Monday, October 31, 2011
Catholic Anchor
CNS photoAccording to a new survey, Alaska voters strongly favor school scholarships and other educational choices that would provide parents a range of options when it comes to educating their children.
A school scholarship system allows parents to send their child to the school their choice, whether government or a non-government schools, including both religious and non-religious schools.
Legislation currently under consideration by the Alaska Legislature would allow such tuition scholarships. Under the proposed bills, money would follow students and give families the option to enroll their child in one of more than 50 private schools across the state.
The legislation is supported by Alaskans for School Choice, an educational advocacy group.
The recent poll—”Alaska K-12 & School Choice Survey” — found that Alaska voters strongly support school scholarships. More than twice as many voters said they favor a school scholarships (64 percent) than oppose the idea (29 percent).
“This poll shows a large majority in Alaska supports educational choice,” said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
The survey, commissioned by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research Incorporated, interviewed registered voters in Alaska. A total of 1,006 telephone interviews were conducted Sept 10-18 with the margin of error at +3.1 percentage points.
According to the survey, Alaskans support a constitutional amendment that would allow school scholarships — 54 percent in favor and 37 percent opposed.
Of all noted demographic groups, Alaska Natives and Asian Americans indicated they were most positive about school scholarships (69 percent and 73 percent favorable, respectively).
The survey also revealed that Alaska voters underestimate how much is spent for public education. Few respondents knew that more than $15,000 is spent per student on public education in Alaska.
To see a summary of survey results and a description of the methodology, click here.
