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Speaker of the Oklahoma House, Rep. Charles McCall, R-Atoka, speaks on the House floor, Tuesday, ... [+] Jan. 5, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Democratic opposition to school choice is well known. It is stated right in the partys platform, Democrats oppose private school vouchers and other policies that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from the public school system. But in several deep red states this spring, it is Republicans blocking school choice, not Democrats.

In Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt led the legislative portion of his state of the state address by saying, We know education is not one-size-fits-all, and I pledge to support any legislation that gives parents more school choice, because in Oklahoma, we need to fund students, not systems! SB 1647, mentioned by the governor by name in his speech, would create a universal education savings account program. It has a very broad set of eligible expenses for students participating in the program, crucially including transportation costs to help students access the learning opportunities that their funds make available.

While the Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat is championing the program, Oklahoma Speaker of the House Charles McCall stated that he did not even plan to give the bill a hearing. Note, he is not signaling that he would not whip votes for it or that he would vote against it. He doesnt even want to give the bill a hearing. Even though the Oklahoma house has 82 Republicans and only 19 Democrats, the bill appears to be on life support.

In Utah, HB 331 has been introduced to create the Hope Scholarship Program. It would create an education savings account program for eligible students. It offers an interesting wrinkle, though. While all students are eligible to participate, funding varies based parental income. For students from families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty line, their education savings account will get twice their weighted state per pupil funding. For those between 200% and 370%, they will get 1.5 times the per pupil amount. Those from families earning between 370% and 555% will get the standard per pupil funding, and those from families making more than 555% of the federal poverty line will get 75%.

In a state with a house comprised of 58 Republicans and 17 Democrats, a senate with 23 Republicans and 6 Democrats, and Republicans occupying both the governorship and the lieutenant governorship, this would appear to be a slam dunk. It is not. The governor, Spencer Cox, told reporters that he would veto the bill. His logic was confusing. After saying he was all in on vouchers, he said that Utah had a long way to go before we get there. Does all in mean something else in Utah?

There is a variation on the theme in Georgia. Speaker of the House David Ralston has declared dead a promising school choice proposal after being purportedly scandalized by the political content of a mailer backers of the bill circulated in several of his caucus constituencies. But politically fiery mailers are the norm, not the exception, and if that is all it takes to scupper a bill, it is hard to believe the speaker was really ever on board in the first place. Seems like convenient cover for what he already wanted to do.

The Republican party platform directly states, We especially support the innovative financingmechanisms that make options available to all children: education savings accounts(ESAs), vouchers, and tuition tax credits. In fact, it is in a section titled Choice in Education. The Oklahoma, Utah, and Georgia platforms unequivocally support for school choice, as well.

It is popular to look to Democratic politicians and their major funders like teacher and administrator unions and blame them for school choice bills stalling. In many cases, that is true. In more purple states where margins are thin, or in blue states where Democrats decide what bills become laws, school choice faces major obstacles. Now, it shouldnt, because according to our polling 72% of Democrats support education savings accounts, 68% support charter schools, and 65% support vouchers, but that is the way the cookie crumbles.

Oklahoma and Utah are not blue. They arent purple. They are deep red. And Georgia, while perhaps trending purple, still has a Republican advantage of 103 to 76 in the house and 34 to 22 in the senate. In states with such margins, there are only members of one party that can stop school choice. The Republican Party. The party of which, according to our polling, 65% of members support education savings accounts, 70% support charter schools, and 67% support vouchers. The party that has codified support for school choice in its platforms. The party where a minority viewpoint, at odds with its stated goals and the preferences of its membership, has been able to take hold.

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Will It Be Republicans Who Stop School Choice In 2022? - Forbes