LRP founder Celinda Lake provided a rundown of findings on the first day of Coast2Coast — the three-day inaugural advocacy trip to Washington, D.C. hosted by CSBA and the Association of California School Administrators from April 25–27. The event enables school and county board members and superintendents to advocate directly with congressional representatives, White House officials, key federal agency leaders and other top policymakers to shine a light on the issues affecting the state’s nearly 6 million students.
It appears, however, that some have waivered. In a separate LRP poll conducted Nov. 8–18, 2021, a majority of voters say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported increased funding for public schools, but levels of support drop by 15 points when the prospect of increased taxes is raised. That said, while probing a tax increase does increase opposition, 57 percent of people reported they would still vote for the candidate who supports increased funding.
In California, April 2021 polling conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found 40 percent of adults generally and 50 percent of parents with a school-age child gave their public schools a passing grade of an A or B, compared to 18 percent of both groups, which gave local schools a D or F grade.
The poll also showed that 54 percent of adults overall and 61 percent of public school parents believe the state K-12 public education system is overall going in the right direction.
Voters also said that additional counseling, providing students and their families with high-speed internet and/or laptops, tablets or other technology, individualized learning plans and offering afterschool and/or summer learning opportunities would be very helpful to students moving forward. Voters were more divided about the helpfulness of longer school years, additional school days and longer school days.
Results of a National Alliance on Mental Illness Parent Survey conducted Nov. 9–17, 2021, of parents to children aged 0–17 show that 48 percent of respondents strongly agree with the statement that their child(ren)’s mental health matters more than their academic achievement. Forty-four percent strongly believe mental health education should be taught in school, but only 25 percent said they strongly agree that their child(ren)’s school has been supportive of their child(ren)’s mental health.
More than three-quarters of voters said in the November LRP poll that the pandemic makes them think ensuring students have easier access to technology and broadband should be more of a priority — 50 percent say it should be much more of a priority.
Nearly 50 percent of respondents reported they strongly believe that the digital divide must be addressed by investing in both high-speed internet access and technology for all students inside and outside of the classroom.