The nationwide lockdowns may lead to a bigger shift in the way American families do school. A new RealClear Opinion Research poll of 2,122 registered voters reveals a big increase in parents who might keep homeschooling their children after the pandemic ends, and many more support having educational choices.
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The poll shows that 40 percent of families are more likely to use homeschooling or virtual school education after lockdown restrictions are lifted. And 64 percent support having the choice of a public or private school, according to The American Federation for Children.
From those surveyed who said they would enroll their children in a home school or virtual school, 53 percent were Asian parents, 50 percent were African-American parents and 36 percent were Caucasian parents.
John Schilling, president of the American Federation of Children said, “Every single family with kids in school has been incredibly disrupted by the lockdowns. 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.”
“Policymakers should note that there is a strong desire to have these and other educational options available to families, with both strong support for the general concept of school choice and even stronger support for a specific federal proposal, Education Freedom Scholarships,” he added.
Among the 64 percent who support having a choice of whether to send their child to the public or private school, 75 percent were Republican and 69 percent live in an urban area.
Schilling emphasized that these findings suggest the need for educational improvement.
“This is the time for leadership and for desperately needed bold reforms to be implemented across our K-12 education system,” he said. “Millions of families are seeing the inadequacies of school districts that are too inflexible. We owe it to our nation’s families and students to give them more flexibility and additional educational options.”
And, from the 69 percent of parents who participated in the poll and support federal-funded Education Freedom Scholarships, 74 percent were African-American, 72 percent were Hispanic and 67 percent were Caucasian.
Among the majority supporting these measures are younger parents between the ages of 18 and 34.