How News Sources Portray School Choice Vouchers Policies
This chart shows how major news sources across the ideological spectrum frame school choice vouchers policies, from left to right-leaning perspectives.
School vouchers are certificates of government funding provided to parents for the option of sending their child to a private school. In the United States, citizens pay taxes that the state allocates to important issues such as education. In most cases, these funds pay for children to attend public schools. However, if a family so chooses, the share of money that typically pays for a child’s public education can be provided as a voucher to cover the tuition at a private school.
By far the most common option in America is traditional public schools, which are taxpayer-funded and must adhere to guidelines provided by the school district or state board of education. Private schools, in comparison, charge tuition and have much greater control over the curriculum. A third option, public charter schools, offer a blend of both, with taxpayer funding but more leeway over the curriculum based on an agreement with the state or local government.
During the 2021-2022 school year, 83% of all students, or about 47.2 million students, attended public schools. Only 10% attended private schools, and only 7% attended public charter schools. However, the popularity of public schooling has declined slightly, while the prevalence of public charter schools has grown slightly, over the past decade.
The Democratic Response
The Democratic Party policy stance on school choice vouchers is deeply divided. Although many Democrats, including members of the former Obama administration, have expressed support for expanding private and charter schooling, others have expressed school choice opposition. For decades, the Democratic Party has maintained a close relationship with teacher unions, which argue that private and charter schools drain students and funding from public schools.
A 2025 PDK poll found that Americans’ trust in public schooling continued to erode, while their support for school choice policies continued to increase. When offered the choice between sending their children to a public school or a private/religious school, Democrats were almost equally divided, with 53% opting to send their child to a public school and 47% opting to send their child to a private/religious school.
Given these divides, the topic of education may be a divisive subject during the 2028 Democratic Party primary. Potential candidates such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Maryland Governor Wes Moore appear open to supporting President Donald Trump’s initiative to create the first national private school choice program.
The Republican Response
The Republican stance on school vouchers is strongly in favor. In general, Republicans believe they should have greater say over their child’s education and the curriculum that they are taught. An increasing share of conservatives are dissatisfied with how certain subjects are taught in school, particularly controversial topics such as LGBT equality, critical race theory, and slavery.
In a 2025 PDK poll, only 11% of Republicans were very satisfied with the amount of say they had over their child’s education, compared to 46% of Democrats who were very satisfied. When offered the choice to send their child to a private/religious or a public school, 27% of Republicans opted for public school, while a strong majority, 71%, opted for private/religious schooling.
In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included school choice legislation that created private school scholarship organizations. When Americans donate to these organizations, the funds are directed to families trying to enroll their children in private schooling, and the donors receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits. The bill, containing hundreds of other provisions, passed with near-unanimous Republican support and unanimous Democratic opposition in both chambers of Congress.
