When Alan began to disagree about vouchers, Clark didn't back down.

The public school system has its defenders among parents, though even they admit to mixed feelings about vouchers.

Even those who have reservations about vouchers say they believe the ruling will be more broadly applied.

"Once you have that, people are not going to be talking about vouchers, privatization, charter schools, private management, none of those things."

Even those who feel queasy about vouchers say that is a good change.

The study found, for example, that 63 percent of those interviewed reported knowing "very little" or "nothing" about vouchers.

They talk about vouchers and charter schools as if primary education were the nation's only concern.

"People talked about and knew about vouchers in a pretty abstract way."

But he did express support for charter schools and skepticism about vouchers.

One consistent concern about vouchers is that health plans would have financial incentives to avoid the sick.