New Polling: Michigan Parents Want Safe School Options

We saw this past week the fantastic work of our law enforcement community in their swift action to upend a plan to harm Governor Whitmer. There is never a place in society for violence. We are grateful that those planning the attack will be brought to justice and that the Governor and her family are unharmed.

We are also happy that the Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of our constitution, the rule of law and the role of the legislature in making laws for our state.

However, their decision tossing out Governor Whitmer’s executive orders – dating all the way back to April – have also left parents and school districts with a fair amount of confusion.

Do athletes still have to wear masks on the playing field? Are virtual days’ days numbered? What about other restrictions on in-school activities?

School districts are scrambling to better understand the new reality on the ground.

Parents across Michigan? They’re telling them “welcome to the club.”

That’s why we’ve empowered parents with a new website – MISafeSchoolOptions.org – built to give parents a voice directly in Governor Whitmer’s office.

If brand new polling tells us anything, it’s that Michigan parents want options. They want schools that put their kids first.

You have a voice. Working together we’ll make sure Lansing hears it!

Beth DeShone
Executive Director, Great Lakes Education Project

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“(School closures) are having huge implications on families… The option (to attend safely in person) has to be on the table for families statewide.”

New poll results released by the Great Lakes Education Project and Americans for Prosperity-Michigan show that voters strongly support a range of education options for parents, including funding mechanisms that empower parents to make the best choices for their families.

More than 74 percent of voters supported either an in-person option or a hybrid approach that incorporates both virtual and in-person learning; 57 percent also favored creating a tax refund or tax credit that allows parents to access in-person learning at either a public or private school if that’s the best choice for their family.

This is a difficult time to be a parent of school-age children. Voters are coming down on the side of giving families a full range of choices powered by public funding mechanisms that are flexible and support whatever choice they need to make for their children.

We hope you’ll visit MISafeSchoolOptions.org and speak out, too!