Most U.S. parents believe K-12 education is headed in the wrong direction and support school choice initiatives such as open enrollment and federal tax incentives for private school vouchers, a new survey report from an education policy center says.
The Aug. 11 report, published by EdChoice, is based on responses earlier this year from 4,000 survey participants across all states and demographics. EdChoice solicited opinions regarding public schools, charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling as part of the 14th edition of its Schooling in America report.
It notes that public opinion toward U.S. education has slightly improved from 2024, when 64 percent of parents said K-12 schooling was headed in the wrong direction, compared to 56 percent in this year’s survey.
This was the first year EdChoice surveyed Americans about the new federal tax incentive program authorized by Congress last year. It allows each taxpayer residing in a participating state to receive up to a $1,700 dollar-for-dollar credit for contributing to a private school scholarship-granting organization in his or her state. Leaders in 30 states have opted in or announced intentions to do so.
Seventy-two percent of school parents surveyed said they would endorse that program, while 61 percent of those from the general population category expressed support. The majority of respondents in both categories also said they support education savings accounts, state-funded programs that provide money for private school tuition, online learning programs, tutoring, and supplies. Two-thirds of the parents surveyed said they would enroll their child in such a program if it were available in their state.
Most of the parents surveyed noted some degree of satisfaction with their child’s school, but more parents of children in private schools said they were “very satisfied.”
Even though 80 percent of K-12 students currently attend traditional public schools, only 49 percent of parents surveyed said they would select public schools if they had a choice, while 51 percent said they would select a different option—private, charter, or homeschooling—if they could.
About a quarter of the parents surveyed noted that their child has switched school types. The most common reason for doing so was excessive stress and anxiety, unmet academic needs, bullying, and difficulties with teachers, the report said.
About three-quarters of the respondents, including 79 percent of parents, grossly underestimated their state’s public-school spending at around $5,000 per student annually. The lowest state spending rate, Idaho’s, is $11,060 per student, while the highest, New York’s, is $31,918 per student, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Colyn Ritter, EdChoice research analyst, said most people are uninformed about education finance.
“The data is not easy to find, and it’s not transparent,” he told The Epoch Times.
“There’s a lack of sticker shock because public schools have always been an accepted institution,” Ritter added, noting that 2026 marks the year when K-12 public education spending passed the $1 trillion mark. “I think there’s an opportunity for people to look for the first time at what’s being spent.”
Parents representing children from all types of schools also reported a variety of out-of-pocket school expenses, including field trip costs, fees for extracurricular activities, school uniforms, online courses, and tutoring.
Ritter said education savings accounts (ESAs), which are new and unheard of in many communities, could be used to help cover those out-of-pocket expenses.
“Sometimes there is bad press over field trips or extracurriculars that some people say aren’t educational, but these experiences help with developing the whole child,” he said. “I think there’s a demand here where ESAs could serve families well.”
The report also indicated that favorability toward charter schools continues to rise, with 75 percent of this year’s respondents saying they support that choice and 24 percent indicating that they oppose them. Similarly, 72 percent of respondents said they support homeschooling as a choice, while 27 percent oppose it.
As for open enrollment, where families are allowed to select their child’s public school, 83 percent of respondents said they supported this option as a choice, while 17 percent opposed it.
Ritter said the report will be shared with education policymakers, elected leaders from several states, and federal officials as school choice is an evolving issue across the nation.
