Northeast Louisiana Voters Support School Vouchers

More than 80 percent support idea of giving parents and children more educational choices

BATON ROUGE, La., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eighty-one percent of voters in Louisiana's East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, and West Carroll parishes support school choice and 63 percent favor statewide expansion of the highly successful voucher program in New Orleans, according to a new poll released today by the Louisiana Federation for Children (LFC).

The poll, conducted by Baton Rouge-based Magellan Strategies, found that there is a strong and significant demand for school choice in these northeastern Louisiana parishes; more than 60 percent of respondents support the legislation that would expand the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence (SSEE) program statewide.

Under the proposed legislation, which last week passed both the state House and Senate Education Committees, students across the state currently attending low-performing schools would be eligible to receive a scholarship to attend a participating private school of their parents' choice.

In addition to a strong desire for expanded educational options, parish voters also revealed the startling fact that only 5 percent of those surveyed give Louisiana's public schools an "A" grade, while a mere 8 percent graded their local public schools as an "A." In total, nearly four out of five parish residents graded Louisiana's public schools a "C" or lower.

"These results affirm that Louisiana's voters want to see expanded school choice that spans beyond New Orleans," said LFC's Lauren Perry. "We urge legislators to follow the will of their constituents and vote to provide parents with real choices in their child's education."

The SSEE program currently serves more than 1,800 students in Orleans Parish. Enacted four years ago to give educational options to low-income families and children in failing schools, enrollment in the program has grown each year. The program also boasts a 93 percent parental satisfaction rate according to a December 2011 survey of participating parents conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

Magellan Strategies surveyed 300 voters in East Carroll, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, and West Carroll parishes via phone from March 5-6, 2012.

LFC is a project of the American Federation for Children—the nation's voice for school choice—which sponsored the poll.

For more information about the movement to expand school choice in Louisiana, visit www.Louisiana4Children.org.

SOURCE Louisiana Federation for Children

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