NEW POLL SHOWS GEORGIANS SUPPORT SCHOOL CHOICE BY WIDE MARGIN
Apr 9, 2007    The Milton Friedman Foundation/Alliance for School Choice   

For Immediate Release
April 9, 2007
Contact: Randy Lewis
Fitzpatrick & Lewis Public Relations
678-596-5589
mailto:randy@fitzlew.com

NEW POLL SHOWS GEORGIANS SUPPORT SCHOOL CHOICE BY WIDE MARGIN

Georgians Overwhelmingly Believe That Parents, Not School Administrators Are Best Prepared To Make Educational Choices For Children

Atlanta, Georgia – If left up to Georgia’s voters, voucher programs that permit parents to choose the school their child attends would be state policy – by a wide margin – according to a new public opinion poll. With 60 percent support, Georgians believe that voucher scholarships should be available to all parents regardless of income or needs.

On the issue of special needs scholarships, an issue currently pending before the legislature, their support is nearly identical with 59 percent supporting voucher scholarships that would allow parents of special needs children to select the school that best meets their child’s need.

“It is clear that public support for school choice is very strong in Georgia,” said Robert Enlow, Executive Director of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. “They especially believe that it’s time for parents of children with special needs to be allowed to make educational choices that meet their child’s specific needs.”

The poll of 1,200 likely Georgia voters was funded by The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation and is being released jointly by the Catholic Archdioceses of Atlanta, the Georgia Family Council, the Southeastern Legal Foundation, and the Alliance for School Choice.

Among key findings in the poll:

• Georgians strongly support school vouchers, both in general and in the context of special education. When asked about a bill currently being debated by the Georgia legislature that would provide school vouchers to special education students, 59 percent said they favored this policy, while only 20 percent were unfavorable. Questions about vouchers in general produced very similar results: 58 percent of Georgians favor school vouchers, while only 22 percent were unfavorable. In addition, if it were up to Georgians a strong majority would choose private and home schools for their children. Fifty-nine percent would select a private school or home school environment versus 27 percent who would choose a public school environment.
• Georgians believe that school choice improves K-12 education. A majority of Georgians (53 percent versus 29 percent) agree that school vouchers improve K-12 education by allowing parents the freedom to choose the best education for their child. In addition, when asked what appeals to them the most about school choice and vouchers, 38 percent cited parents choosing the best school for their children and 21 percent cited better education and curriculum.
• Georgians overwhelmingly believe that parents, not school administrators, are best prepared to make educational choices for children. A resounding 82 percent of Georgia voters think that parents are better able to make educational choices for their children than school administrators; only 12 percent say school administrators know better than parents.
• Georgia voters are more likely to vote for a state representative or senator who supports school vouchers. Four times as many poll respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a legislator who supports vouchers (54 percent) as said they would be less likely (13 percent).
• K-12 education is the top priority of Georgia voters. Thirty-three percent picked K-12 education as the most important issue facing Georgia, more than any other issue by a large margin (the next most common response was jobs and economic growth at 21 percent).

"We firmly support parents, as the first and primary educators of their children, to select the school which they believe best serves the needs of their children, especially those parents from lower economic means,” said Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. “Legislation that supports educational justice helps to strengthen families by empowering parents without financial penalty to select the schools that are best for their children.”

“The poll also shows that 80 percent of the poll respondents understand the concept of vouchers, and they believe that parents, not school administrators are best able to make educational choices for children,” said Randy Hicks, President of the Georgia Family Council. “The more choices that parents have, the more involved they are in their child’s education – and that is good public policy.”

“One size fits all doesn’t work in education, but it especially doesn’t work for children with special needs,” said Charles Hokanson, President and General Counsel of the Alliance for School Choice. “School choice will enable youngsters with special needs to find the school that can give them the best hope of a quality education.”

“Southeastern Legal Foundation is proud to be a part of the school choice policy movement in Georgia and throughout the nation,” said Shannon L. Goessling, Esq. “We have litigated in the Georgia Supreme Court on school choice issues, and we fully support the constitutional effort to ensure that parents have the right to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children – including and especially the power to choose the place of that education.”

This scientifically representative poll of 1,200 likely Georgia voters measures Georgia public opinion on school vouchers, both in general and specifically for special education students. Strategic Vision, LLC of Atlanta, conducted the poll during March 20-22. The poll has an error margin smaller than plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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