A group that supports expanding charter schools in Illinois released a poll today that shows Illinois residents support its position.
Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, held a press conference to announce the results of a survey his organization commissioned on whether Illinois voters favor charter schools. Broy characterized the survey results as overwhelmingly positive.
"This pattern, support for public school choice, support for charter public schools holds across demographic groups in Illinois, it holds across geographic areas of Illinois, it even holds across partisan lines."
But nearly 40% of the 600 survey respondents said they didn’t know what a charter school was. The people conducting the surveys explained that charters are independently-run public schools that meet the same state standards as public schools, but are typically not unionized.
Charters have been criticized for sapping money from traditional schools without necessarily improving outcomes for students.
