A new national survey finds Americans across demographic and partisan lines continue to support policies that expand parental control and education choice in K-12 schools, including open enrollment, education savings accounts, and education tax credits.

The polling, conducted by YouGov on behalf of yes. every kid. foundation., found that 64% of respondents support allowing students to attend any public school in their state regardless of where they live. And 63% back education savings accounts that allow families to direct public education funding toward tuition, tutoring, or other education-related expenses. Support for education tax credits reached 58%.

The findings show consistent backing for education choice policies across key demographic groups, including majorities of K-12 parents, Black voters, Hispanic voters, and voters in both major political parties.

Support for greater parental accountability also emerged as a central theme in the survey. More than three-quarters of respondents said K-12 schools need to be more accountable to parents, and 61% agreed schools would be more accountable if families could leave a school and take their education funding with them.

“Americans across the country are united behind education freedom. They want to give families more authority, more flexibility, and more options than the current system offers, and the data shows they are far ahead of the political debate,” said Matt Frendewey, Vice President of strategy at yes. every kid. foundation.

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters nationwide between Nov. 19 and Nov. 24 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

The polling also found education remains a high-priority issue for voters heading into the 2026 election cycle. A majority of respondents rated education as highly important to their vote for Congress next year, with education registering a net positive impact on ballot decisions across party lines.

While respondents expressed confidence in parents and state governments to make education decisions, the federal government ranked lowest in trust. Nearly two-thirds of voters said K-12 education decisions should be controlled by those closest to students — families, teachers, and local communities — rather than national experts.

“For the third year in a row, our survey demonstrates that Americans are demanding a new direction in education, one that respects the needs of every child, shifts accountability to families, and expands opportunities to empower all children to succeed,” Frendewey said.

Skills are the new currency of economic development. This mantra is repeated in boardrooms throughout the country. Florida leaders have responded with a growing portfolio of policies designed to make the state the #1 state in the nation for workforce education.

Yet skills gaps remain a persistent workforce challenge. The mismatch between workers’ skills and workplace needs is a conundrum for many employers. The problem is exacerbated by today’s rapid rate of technological change. We live in an age when artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming our world at a pace unprecedented since the dawn of the industrial era. By some estimates, nearly 40% of workers’ core skills will change dramatically or become obsolete by 2030.

How can Florida’s education systems nimbly adapt to this rapid rate of change to ensure students develop the skills to thrive in our dynamic economy? We believe the answer lies in Florida’s expansive education data system. Much like businesses mine data to improve ROI, Florida can optimize its data system to unlock student potential. By gleaning insights on student performance from preschool to employment and applying those insights to real-time improvements, Florida can build a resilient workforce that powers growth, attracts business, and drives future economic prosperity.

To Florida’s credit, our state has long been recognized as a national leader for our comprehensive data system that integrates across early education, K-12, postsecondary, and workforce. This data system has successfully enabled Florida to track student progress, support evidence-based decision-making, and ensure public accountability. It is the system that helps Florida assess our schools and track the performance of our colleges and universities. It has arguably helped earn Florida the #1 ranking in the nation for higher education.

Yet even Florida can strengthen its use of data to meet the evolving needs of the workforce. Florida College Access Network recently published research comparing Florida’s education data system with those of seven peer states, identifying leading-edge practices Florida can employ to improve student success and workforce outcomes. Through strategic investments, increased research capacity, improved access and usability, and collaboration, Florida can harness the power of data for unprecedented improvements to our education-to-workforce pipeline.

For example, we can invest in leading-edge technologies that leverage artificial intelligence to glean timely insights and cybersecurity to protect student privacy. We can enlist leaders in education, economic and workforce development, and industry to provide data system oversight, leveraging their expertise to foster greater alignment across the education-to-workforce continuum. We can partner with Florida’s best minds to research opportunities for real-time improvements. We can make data publicly accessible, especially for students and parents, empowering them with the intelligence to inform future career paths. And we can incentivize data collaboration between education institutions and industries to prepare students for careers in high-demand fields of critical regional importance.

A data partnership in Central Florida demonstrates the promise of these strategies. Called the Central Florida Educational Ecosystem Database (CFEED), the collaboration among the Orange County and Osceola County School Districts, Valencia College, and the University of Central Florida uses data and AI to generate insights to improve practices, remove barriers, and support students at scale. Through state-of-the-art data technologies and dozens of joint research projects each year, CFEED has driven significant improvements.

For example, CFEED learned that Valencia students who completed at least three courses relevant to their majors before transferring to UCF were more likely to complete their degrees, prompting the development of a new advising and scholarship program. CFEED also unlocked data to identify students ready for advanced coursework such as AP and dual enrollment, empowering school counselors to proactively advise students to enroll, giving them a head start on college. CFEED will soon use workforce data to track graduates into the labor market, enabling the partners to refine education programs to meet industry needs.

Imagine if every region in Florida could, like CFEED, collaboratively harness the power of data to build tomorrow’s workforce. Florida has this opportunity. Smart investments and strengthened policies would yield a tremendous return on investment. According to the Helios Education Foundation, increasing college enrollment by 10% would generate $8.38 billion in additional annual revenue for Florida, and increasing college completion by 20% would generate an extra $7.59 billion.

Let’s unlock the full potential of Florida’s education data system. Our state will reap the rewards for decades to come.

___

Braulio Colon, executive director of the Florida College Access Network, was recently named one of Florida’s 500 most influential business leaders by Florida Trend magazine. To read FCAN’s report “Insights into Action: The Next Phase of Florida’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System,” visit floridacollegeaccess.org.