The 2017 Education Next annual survey of American public opinion on education shows public support for charter schools has dropped, even as opposition to school vouchers and tax credits for private-school scholarships has declined.
In a dramatic change of opinion over the past year, support for charter schools has declined by 12 percentage points, from 51 percent last year to just 39 percent this year (36 percent opposed). Support has fallen by 13 percentage points among Republicans and by 11 percentage points among Democrats, to 47 percent and 34 percent support respectively, leaving the partisan gap on the issue largely unchanged.
Opposition to private school choice declines despite partisan differences. Opposition to universal vouchers, which give all families a wider choice, has declined from 44 percent to 37 percent, while support for vouchers targeted to low-income parents has increased by six percentage points (43 percent in 2017 up from 37 percent in 2016).
