Yesterday, delegates at the Republican National Convention formally adopted the 2024 Republican Party Platform, and it includes a ringing endorsement of universal school choice:
“Republicans believe families should be empowered to choose the best Education for their children. We support Universal School Choice in every State in America.”
Polling conducted in Mississippi last year appears to support this statement, with 72% of Republicans and 74% of conservatives indicating support for an Arkansas-style universal school choice program. (Incidentally, 46% of Democrats and 59% of independents also expressed support for this policy according to the same poll.)
Earlier this year, former Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Lucien Smith penned an op-ed for the Magnolia Tribune in which he asserted that all conservatives should support school choice.
“I for one do not believe you can call yourself a conservative and oppose [school choice] reforms, even if you disagree with how best to implement them,” said Smith
Current Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst also stood firm in support of school choice in a recent podcast interview with Empower CEO Grant Callen:
“I don’t know how anyone in the world could argue with the fact that the parent knows what is best for their child and if we’re going to educate children the best way, the parent is the one who should be making that choice.”
Hurst went on to add, “It’s frustrating that we are considered such a conservative, super-red state, and we are behind on this issue involving parents and children and schools.”
The Mississippi Republican Party platform also endorses school choice:
“Parental involvement in education should extend to allowing parents to choose the school that best meets the educational needs of their children.”
Recently, the issue of school choice has enjoyed vocal support from a growing number of Republican party officials, and neighboring states have moved to enact sweeping school choice policies at lightning speed. Arkansas enacted a massive school choice bill last year,
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