Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Co., once allegedly said customers could have a vehicle of any color they wanted, “so long as it is black.”

The status-quo forces in Oklahoma education offer a similar response to those seeking greater educational opportunity for children: You can send your child, at taxpayer expense, to any school you want, so long as it is the school assigned based on your ZIP code.

Numerous polls show the public response to that attitude is the same as the public’s response to Ford’s black-cars-only edict.

A new poll, conducted from July 29 to Aug. 2 by Cor Strategies on behalf of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, stated, “School choice gives parents the right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best meets their needs. Generally speaking, would you say you support or oppose the concept of school choice?”

The poll found 58% of respondents support school choice, compared to just 30% of respondents who were opposed. Strong supporters outnumbered those who were strongly opposed by a 2-1 ratio. While support was strongest among Republicans and independents, there was also significant support among Democrats.

This is the 12th Oklahoma survey in the last five years showing support for school choice. Those polls have been conducted by different pollsters, yet all 12 found similar results. Only one poll has ever found public opposition to school choice in Oklahoma. When the ratio is 12-to-1, it is clear which poll is the outlier.

The pro-school-choice results are in line with another poll conducted in January that found that, if money and transportation were not factors, 50% of Oklahomans would choose an education option for their children other than the traditional public school.

At this point, saying Oklahomans support school choice is as uncontroversial as saying that people will shout “Boomer” at an OU football game and wear orange to an OSU game. So why do our policymakers pretend otherwise?

Ford Motors eventually conformed to the public’s desire for greater choice. It’s time Oklahoma policymakers allowed our school system to do the same.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs ( www.ocpathink.org).