Beacon Poll shows support for school choice policies in Tennessee

A graphic from the Beacon Center shows Tennesseans’ level of support for school choice policies. 

A new statewide survey from the Beacon Center of Tennessee found that Tennessee voters are “more likely” to vote for candidates who support school choice by a 40-point margin.

According to the study, which polled over 1,200 registered voters across the state, 58 percent of voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports policies that allow parents to choose their child’s school (public, private, charter, or homeschool) using public funding, while only 18 percent are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports school choice policies.

The poll results come after Gov. Bill Lee’s recent proposals to create a statewide taxpayer-funded school voucher program to allow students to attend private schools using state-funded scholarship dollars, regardless of family income or location. That proposal failed to advance out of committee last legislative session and Governor Lee has promised to bring it back next year.

Opponents of the Governor’s Education Freedom Scholarship plan say vouchers divert funding away from public schools that are already considered underfunded. While Lee has said previously that his Education Freedom Scholarships program would be funded separately from Tennessee’s education funding formula, opponents say public schools could still lose funds based on enrollment if and when students leave to attend private schools. The state currently offers vouchers through its Education Savings Accounts program, which was launched in the 2022-23 school year, following legal challenges to its passage in 2019.

While much of the debate around school choice policies has been divided among Republican lawmakers who support those initiatives and Democrat legislators who have issues with their implementation and funding sources, the Beacon poll noted that 39 percent of Democrat voters are likely to vote for a candidate that supports school choice compared to 24 percent and 26 percent of Republicans and Independents respectively.

The Beacon poll follows similar findings in a poll earlier this year from education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success that found 71 percent of registered voters support school choice. The Tennessee Firefly is a product of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

The Beacon study, which also gauged voters’ attitudes about candidates going into November, said voters prefer former President Donald Trump by 23 points over Vice President Kamala Harris when it comes to handling a natural disaster and recovery in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Trump also leads on the issues of managing an economic crisis by 30 percent, foreign policy/national security by 37 percent and managing inflation by 33 percent.  

In addition, the study said Sen. Marsha Blackburn has extended her lead over Rep. Gloria Johnson to 23 points among likely voters (54 percent versus 31 percent), with third-party Independent candidate Pamela Moses garnering 5 percent of the vote. The study said this marks Blackburn’s biggest lead in the race, according to their polling.

“When asked about the candidates’ political views, 30 percent of likely voters think that Blackburn is too conservative, while 36 percent think Johnson is too liberal. Sen. Blackburn also posted her best approval rating to date, with 53 percent of Tennesseans approving of the job Blackburn is doing and 35 percent disapproving of the way she is doing her job,” the study said.