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HARRISBURG, PA (Oct. 16, 2025) – Likely Pennsylvania voters strongly support Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 education budget proposal and oppose any effort to funnel tax dollars into private and religious school vouchers, according to a new poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling & Research for the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA).

As the 2025-26 budget impasse surpasses 100 days, this new poll finds more voters support immediate budget passage so that schools receive needed funding than further delay to allow for continued negotiations, as state Senate Republican leaders have called for.

Likely voters also voice strong support for federal investments in free and reduced meals in schools, Title I programs, and services for students with special needs. Find the full poll results at www.psea.org/polling2025.

“This poll confirms what we have been saying for a while now. Pennsylvania voters want to see their state and federal tax dollars invested in the public schools that are at the center of their communities,” PSEA President Aaron Chapin said.

“There are politicians in Washington carrying out a plan to dismantle public education and defund critical services that our students and communities rely on.

“Some lawmakers in Harrisburg are holding up a state budget that is delaying $3.76 billion that our public schools need to educate and meet the needs of our students.

“Pennsylvanians see what is happening, and they are telling us that policymakers must do better.”

Support for state school funding

Among the more than 700 likely voters surveyed, 69% agree that the Legislature should pass Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed education budget. Supporters include 51% of Republicans, 87% of Democrats, and 71% of Independents.

Only 18% oppose the governor’s budget plan.

Voters were told that Shapiro’s plan “includes a $526 million increase in ‘adequacy funding’ for the state's most underfunded schools” as a way of “addressing a gap identified in a 2023 court ruling declaring Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional.” They were also told the budget includes a $75 million increase in basic education funding and a $40 million increase for special education.

A plurality of voters (48%) believe the 2025-26 budget should be passed now, agreeing with the statement that “too many schools are underfunded and cannot afford to wait to receive the funding that their students count on to be successful.”

Only 35% agree with the alternative argument that it is “important to take the time to negotiate a budget that is affordable to Pa. taxpayers even if that means school districts are delayed in their school funding.”

By a 59:26 margin, voters disagree with the premise that “local public schools have enough funding to properly prepare students.” This includes a 43% plurality of Republicans, 74% of Democrats, and 58% of Independents.

On Oct. 8, the state House of Representatives passed a responsible, balanced state budget that makes crucial investments in our public schools and communities, while Senate Republican leaders continue to delay, saying more negotiation is needed.

“It is 100 days past time for Senate Republicans to stop playing political games and pass a real 12-month state budget,” Chapin said. “This poll shows there is wide bipartisan support for the governor’s school funding plan, which continues to put our schools on a more level playing field. The time for action is now.”

Voters continue to oppose vouchers

Voters categorically reject state and federal tuition voucher initiatives.

By a 56:39 margin, they oppose “giving taxpayer dollars to parents to pay for tuition at private or religious K-12 schools.”

After hearing arguments on both sides, likely voters, by a 52:36 margin, oppose “a multimillion- dollar scholarship program to allow students in low-income households living in underperforming school districts to attend private or religious schools.”

And when told about a 2023 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decision finding the state’s school funding system to be unconstitutional, 53% of likely voters said they favor a “multiyear plan to increase public school funding to the most underfunded schools” to address the ruling, while only 35% support “school vouchers to give parents a chance to leave a failing school or find a school that is a better fit for their child.”

Half of likely voters also oppose opting the state into a new federal tuition voucher tax credit program supported by President Trump. After hearing messages in support and against the measure, 50% of voters oppose opting in, while only 32% support.

“We shouldn’t even think about sending taxpayer money to private and religious schools when our focus should be on fixing our unconstitutional public school funding system and addressing the needs of our 1.7 million public school students,” Chapin said.

Keep or increase key federal investments in education

Pennsylvania receives annual federal funding of $578 million for Title I programs, $428 million for special education services, and $740 million for free and reduced lunches in schools, according to a PSEA review of the FY 2022-23 federal budget.

SP&R pollsters told Pennsylvania voters how much federal funding the state receives for these three programs each year and asked whether this funding should be increased, kept the same, or reduced. By wide margins, voters said this funding should remain the same or increase:

• Free and reduced lunches in schools: 41% support increasing funding, 45% say funding should be kept the same, and 10% support reducing funding.
• Title I programs: 42% support increasing funding, 40% say funding should be kept the same, and 13% support reducing funding.
• Special education services: 55% support increasing funding, 37% say funding should be kept the same, and only 3% support reducing funding.

“Politicians in Washington are pushing extreme education policies, written by billionaires, not educators, with the express goal of defunding federal investments in our public schools,” Chapin said. “These policies will have unconscionable impacts on our schools, our students, and our communities. And they stand in stark contrast to what the vast majority of Pennsylvania voters want.”

The SP&R poll was conducted between Sept. 22 and 28, 2025, with 704 registered voters in Pennsylvania. The margin of error is +/-3.7% at the 95% confidence level.

Chapin is a Stroudsburg Area middle school teacher and president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.