DFER Poll Underscores Parent Demand for Public School Options

National Battle Over Education Provides Opportunities, Risks for Democrats

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 8, 2023) — A new poll released today by Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) shows overwhelming support among voters—particularly Black and Latino voters and parents—for increased options in our public school system. Consistent with prior research, the polling indicates that Democrats who do not propose solutions beyond funding alone, risk alienating key elements of their base, and exacerbating a growing issue of trust on education policy.

The poll found that more than 70% of Black and Latino voters, Democrats, and voters who are parents held favorable views of public charter schools—with an overwhelming majority of Black (67%) and Hispanic (69%) parents seeing new ideas and public school choice options, coupled with more funding, as integral components to improving our nation’s education system. 

“At a time when so much is at stake politically, Democrats cannot afford to ignore voters of color and parents who so ardently want more school choice options,” said DFER CEO Jorge Elorza. “Voters of color prefer public options, but if Democrats do not wholeheartedly embrace public school choice as a party, we not only lose an opportunity to better serve students, but we risk losing Black and Latino voters who do not feel heard.” 

In encouraging news for Democrats, proposals to invest in public school options—which reflect the types of public school choice supported by many Democrats—outperform Republican proposals for disinvestment in our public education system 2:1 among Black voters. Notably, 67% of Black voters and 57% of Latino voters also said they preferred public school choices compared to private voucher programs.

“For the past 30 years, public charter schools have delivered exceptional results educating Black, Latino, and low-income kids throughout the country and they’ve shown that a great public school education is not reserved for only the affluent,” added Elorza. “Democratic mayors, governors, and school board members who are accountable to families have long supported public school choice options. It’s time for the rest of the Party to join us.”

The poll also found that:

  • 77% of parents viewed public charters favorably— including 80% of Black parents and 71% of Latino parents. 
  • Among Democrats, 73% said they viewed public charter schools favorably, preferring public options to private vouchers by a 40-percentage-point margin. Independent voters preferred public options to private vouchers by a 28-percentage-point margin. 
  • More than half of voters (56%) are also concerned by Republicans’ prioritization of censorship and banning books, rather than teaching students to read books.

This is the first poll of DFER’s new quarterly polling project, DFER EdTrends. The nationally representative poll was conducted by Emerson College Polling between April 17-19, 2023, and surveyed United States voters. Data was collected by contacting cell phones via SMS-to-web, email via a consumer list of emails, and an online panel. The sample size is n=1,000 with a credibility interval of +/- 3%. 

You can view the poll results here. Additional crosstabs available upon request.

##

About Democrats for Education Reform 

Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is a national political organization that supports elected Democrats and candidates for office who seek to expand policies and practices that increase educational equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. It is a partner organization of Education Reform Now Advocacy, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that supports DFER’s legislative and policy advocacy work. www.dfer.org.

New Poll: NYC Democrats and Voters of Color Hold Favorable Views of Public Charters and Support Cap Raise

CONTACT: Victoria Fosdal, victoria@dfer.org

NEW YORK, N.Y. (Jan. 29, 2023) — A new poll released by Democrats for Education Reform New York (DFER NY) conducted by Morning Consult found New York City Democratic voters have a favorable view of public charter schools and strongly support raising the arbitrary cap on the number of public charters in the state by a wide margin. The poll found New Yorkers have a favorable view of charter schools by a 19-percentage point margin (46% favorable to 27% unfavorable) with all registered voters and by an even wider broader support among New Yorkers identifying as Democrats (49%-25%).

The results are comparable when asked about raising the charter cap. When asked:

“Do you support or oppose New York state increasing the cap on the number of public charter schools allowed to open in New York City?,”  

  • 51% of Democratic respondents support raising the cap, compared to 27% opposing it
  • That’s a 24 point margin.
  • 53%, a majority of Hispanic New Yorkers (+27) and 48% of Black New Yorkers also support a cap raise (+25) 
  • 64% of respondents who identify as Parents (+41) support a cap raise, as well.

Support for public charter schools in the poll continued to grow among Democratic voters (342 of the 600 voters) surveyed as they received more details and information about charters.

  • After messaging, 59% of Democratic voters had a favorable impression of public charter schools (+10 since initially asking), to 58% for Hispanic voters, 61% for Black voters and 70% for Parents.
  • After messaging, both positive and negative about charters. Support, among Democrats, for raising the cap increased to 56% (+5 from the initial ask), to 56% for Hispanic voters, and 61% for Black voters.
  • After messaging, both positive and negative about charters. Support, among Parents, for raising the cap increased to 68% (+4 from the initial ask)

“New Yorkers always want more choices, and this poll shows that includes more high quality choices in the public school system. For too long, families in some of the poorest communities have been denied the opportunity to select the best school for their families. Public charter schools ensure every family has high-quality options, and we look forward to working with leaders in Albany to lift the cap on public charters,” said DFER NY Executive Director Jacquelyn Martell.

“For far too many families in Brooklyn, they lack a quality public school to send their children. These results prove more New Yorkers want more choices and that includes public charter schools. We need to raise the cap to empower New York families,” said Brooklyn Assemblymember Brian Cunningham.

“The results from this poll mirror what I am hearing from the parents and families in my district: they want more choices and more high-quality public schools. That’s why I support having conversations on how we can bridge the gap and provide our students with a competitive education,” said Bronx Assemblymember George Alvarez.

You can view the full poll here. Crosstabs are available upon request.

Methodology 

This poll was conducted by Morning Consult between January 23-January 24, 2023, among a sample of 600 New York City Voters, 342 of whom identified as Democrats. The interviews were conducted online and weighted to gender, age, race, and education. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/-4% percentage points. The margin of error for Democrats is +/-5% percentage points.

##

DFER Statement on Revised CSP Regulations

NEW YORK, N.Y. (July 6, 2022) — Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) National President Shavar Jeffries issued the following statement in response to the revised regulations for the Charter Schools Program released by the U.S. Department of Education:

“The revised regulations are demonstrative of President Biden’s moderate stance on public charter schools—a stance reflective of his approach to policy writ large, and one largely informed by the advocacy of charter students and families, and Democratic leadership—including Senators Bennet, Booker, Hickenlooper and Feinstein, Rep. Torres, and Gov. Polis— who were strong advocates for the revised regulations.

These final regulations will promote accountability, transparency, and fiscal responsibility among all public schools, with a much more workable burden on high-quality public charter schools that serve millions of students nationwide than would have been the case under the originally proposed rules.”

##

A Democratic Guide to Public Charter Schools: Support from Democratic Leadership

In Part 2 of the 2nd Edition of our Democratic Guide to Public Charter Schools, we highlight how key Democratic leaders, past and present, at all levels of government, have been instrumental in creating, funding, and advocating for public charter schools. The list includes former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, leading Congressional Democrats such as Senators Patty Murray and Cory Booker, and Governors like Andrew Cuomo and Jared Polis.

Of particular note: Part 2 includes an exclusive DFER analysis of grants awarded under a program created by President Obama to fund the replication and expansion of high-quality schools run by Charter Management Organizations. In less than a decade, this program has provided funding to support nearly 1,000 new public charter schools and more than 500,000 additional seats in high-performing charter networks across the country.

Stay tuned as additional chapters from our DGPCS continue to be released throughout the week.

Also see: Part 1, Origins and Public Opinion Research. 

Landmark Legislative Session for Colorado’s Charter Schools

By Jen Walmer, DFER Colorado State Director

Thanks to the heroic work of our Democratic leaders like Representative Angela Williams and Senator Mike Johnston who were willing to take up this fight on behalf of our kids, as well as our committed network of education champions all across our great state, Colorado’s thriving public charter schools are stronger than ever.

This session we achieved important gains in access to facilities and resources for public charters, greater regulatory flexibility, and additional accountability for district authorizers. Taken together, this package of common-sense reforms helps open up new doors of opportunity for our charters schools and students and will ensure that the innovative spirit of our public charters remains alive and well in the years ahead.

  • Facilities & Resources. When it comes to creating more high-quality educational options for our kids, we can’t do that without the land and buildings necessary to open new schools. That’s why we pushed for new policies that require districts to not only let charters know of any vacant or available facilities that could be used for schools, but also require districts to consider competitive bids from charters to develop that unused land or property.

    This legislation also expands the Charter Capital Construction Fund program, which is used to help finance the construction of land and buildings, by another $3 million. That brings our total allocation up to $25 million for the 2016-17 school year – an exponential increase from just $7 million two years ago. Plus, school maintenance costs are now an allowable expense for these Capital Construction funds, so we can be sure our kids are learning in clean, updated classrooms and our teachers can focus on their lessons – not worry about the leak in the ceiling.

    We’ve also leveled the playing field for public charters when it comes to participating in the state’s top capital construction grant programs. Now charters, just like every other kind of school, are eligible after three years to apply – as opposed to five years. These may seem like minor policy changes and technicalities, but the truth is that opening up these critical resources to our public charter schools is essential to their long-term success.

  • Regulatory Flexibility. Our schools are at their best when they are free to focus on student success and student learning, rather than spending time filling out complicated and duplicative reports. To that end, we’ve secured updated policies that reduce UIP reporting requirements from once a year to once every other year for designated “performance” schools. For charter networks or charters operating on multiple campuses, they are now allowed to undergo one comprehensive financial audit. In addition, the open meetings requirement for CSI schools has changed from requiring two board members present to three.

    Getting trapped in this sort of regulatory red tape threatens the very innovative spirit that public charters are known for, which is why streamlining the process will help ensure that our charters are adequately regulated without being overburdened or held back.
  • Accountability for Authorizers. Local authorizers wield an enormous amount of power over our public charter schools. Thankfully, there are a number of fantastic authorizers across Colorado helping to nurture the growth of high-performing schools, but as it stands now, there are little to no standards for authorizers and limited recourse for charters to contest the occasional bad actor in the space. To help standardize the process and install guardrails, we pushed for expanded grounds upon which schools can challenge a district’s exclusive chartering authority (ECA). The legislation establishes common best practices for authorizers and allows for a review of any practices that might go against these agreed upon standards. It also clears up the accounting rules between district authorizers and charters to make the process more fair and transparent, so that we can be sure our students are getting the resources they’ve been promised.

These are all important policy achievements that will make a huge difference in how our charters operate and will help enable faster and more effective expansion of these high-quality options in every corner of the state. But, I would argue that our biggest win this session – and our biggest opportunity for the future – came in advancing the case for funding equity for public charters.

While we didn’t get the legislation we wanted this time around, the robust debate and tireless work of our Democratic champions on Senate Bills 187 and 188 has brought this important topic to the forefront like never before. Right now, charter students in Colorado on average receive only 80 cents on the dollar in funding compared to their traditional public school peers – largely due to unfair gaps in local funding policies. But together, we’ve laid the groundwork to advance charter school funding equity and mill sharing to combat these disparities, so that every public school student in Colorado will finally get their fair share of resources in the classroom. I look forward to building on this momentum and continuing our push for equity and common sense reforms on behalf of our students.

There’s still much more work to be done, but we can all be incredibly proud of how far we’ve come in a few short months. I cannot thank our Democratic leaders, local education advocates, and brave families enough for their continued support. It’s because of you that we’ve achieved so much – and I look forward to doubling down on this progress to ensure that every child in Colorado receives the world-class public education they deserve.

our newsletter.