A demonstration on Monday calling for mask mandates at local schools in Viera, Fla.

Photo: Paul Hennessy/Zuma Press

This back-to-school season is filled with uncertainty. Public school districts are dealing with delays, disruptions, disagreements and demands from teachers unions. At the heart of many disputes is whether schools should require all students to wear masks. Some states are in legal battles over the issue.

A recent Axios/Ipsos Poll found that 69% of U.S. adults support mandatory masking in schools. The policy is politically polarizing, however, with 92% of Democrats and only 44% of Republicans supporting it.

The good news is that we might find some unity amid such division. A nationwide poll by Echelon Insights in August found that 79% of respondents with an opinion support allowing families to take their children’s taxpayer-provided education money to a private or home school if their public school doesn’t mandate masks. Surprisingly, Democrats favored this school-choice proposal more than Republicans, with support at 82% and 78%, respectively.

Another recent nationwide poll, by RealClear Opinion Research, found that support for school choice surged by 11 percentage points among registered Democrats during the pandemic—from 59% in April 2020 to 70% in June 2021.

We’ve all learned a lot over the past 18 months. The battles over school reopenings, masking and curriculum have revealed the main problem with the one-size-fits-all public school system. Many Republicans supported school choice well before 2020. But Democratic voters are now also realizing that uniform school systems won’t always work in their favor.

The latest data from Burbio indicate that about 6 of 10 American children enrolled in public schools live in states that don’t mandate universal masking for K-12 students. Nine governors, all Republicans, have also prohibited public school districts from requiring universal masking.

Some policy makers are beginning to figure out that choice is the best solution. In Arizona, a new program allows families access to federal relief funding to pay for private education if their children’s public school mandates masks, suspends in-person instruction, or subjects students to other Covid-19 constraints. The Florida Board of Education recently unanimously approved allowing all families to take their children’s state-funded education dollars to a private school if they disagree with their public school’s masking rules.

Funding students directly and empowering all families—and not forcing one-size-fits-all mandates—is the way forward. Most voters, Democratic and Republican alike, understand that freedom trumps force when it comes to education. Let’s hope more Democratic legislators listen to their constituents and work to end these unnecessary disputes by catering to the needs of families instead of the demands of special interests.

Mr. DeAngelis is the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation.

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