Insights | January 30, 2025

Amer⁠i⁠cans Suppor⁠t⁠ Un⁠i⁠versal School Cho⁠i⁠ce

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of universal school choice, declaring: “I will support universal school choice.” He believes that every child – regardless of their family income or neighborhood – deserves the opportunity to find the education that works best for them, whether that is a safer learning environment or one tailored to their academic ability or career ambitions. 

Public opinion surveys demonstrate that Americans strongly agree with President Trump. Survey after survey reinforces the popularity of universal access to school choice. By significant margins, Americans believe every child should be able to access the educational environment that will best set them up for a successful and purposeful life. 

Just days before America made it clear they supported President Trump and his agenda, a national survey of US adults found that 71% of education savings account (ESAs) supporters believe they should be universal, while only 20% favor means-tested programs—a significant 51 percentage point disadvantage. While a majority of all major demographic groups across gender, race/ethnicity, region, geography, socioeconomic status, and political party favor universal programs over means-tested ones, the most supportive groups were Republicans (80%), adults living in the Midwest (79%), white adults (76%), upper middle class or higher households (76%), and moms (74%). 

State-level findings tell a similar story:  

  • A new poll in Texas found that 67% of Texas voters support implementing an ESA program in the state. Moreover, 66% of voters believe ESAs should be available to all families in Texas rather than limited to low-income families (25%), and 76% believe ESAs should be available to all families who think their children will benefit, rather than limited to 50,000 children overall (10%). Views are being driven by the 69% of voters who fundamentally believe families should determine the schools and education services that work best for them without government restrictions, not the 18% who believe government should determine the schools and education services from which families can choose.
  • A January 2025 survey in Mississippi found that 72% of Mississippi voters and 84% of likely Republican primary voters support expanding ESAs to all children across the state instead of limiting them to low-income families (19% and 10%, respectively). Similarly, 74% of voters and 80% of likely Republican primary voters support expanding ESAs to all children rather than limiting them to those in D or F-rated districts (15% and 10%, respectively).  
    • Support for universality is not limited to private school choice. Sixty-eight percent of voters and 72% of likely Republican primary voters support mandating school district participation in a statewide open enrollment program.  
  • In May 2024, a poll in Montana found that 74% of ESA supporters want ESAs available to all families across the state. Only 22% want them limited to low-income families.  
    • Additionally, when it comes to public school choice, fully 97% of Montana registered voters agree that all students should have access to the best public schools, regardless of race, income, or home address
  • In a South Carolina survey from March 2024, 75% of state voters said they support ESAs in the state being available to all families versus 23% who support limiting them to low-income families. Moreover, when asked to assess the impact a universal program would have on the state’s overall education system, 70% of voters believe it would improve the state’s education system, with 39% believing a universal program would strongly improve the state’s system. Only 18% of voters think a universal program would weaken education overall. 
  • In Georgia, a survey conducted in February 2024 found that 66% of likely general election voters in the state’s most competitive House Districts support establishing universal school choice. Support was driven by 77% of likely Republican voters.  
  • A survey from November 2023 in Tennessee found that 65% of registered voters in the state support expanding the ESA program to all families, rather than keeping it limited to low-income families (21%). Similarly, 74% of voters support expanding the ESA program to all families across the state, rather than keeping it limited to select school districts (8%).  

Download the full memo here.