NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A statewide poll conducted by co/efficient, a reputable national research and analytics company, reveals Gov. Bill Lee’s vouchers-for-all plan is wildly unpopular with his base of Republican primary voters. The poll, conducted in partnership with the Tennessee Education Association, instead showed strong support for neighborhood public schools across the state.
“More than 90% of Tennessee children attend public schools,” said Knox County educator and TEA President Tanya T. Coats. “This polling confirms that Tennessee voters understand the threat private school vouchers pose to beloved neighborhood schools. Taking taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition or homeschooling statewide would divert much-needed resources from our already underfunded public schools and threaten the strength of our Tennessee communities.”
Key findings of the poll include:
- Among Republican primary voters, the proposed school voucher program has only 30% support.
- The anticipated price tag for the proposed statewide voucher expansion is a serious concern for 73% of voters.
- Tennessee Republicans have strong support for public schools, with 70% opposed to consolidation or cuts to extracurricular activities at their neighborhood public schools.
- When informed that other states have experienced rampant fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer funds when issuing subsidies and direct payments to homeschooling and private programs, only 8% of self-reported conservatives, 9% of GOP primary voters and 3% of parents support the program.
- Two-thirds of Republicans who voted in four of the last four primary elections indicated they would not vote for the candidate supporting school vouchers.
“This polling indicates the people back home who elected our state legislators strongly oppose universal vouchers,” Coats said. “The General Assembly should listen to their constituents, fulfill their constitutional obligation to provide a system of public education for our children and do right by all Tennessee students by rejecting the governor’s proposal.”
###
The Tennessee Education Association is the largest professional association of public school educators in the state, representing tens of thousands of public school teachers, administrators, support staff, students training to become teachers and retired public school educators.
The survey, completed by co/efficient, on public perceptions of a proposed school voucher program in Tennessee comprised 756 likely Republican primary election voters and was conducted from January 4 through January 8, 2024. The survey is balanced by the age, gender, education level, race, and geography of the true voting population and has a margin of error of +/- 3.56%.
