Fractured Alliances: The Evolution of School Choice Advocacy Coalitions in the Era of School Vouchers

• In Event: The Architecture of Education Governance: Institutions, Leadership, and Influence

Abstract

This paper examines how school-choice advocacy coalitions at the state level have transformed in recent years, focusing on how the rise of voucher programs has disrupted longstanding bipartisan alliances around school-choice policy. Through longitudinal qualitative analysis of 43 interviews with state-level policy influencers across two waves (2018-2019 and 2022-2023) in Florida and Louisiana, we document the splintering of traditional coalitions of "strange bedfellows" and the emergence of more polarization. Charter-school advocates, once central to broad school-choice coalitions, found themselves marginalized as private-school expansion threatened their position and funding. We observe a major schism between advocates motivated by social-justice concerns and those driven by "choice for choice's sake." This research illuminates the evolving politics of education reform and far-right policy advancement.

Authors

• Huriya Jabbar, University of Southern California

• Julie A. Marsh, University of Southern California

• Desiree O'Neal, University of Southern California

• Hanora Tracy, Tulane University