Artillery is of limited use after the battle is over. Governor Glenn Youngkin’s proposed state subsidy program for low-income students opting for a private school is dead, but a poll has just been released showing public support for the idea. 

The Virginia General Assembly’s 2025 session may be just days away from ending, but the end of the session is the opening bell for the 2025 election season. Supporters of the $5,000 Virginia Opportunity Scholarships the Republican proposed are hoping to keep the issue alive in the elections.

Is this big news now? No. But those interested in the topic may wish to review the poll, which found broad support for the program, 57% to 28%. It also found a general feeling that while Virginia overall was moving in the right direction, its education system was not (35% right, 42% wrong).

The pollster, Cygnal, reached 600 registered voters by different communications methods and then weighted the results to reflect the state’s political balance. The weighted sample reflects the majority vote for Democrat Kamala Harris and includes more self-identified Democrats than Republicans. The interviews took place January 31 and February 1, the same weekend legislators were adopting budgets that deleted the tuition scholarship program. 

The client for the poll was a national organization promoting school choice, 50CAN, and it was shared in Virginia by the Virginia Institute for Public Policy with this news release. Last year, 50CAN did another poll to reach 20,000 registered voters in all states, not just Virginia. The long national results summary is also worth reading as the questions went deep into what is going on in schools, and also has a section focused on Virginia’s results (see page 204).  

— SDH