LEXINGTON, VA — Virginia may be headed in the right direction overall, according to new polling data, but parents have profound concerns about the public education system.
A poll of 600 registered voters conducted by Cygnal on behalf of 50CAN shows that most people think Virginia is headed in the right direction, but that Virginia’s education system is “on the wrong track.” With the General Assembly and Governor still to vote on various education-related bills, it is a stark reminder to legislators that education is an issue of profound importance.
The Virginia Opportunity Scholarship proposed by Governor Youngkin enjoys a net +29 approval rating (57% supporting, 28% opposed) amongst all registered voters, and is particularly popular amongst those who identify as Black (+36, 65%-29%) and Hispanic (+55, 76%-21%).
Lindsey Zea, the Education spokesperson for the Virginia Institute for Public Policy, believes the figures show a bipartisan appetite for greater parental choice in education: “We know parents are the fiercest advocates for their own children. Who can be better placed than a parent to know what their child needs? What parents are crying out for—rich or poor, rural or urban, regardless of ethnicity—is to have a greater say in their child’s education. We believe they’re correct, that parents do know their own children better than a bureaucrat’s pencil drawing zoning lines.”
School choice in general enjoys huge public support too, with fully 75% support for “providing families with more school options by letting them choose public schools beyond the one they are zoned for.” This reform is even more important than funding, according to the poll. When given a choice between better education funding or reform of the system, reforming the system was more popular by a margin of 61% to 28%.
Lindsey Zea continued, “Parents just want to be able to choose the right school for their child. Whether that’s their local public school, a different public school, a private school or even homeschooling, the Commonwealth’s job should be to facilitate that decision—not to put barriers in place to railroad our children into the same schools.”
With 2025 being a major election year in Virginia, legislators may well be taking notes. While parents across Virginia believe (42% to 35%) that public education in Virginia is on the wrong track, in swing districts the dissatisfaction is even greater (55% to 27%). This could indicate that parental choice in education will be a bigger issue in November than currently expected.
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For further information, contact Jonathan Arnott at [email protected]. | https://50can.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/50CAN_VirginiaSurvey.pdf
