One of the silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic may be that it gave parents new insight into how their children are being educated in government schools, and a growing number are embracing what researchers are calling “school freedom.”
That was the subject of a discussion this week hosted by the Club for Growth, its President David McIntosh, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
The event was held to launch a Club for Growth project:
Club for Growth’s nationwide campaign comes amidst parental concerns surrounding school reopening in the wake of the pandemic, the growing number of failing public school systems, and left-wing political agendas being pushed in numerous school districts around the nation.
The New Hampshire forum promoted awareness and enhanced support for “School Freedom” as an education option for parents and families struggling to find the best schools for their children.
According to polling, 71% of voters support School Choice, including 66 percent of Democrats.
“Now is an important moment to really introduce policies that are going to empower families and kids to find their right fit for education,” DeVos said at the forum, adding:
We have such good ideas that are proven in states across the country and we need to continue to build on those, and really to support children and their families to find that right fit for them because we know that it is critical to the future of our country to ensure that every single child has the opportunity to fully develop themselves and their gifts and talents.
“There are very few places in the American economy where monopolies dominate, and where people are restricted in the products they can choose,” Pompeo said. “Parents should have the ability to choose the product they want to choose for their child.”
“Why would we give parents with means the capacity for school freedom but not give every parent that same capacity to make that choice. It’s the morally right thing to do, it’s the important thing to do for the country as well, to raise up not just a handful but the many,” Pompeo said.
The campaign also includes research by WPAi, which completed a series of studies to understand the full policy and messaging impact of school choice programs across the country.
The study revealed that “school freedom” not “school choice” is the most effective messaging to increase the number of people who support giving parents direct control of their child/children’s education.
“In order to promote, and encourage, and pass school choice and school freedom bills,” McIntosh said at the forum. “We’re going to need an army of grassroots folks.”
“We’re going to need leaders who will step up regardless of party and do what’s right for the children,” McIntosh said.
The methodology for the studies was included in the announcement of the forum and the campaign:
For each study, WPAi selected a random sample of registered voters from the voter file using Registration-Based Sampling (RBS) based on the designated region. The sample for this survey was stratified based on geography, age, gender, partisanship, and ethnicity. This methodology allows us to avoid post-survey “weighting” which can reduce the reliability of survey results.
For the online study, respondents were contacted through a voter matched online panel July 31 – August 11th, 2021. The study has a sample size of 149 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points in 95 out of 100 cases.
For the urban area study, respondents were contacted via a live caller August 8-10, 2021. The study has a sample size of 517 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent in 95 out of 100 cases.
For the exurban study, respondents were contacted via a live caller August 8-10, 2021. The study has a sample size of 513 registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percent in 95 out of 100 cases.
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter or send news tips to pstarr@breitbart.com.
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