A poll found Americans are “deeply divided” over how much K-12 public schools should be teaching children about issues such as racism and sexuality.
Roughly 4 in 10 Americans believe the approach to discussing racism and sexuality is “about right,” according to a poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Among Republicans, roughly 4 in 10 say public school teachers are discussing issues on sexuality “too much.”
Only roughly 1 in 10 say “too little.”
The numbers are reversed among Democrats, according to the poll.
Adam Zelizer, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School, explained, “All that that’s happening these days kind of goes against the longer history of school boards being relatively low salience government institutions and, in a lot of cases, they are nonpartisan offices.”
When it comes to the amount of influence parents have on curriculum, about 50% of Americans say they have “too little.”
Twenty percent believe they have “too much” and 27% believe it is “about right.”
The poll was conducted from March 17 to 21 and surveyed 1,082 American adults.
Talk of race, sex in schools divides Americans: AP-NORC poll (from @AP) https://t.co/bUkpmbG21S
— David Crary (@CraryAP) April 14, 2022
The poll comes as debate continues around LGBTQ curriculum bills.
Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has received harsh criticism from several.
It was signed into law on March 28.
Brandon Wolf, the press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, told NBC News, “The truth is, this has never been about Florida.”
He added, “It’s never been about one state but rather a policy objective from the furthest right wing of the Republican Party to try to roll back civil liberties and progress through fear and manipulation of their base.”
Wolf continued, “You can, I think, imagine that we’re staring down a national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ debate if we’re not successful in pushing back against it here in Florida.”
The outlet noted other states including Indiana, Arizona and Tennessee are all weighing LGBTQ-related bills.
