Fox News Poll: Voters want schools to teach more about good citizenship and less about gender identity

With some school districts having already returned to the classroom, the latest Fox News survey looks at voters’ views on what’s being taught in public schools.

The poll, released Thursday, finds voters of all political stripes agree on one thing: when it comes to public schools, there is too little discussion on the responsibilities of being a good citizen. Seventy percent feel that way, including majorities of Democrats (65%), Republicans (75%), and independents (71%).

In addition, over half feel there aren’t enough lessons on reading and writing (54%) and math and science (50%), while a sizable minority feels that way about racism (44%).

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Those numbers are bolstered by majorities of Republicans feeling reading/writing (61% too little) and math/science (60%) are not being adequately covered in school, while majorities of Democrats feel there is not enough focus on racism (67%).

Overall, 23% of voters say sexual orientation and gender identity is not receiving enough attention in the classroom, while close to half (48%) feel it is being taught too much, including 19% of Democrats.

Moreover, Democrats divide between gender identity not being taught enough (39%) or about the right amount (34%), while three-quarters of Republicans feel there is too much focus on it (77%).

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On the two most divisive issues tested, independents are more likely to agree with Democrats on racism (43% say too little is being taught) and with Republicans on sexual orientation (47% say too much is being taught).

Majorities of parents overall feel there is not enough emphasis on good citizenship (67%) and too much on sexual orientation (57%).  Moms and dads are on the same page when it comes to feeling good citizenship is lacking instruction, but more dads (70%) than moms (49%) feel there is too much attention on gender identity.

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"Across party lines, there is a lot of agreement about what should be taught in public schools until it comes to the issues of racism and gender identity that have become central themes of many Republican candidates," says Democrat Chris Anderson who conducts the Fox News surveys with Republican Daron Shaw. "Outside of their base, Republicans are not going to find many voters agreeing with them that schools should focus less on race, but they might find some traction with gender issues."

When it comes to using taxpayer funds to attend charter, private, or religious schools, views are mixed to negative.

Half, 50%, favor using the state money for charter schools (44% oppose) while 6 in 10 oppose using the funds for private (57%) or religious education (60%).

Majorities of Democrats and independents oppose funding religious and private schooling while majorities of Republicans favor it.

Views on taxpayer money backing charter schools is more divided, with just over half of Democrats opposing it (51%), 6 in 10 Republicans in favor (59%), and independents split (43% favor vs.  49% oppose).

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"The key to understanding where voters are on this issue appears to be using taxpayer funds," says Shaw. "While voters have serious reservations about public schooling in the U.S., many see these choice initiatives as coming at the expense of public school funding." 

Among parents, 6 in 10 favor funding charter schools with taxpayer money (59% favor) while the opposite is true for religious institutions (57% oppose) – they split, however, on private school tuition (49% favor, 48% oppose).

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Conducted August 11-14, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,002 registered voters nationwide who were randomly selected from a voter file and spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all registered voters.