Released: 7/28/2009
Author(s): Dan Lips, Paul DiPerna
The purpose of this project is fourfold: to report on the levels of approval for key policy leaders, awareness about certain reforms and policies, and support for various policies and public proposals; to identify large gaps between positive and negative feelings toward leaders and policies; while recognizing limitations, to compare these levels and gaps across demographic subgroups and topics; and, finally, to present context and perspective, extending from the views of the District’s voters. Our overarching goal is to provide nonpartisan, representative, data-driven snapshots of public opinion.
This report is presented in four sections. The first section is a description of the survey’s methodology and summary of response statistics. We call the second section “Survey Snapshots,” this is the main body of the report. To be as user-friendly as possible, we generally present a given question and its results on a page-by-page basis. The third section lays out the topline data and questionnaire, essentially allowing the reader to follow the actual interview to see the results for the total sample of registered voters. The fourth section is similar to an appendix, and presents the technical call dispositions for landline and cell phone interviews. Our survey topics span the approval/disapproval of Mayor Adrian Fenty, D.C. Council, and Chancellor Michelle Rhee; ratings and impressions of the D.C. Public School system; public spending on education; preferences for specific types of schools; views about D.C. Opportunity Scholarships and proposals to install new incentives for D.C. teachers.
Programs
Enacted 2004 • Launched 2004–05 • Authorized through 2015–16
To give parents in the District of Columbia the ability to select the educational setting that best serves their child’s interests and needs, the U.S. Congress passed the D.C. School Choice Incentive Act of 2003. This five-year pilot program was part of the omnibus spending bill passed in 2004 and became the first voucher program to be overseen by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is funded separately from District of Columbia public schools. In April 2011, the program was re-authorized through 2016.
