Survey says: Education savings accounts are unpopular
I don't believe the Des Moines Register's new poll that shows almost every subgroup in Iowa opposing the new education savings account law.
I remember watching Family Feud as a kid. Two families would compete and they would guess what the most popular answers to survey questions.
Richard Dawson, the original host, would say, “Survey says…”
Then they would see if they were right.
If the question was what are the most popular Republican policy in Iowa, a family who guessed school choice would have wiffed.
A survey said, school choice is unpopular.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday morning, I wanted to talk about a poll where over 60 percent of Iowans say they oppose the new education savings account law recently passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Governor Reynolds.
The Des Moines Register released a poll where a majority of most everyone, including Republicans, school parents, independents, Catholics, etc. opposed the new education savings accounts law. A slight majority of evangelicals supported the new law, but they were the only subgroup that did.
For this to be believed…
First, let's memory hole that Iowans overwhelmingly voted for Republicans who campaigned on school choice.
Second, let's also overlook that the Des Moines Register's polling showed greater support for education savings account programs in the last two polls they conducted. It went from 44 percent (in 2021) to 41 percent (in 2022) to 34 percent (now). Also, DMR polling has been an outlier compared to other polling conducted on school choice in Iowa.
Third, we have to believe changing the wording of the question didn’t make a difference.
Here's what they originally asked in 2021 and 2022: Do you oppose or support initiatives in the Legislature that "use funds for public schools to help parents pay costs of nonpublic schools or homeschooling for grades K through 12."
This year they asked if respondents support or oppose offering "every Iowa family $7,600 per student in a taxpayer-funded education savings account to pay private school tuition and fees."
Not every Iowa family will receive this money. Not every family will want to participate in the program. Those Iowa families that receive this money also contribute to that taxpayer funding through their taxes. The amount may seem high, but it's less than what public schools receive per student. Also, if a student leaves a district for any other reason, that district wouldn't get any money anyway. Then the law also gives schools that lose students due to the ESA program $1200 per student who goes to a private school. So they still get money for students they are no longer educating. Also, that additional money goes to public schools for kids already attending private schools.
Do respondents understand the full context? Not likely, and I’ve pointed out before that issue polling is fickle.
Fourth, let’s also overlook that according to their polling, Iowans support many Republican proposals and approve of the Republican majority Legislature, but education savings accounts? Those are a bridge too far! Sure, sure...
Even if it is accurate, I think that once people see the sky isn't falling when this program is fully implemented, polling will improve, but, more likely, DMR will quit polling on it because it will no longer fit their narrative.
I don’t trust it’s accuracy. It’s simply unbelievable, but this is a poll result of the Des Moines Register’s making. Perhaps if they didn’t have a clear agenda opposing school choice I would believe differently, but they do.