelinEd. “Access to opportunity matters, and parents know it.” 

The survey was commissioned by ExcelinEd and took place between January 23 and 25. The survey gauges opinions on private education choice, policy design and other issues related to Florida’s system of K-12 education.

Highlights include: 

• 72 percent support expanding Education Scholarship Accounts to serve more students. ESAs allow parents to use their education tax dollars to customize their child’s learning and development.
• 55 percent of respondents think all students, regardless of income should be eligible to participate in an ESA program. 31 percent believe low- and middle-income students should be able to participate. Only 14 percent believe a program should be limited to low-income students.
• Respondents generally do not want to see caps on how many students may participate in an expanded program (51 percent). If caps are required, respondents prefer them to grow over time based on student demand (43 percent).
• If given the chance, 36 percent of respondents would enroll their child in a private school, yet only 17 percent of respondents with school-age children currently enroll their child in a private school.  

 Read the full summary.