Poll: Education voter is the new swing voter

Poll reveals large and powerful voting block willing to vote outside their party

A recent national poll reveals education has created a large and powerful voting block with 82% of respondents stating they would be willing to vote outside their political party based on the candidate’s education platform.

The large number willing to cross party lines to change education policy arguably speaks to just how unhappy most parents are with their public schools.

The failings of the pandemic’s “remote learning” and the “woke” lessons exposed by remote instruction seemingly woke up the majority of parents.

Learning loss gaps for public school children were much larger than that of charter schools and private schools that remained open. Children with disabilities and special needs were especially negatively impacted as remote instruction simply was not a viable substitute for in-person learning.

Making matters worse, teacher unions advocated for keeping schools closed to in-person instruction and were found to have influenced Centers for Disease Control guidance both on reopening schools and on forced masking.

The poll, commissioned by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NACPS), was conducted by The Harris Poll and included 5,002 parents or legal guardians of a child or children residing in their household that were enrolled in grades pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade at the end of the 2021-22 school year. The survey was conducted between May 19 and May 31 of this year.

Only topline results have been released so far and NAPCS says a full report is coming later this summer.

“Among key findings from the poll, data suggest education voters are the new “swing” voters – for many, education has risen in importance when it comes to key considerations when they head to the polls,” NACPS’ summary reads.

Three in four parents surveyed said they want more public charter school offerings, support expanding the number of seats in existing schools, and would consider sending their child to a public charter school if one were available in their area.

In North Carolina, charter schools are public schools. According to the latest data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the Office of Charter Schools, the state currently has 203 public charter schools serving over 130,000 students. Another 7 schools conducting their planning year are scheduled to open this upcoming fall.

There were 20 new public charter school applications submitted this year to the Charter Schools Advisory Board (CSAB). Once reviewed, applications are sent to the N.C. State Board of Education with the CSAB’s approval recommendations.

Another finding released from the poll is that 84 percent of the parents surveyed said even if they do not choose a charter for their own child, a charter school should be available for those who want one.

Of the black parents participating in the survey, 71 percent strongly agreed with the statement “one size does not fit all when it comes to educating children” and 70 percent think parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school with 53 percent of them wanting options other than the district school their child was assigned to.

The poll showed that education is the second most important issue at 55 percent, with taxes just barely coming in as the first biggest issue at 56 percent. Those top two reasons were followed by the economy at 53 percent, healthcare at 33 percent, and abortion at 24 percent.