Half of America thinks both parents do not have enough influence over classroom curriculum, according to a new poll, including nearly 40% of Democrats.
The new poll from the University of Chicago‘s Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press found exactly 50% think parents do not have enough say in what children are learning, and 51% think teachers do not.
The poll’s findings illustrate a growing unease among U.S. parents who are concerned that their local public schools are using classroom instruction on race, sexuality, and gender identity as a means to promote a political agenda.
While the poll found that roughly the same number of people thought both parents and teachers should have more influence on curriculum, Republicans were more likely to say parents did not have enough influence, while Democrats were more likely to say teachers did not.
LARGEST TEACHERS UNION SPENT TWICE AS MUCH ON POLITICS AS ON MEMBER NEEDS
Sixty-five percent of Republicans thought parents should have greater sway on curriculum, along with 38% of Democrats. When it came to teachers, the results were almost entirely reversed, with 40% of Republicans saying teacher influence was lacking, along with 62% of Democrats.
The poll also found that 45% of U.S. adults felt that state governments had too much control over the curricula of public schools, and 43% thought the same about the federal government.
And while school board meetings nationwide have drawn crowds of protesting parents over the past year, the poll also found that a meager 14% of people pay attention to their school board, compared to 36% who pay close attention to the federal government.
Erika Sanzi, the director of outreach for the parent activist group Parents Defending Education, told the Washington Examiner in an interview that people were painting controversies over school curricula as a uniquely conservative issue.
“Everyone’s painting, this is like … it’s only conservative, right-wing people that are upset,” Sanzi said. But the reality is the mainstream Democrat out there who’s never voted for a Republican is also not on board with this at all.”
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The poll, which was conducted in March, interviewed 1,030 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
