A new survey by yes. every kid. foundation. finds that Ohio voters support universal public school access, with nine-in-ten (88%) agreeing that all Ohio students should have access to the best public schools regardless of race, income, or home address.
Accordingly, a strong majority (59%) of voters support the state legislature passing a law to allow students to attend any school in any district. This includes majority support from Republicans (57%), ticket splitters (61%), and Democrats (61%), as well as from demographic groups across race and geography. Majorities of seniors (66%) and parents with a child in K-12 schools (52%) are also in support.
In addition, a near majority (49%) of voters say they would be more likely to support their legislator if they supported passing a law that would allow all children in Ohio to attend any public school in the state regardless of where they live. This includes 25% of voters who would be much more likely to support a legislator who supported such a law.
Just 27% of voters overall say this would make them less likely to support their legislator.
Positive voter attitudes are driven by strong agreement on the premises of school choice.
Fully 80% of voters believe parents or guardians are the entity that should be deciding which school a child attends.
Voters generally agree that families should be empowered with options for their child’s education:
- 70% of voters agree that “The funding allocated to a student for their annual education should follow that student if they decide to transfer schools.”
- 68% of voters agree that “Public schools are designed to support and educate all our children, regardless of their location. They should be open to all so families can find the school that best meets their child’s needs.”
- 64% of voters agree that “No child should have their access to public schools limited by where they live. We don’t restrict access to any other public services such as public hospitals, pools, parks, or libraries and we shouldn’t do it for public education.”
In sum, voters broadly support the concept of empowering families to send their kids to the school that best meets their needs.
This survey was conducted by The Tarrance Group, April 9-11, 2024, among N=505 registered voters in Ohio. The margin of error for the total sample is + 4.5% at the 95% confidence level. Subsets based on demographics carry higher margins of error.
