Hispanics show greater willingness to exercise the right to school choice

According to a survey conducted by Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, COE, 59% of Hispanic parents are currently considering moving their children to a new or different school for at least one of the children in their household in the last twelve months.

This implies that Hispanics are more willing than the country as a whole to exercise school choice, as the percentage of all parents, including Hispanics, who responded in the same way is lower: 52%.

On the other hand, 49% of Hispanics indicated concerns about bullying and school safety; and 24% responded that they had concerns about school curriculum.

Other surveys

The survey results align with other surveys of minority education, including a 2015 Center for Research on Educational Outcomes report, which concluded that poor black students experienced significant learning gains from enrolling in public charter schools .

A 2019 Fordham Institute study concluded that black and Hispanic students in charter public schools made "significant achievement gains" in both rural and urban areas.

Willing to change parties

"Recent polls tell us that not only are parents and voters overwhelmingly in favor of charter schools, but they also strongly believe there should be more choice," said Dan Quisenberry, of president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies.

"Voters also say that education has become such a priority for them that they are willing to switch parties if necessary to support candidates who agree with them in school choice. Charter schools only open when and where there is a need for more school choice," Quisenberry said.