Americans support education freedom, national survey shows

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(The Center Square) – Americans remain firm in their support of expanding education freedom and providing parents and families the authority to hold officials accountable, a new national survey shows. 

The poll, conducted by Yes. Every Kid. Foundation, asked voters nationwide about K-12 education, open enrollment, federal involvement in schools, parental accountability and related issues.

YouGov America, Inc. conducted the survey from Nov. 19–24, 2025, interviewing 1,351 respondents across a range of demographics, including parents, racial groups, political affiliations and income levels.

Scott Foster, director of education marketplace and insights at Yes. Every Kid. Foundation, presented the findings during an end-of-year briefing on Monday, outlining key takeaways from both state and national data. 

Foster highlighted that education freedom is bipartisan, noting that a majority of Americans support family-first education policies. 

“Parents and families are trusted more than anyone else to make the best education decisions for their children,” Foster said during the briefing. 

According to the survey, 64% of respondents support open enrollment, 63% favor education savings accounts and 58% support education tax credits.

While most states have K-12 open enrollment laws, many fall short in practice, said Jude Schwalbach, lead author of a separate Reason Foundation report and an education policy analyst with the organization.

“Most of them are weak or ineffective,” Schwalbach told The Center Square.

The report by Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank, compared open enrollment laws across all 50 states across seven categories. The foundation noted 78% of parents support open enrollment policies, including 84% of Republicans, 80% of Democrats and 72% of independents. 

Education remains a key political issue, with 54% of respondents saying it will influence their vote next year and that they would vote for the candidate who supports family education freedom.

Foster noted many parents have grown dissatisfied with traditional public school models in recent years, rejecting one-size-fits-all approaches and seeking more personalized education options for their children.

“Parents agree that schools should be accountable to their customers,” Foster said.  

The survey also revealed skepticism toward federal involvement in education. Fifty-six percent of respondents said they do not trust the federal government on education issues, while 58% expressed greater trust in state and local governments. By contrast, 87% said they trust parents more than the government when it comes to education decisions.

According to Foster, this governmental distrust comes from a lack of accountability. Seventy-six percent of respondents agreed K-12 schools need to be more accountable to parents.

The country is seeing record-low test scores, and many people are concerned this will affect work after high school. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show test scores at historic lows. 

“[S]tudents are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. “Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before.”

Matt Fendeway, vice president of strategy at Yes. Every Kid. Foundation, said many Americans lack a clear understanding of the U.S. Department of Education’s role, which can lead to misconceptions.

Once you explain to voters what dismantling the department would look like, the opposition shifts in support, pointing to low federal trust and a desire to shift power back to parents and states, according to the foundation.

“The more folks understand there is a plan in place to dismantle it and do so in a responsible manner, I suspect that you’ll see much more American support returning power to the states,” Fendeway told The Center Square during the briefing.