Low-income and minority parents are the most likely groups in American society to support voucher programs to allow students to attend private and religious schools. So many of them are upset by the decision of the NAACP leadership to oppose vouchers.

• In a 1992 Gallup poll, 73 percent of low-income respondents favored vouchers, compared to 63 percent of high-income respondents.

• A study of Detroit-area residents found that 87 percent of mostly black minorities favored school choice, while white support was 68 percent.

• The authors of the latter study attributed greater minority support for choice to a desire for greater "school quality" and "district resources."

• District resources included not only physical assets but also district pass rates on standardized tests and high school graduation rates -- common measures of academic performance.

Oklahoma GOP Congressman J. C. Watts and several other House members are sponsoring legislation called the American Community Renewal Act. It would provide for new, federally-funded scholarships for low-income children.

Meeting with parents of students attending faith-based and school-choice programs prior to writing the legislation, Watts and his colleagues asked if they should delay their voucher initiative -- citing political hurdles ahead. The parents' answer was a unanimous "No."

Source: U.S. Rep. J. C. Watts Jr., "NAACP Loses its Way on Education Rights," Wall Street Journal, April 23, 1997.