Poll: 40 percent of Americans more likely to home-school, enroll children in virtual schools after lockdown

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square

A new RealClear Opinion Research poll of 2,122 registered voters found that a strong majority surveyed support school choice and 40 percent are more likely to pursue homeschooling opportunities after COVID-19 restrictions end.

Slightly more than 40 percent polled said they are more likely to home school or virtual school after lockdowns. Before the coronavirus shutdown, roughly 4 percent of K-12 students were in home education settings.

More than 64 percent polled said they support school choice and 69 percent support the federal Education Freedom Scholarships proposal.

Wikimedia Commons

“With 55 million students no longer in their normal educational setting, families are clearly considering new options and many are seeing the benefits of homeschooling and virtual schooling.”

The majority supporting these measures are young parents between the ages of 18 and 34, the poll found.

“Every single family with kids in school has been incredibly disrupted by the lockdowns,” John Schilling, president of the American Federation of Children, said in a prepared statement. “With 55 million students no longer in their normal educational setting, families are clearly considering new options and many are seeing the benefits of homeschooling and virtual schooling.”

Of those who said they would enroll their children in a home school, neighborhood home school co-op, or virtual school, 53.8 percent were Asian parents and 50 percent were black parents.

Among the majority who support federal Education Freedom Scholarships, nearly 72 percent were between the age of 18 and 34, 74 percent were black, and 72 percent lived in an urban area.

The scholarships are 100 percent privately funded by donations and do not take taxpayer money from local public school students or public school teachers, the U.S. Department of Education states.

Of the 64 percent of respondents who said they support school choice and the right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school that best serves their needs, 67 percent were between the age of 18 and 34, 67 percent were black, and 69 percent lived in an urban environment.

The American Federation for Children, which commissioned the poll, argues the findings indicate the need for education reform.

“Millions of families are seeing the inadequacies of school districts that are too inflexible,” Schilling said. “We owe it to our nation’s families and students to give them more flexibility and additional educational options.”

Among registered voters polled in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia in December 2019, more than 70 percent in each state support school choice, with the lowest support of 71 percent reported in Virginia and the highest support of 79 percent in Georgia.

Nationwide, since the first school choice poll was conducted in January 2015 for the American Federation for Children, a strong majority has expressed support for school choice ranging from 63 percent to 73 percent.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

6 thoughts on “Poll: 40 percent of Americans more likely to home-school, enroll children in virtual schools after lockdown

  1. My daughter has homeschooled all three of her children. They are so well educated. Once when my 5 year old Granddaughter Lydia, realized she could answer a “Jeopardy” question that I could not, she turned to her Mom and said “Papa (what she calls her Grandfather), needs to be home-schooled.” She and her other two older siblings excel in school, are so well adjusted and are on course to be productive, motivated, morally sound citizens.

    In the article above, the author wrote, “Of those who said they would enroll their children in a home school, neighborhood home school co-op, or virtual school, 53.8 percent were Asian parents and 50 percent were black parents.” That is over 100% and no whites are included. Lydia might suggest that the author should be home-schooled in mathematics. No offense intended. Just offered for a smile. From what I have seen, homeschooling is where it is, and with what has been forced on the system by Covid-19, homeschooling is about to become the new educational revolution.

  2. Perhaps this is key to breaking the strangle hold.

    Take a couple of towns, home school a bunch of kids, there are empty buildings in your community that would welcome truth and educating kids. Collapse the demand for the school.

    The have 30% of the die hard Vermonters who know and love our constitution not pay their taxes that year, do it next year.

    Then suggest local groups of second home owners across our state do the same, withhold paying the tax one year, pay it next year.

    If we did that as a group, perhaps people would notice. They would feel the cash crunch.

  3. Every education option is aimed at shaping the students’ minds to embrace a core set of ideas. It is the right and duty of parents to determine that set of ideas. Children are not creatures of the state, they are offspring of their parents.

    If as a parent you embrace your God-given right and responsibility to be your child primary guide toward adulthood, you need to come to terms with the fact that the only way to control the ideas out into your children’s head through education, is to pay for that education. The entity that pays the education bill controls the curriculum.

  4. If one cares about their children’s education it is their duty to teach their own children and not rely on government education centers, that are little more than tax payer funded sitters.

    • I agree .. most parents don’t get involved with what their children are learning .. I go daily at lunch my with Kinder child ..I SEE IT and HEAR IT .. vine are the days that parents are kept informed and teachers taught the 3 R’s .. now it’s the teachers for sure indoctrinating their own values ..

  5. Allowing School Choice is the civil rights issue of the pandemic and post-pandemic era. It’s all about Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…. not to mention saving money and creating better education outcomes for our children.

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