Poll finds growing partisan divide on charter schools, but support grows

A new national poll finds growing support for school “choice” and also for increased spending on public schools.

The annual poll by the Harvard-affiliated Education Next shows support for charter schools is up 5 percentage points over last year, in an about face by the public. The 2017 results showed declining support for these schools.

The new embrace of charters — public schools that are independently-operated but publicly-funded and typically enroll by lottery — was concentrated among Republicans. This has resulted in a growing partisan divide on charters, with 57 percent of GOP voters in favor compared with 36 percent of Democrats.