School Choice Replaces Previous Item As Key Republican Issue
What was once an important Republican issue, and it still appears to be, has nevertheless been replaced by one that has been dominating headlines for some time now. School choice, that dominating headline, has replaced pro-life choice as the new key Republican issue.
What was once an important Republican issue, and still appears to be, has nevertheless been replaced by one that has been dominating headlines for some time now. School choice, that dominating headline, has replaced pro-life choice as the new key Republican issue.
In the Sooner Survey taken by Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass & Associates (CHS), the numbers tell an important tale as Republicans get set to mount their attack on the midterm elections. Their goal, to reclaim both the House and the Senate in hopes of restoring, in their minds, some semblance of order across the nation. Their plan of attack appears to include school choice, an issue that many parents are clamoring over, and one that the Oklahoma survey shows to be a major topic of interest.
Even before the COVID pandemic took hold (we are going on year three), school choice was already supported by the majority of Oklahomans, with even stronger support from the Republicans in the state. As schools began to shutter and remote learning became the norm, school choice was gaining further traction. Couple that with the perceived (and many times proven) teaching of critical race theory in public schools and a parent revolution was beginning to form.
The difference in today’s Oklahoma numbers from those even four years ago is striking. When the idea of school choice was broached to Oklahomans, they were in favor of it at a 56% rate in 2018. Two years later, and with the advent of the pandemic, that number rose to 61% in favor of school choice. Now, as Oklahoma parents have seen the damage that school closures have done to their children, that number has jumped to 65% who are in favor of taking their school tax funds with them and finding a school where their children would thrive.
Republican leaders are well versed in the fact that school choice is a want by many parents. They have backed parents’ request, which comes as no surprise that the issue is gaining more and more support across the state, as well as the country. To show you just how popular school choice is becoming in Oklahoma, 78% of Republicans favor it while 77% favor former president Donald Trump. Even more telling is the fact that Oklahoma Republican voters have thrown more support toward school choice than they do pro-life. In an October 2021 CHS survey, Republican voters preferred a pro-life candidate at a 68% clip while pro-choice saw a 21% favoring.
A quick peek at Oklahoma Democrat numbers shows rising support for school choice as well. The split of somewhat even but favors the school choice side. Democrats support school choice at 47% while they opposed it at 39%. Do not be surprised if that split increases the closer we get to midterms.
What may be a little surprising are the school choice numbers the CHS survey grabbed from those who work in a public-school setting. When presented with the question of using taxpayers’ dollars for school choice, those currently working in a public school split evenly at 45% in favor and opposing. Those polled who formerly worked in public schools said they were 56% in favor of using tax dollars while 41% were not.
Oklahoma family members who currently work in a public school said they were 57% in favor of using tax dollars for school choice while 35% opposed. Family members who formally worked in the public-school setting were even more in favor, 62%, while only 33% opposed.
The numbers are telling. They represent a massive shift in how parents view our public education systems across the country. Legislators are on board and are well prepared to help parents take the fight to the powerful teachers’ unions. School choice is gaining ground and it could be coming soon to a school district near you.
