Millions of campaign dollars are going toward steering voters to candidates who favor parents getting to choose where their kids go to school.
The effort is backed by influencers like the School Freedom Fund, a pro-voucher group tied to Club for Growth; the American Federation for Children, which was founded by former Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; and Americans for Prosperity, the Koch family's well-heeled free-market group.
Their focus is often on primary elections, which are seen as the most competitive hurdle to getting elected in Republican-dominated states.
In Tennessee's recent primary election, national pro-voucher advocates say more than $4.5 million was money well spent, as they victoriously defended and elected legislative candidates who will support proposals for school vouchers and play active roles in passing school choice programs.
Andrew Handel, director of the Education and Workforce Development Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, says it looks like this is what Americans want.
"I think that it's emblematic of where Americans are today when it comes to educational freedom," he tells AFN. "We've seen so many different states over the past couple of years, especially since COVID, pursuing these programs that ensure that public education dollars follow students, not systems."
Handel points out that school choice has been around for a long time, but it was the pandemic and the shift over to Zoom learning that really gave parents "an inside look at what their kids were being taught."
"The key is just making sure that families have a choice here," he submits. "I think that's what's going to put students in the best position to succeed in the future."
His team is happy to see that 12 states already have programs like this that apply to all students.
