Who Supports Parent Choice?
• A majority of adult Americans support parent choice of schools, as we learn from a national survey conducted in 2005: Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose any school, public or private, to attend using public funds? 60% Favor 33% Oppose • The same survey, commissioned by the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, also looked into how a “loaded question” can bias survey results in surveys about parent choice. A separate panel was asked a question that was worded with a negative built-in bias. This type of question has been used in some several surveys conducted by groups opposed to parent choice: Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense? 37% Favor 55% Oppose • Other findings (from a similar survey conducted in 2004) include: • Most Americans (64 percent) support using tax dollars already allocated to a school district for education to be used to help parents pay for the school of their choice
