Most parents believe politicians are using children as ‘political pawns’
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Laws or policies to remove library books or limit how teachers can discuss race, gender identity and sexual orientation with their students are overwhelmingly unpopular among American adults and parents with minor children, according to a new Ipsos poll.
Nearly two-thirds believe politicians are using children as “political pawns” and are introducing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to further their careers.
Most respondents believe elected officials should focus their time and resources on other issues, like gun violence and youth mental health.
Measures to ban or restrict access to library books and remove topics including race, sexual orientation and gender identity from the classroom are deeply unpopular among Americans and parents with young children, according to an Ipsos poll published this week.
A majority of Americans (75 percent) and parents with children under 18 years old (69 percent) agree that recent actions taken in states including Florida and Texas to ban books or make it illegal for teachers to educate their students on racial and LGBTQ+ issues are politically motivated.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans and parents believe politicians are using school children as “political pawns,” and more than 60 percent say lawmakers and state officials are pushing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to advance their careers.
Few believe state laws to remove lessons about race, sexual orientation and gender identity from schools are driven by parents’ concerns, according to the Ipsos poll.
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State legislators this year have introduced hundreds of bills that aim to restrict how LGBTQ+ people, particularly LGBTQ+ youth, are able to access health care, play on sports teams and talk about their identities at school or the workplace.
Public school teachers and officials have been accused by conservative lawmakers of “indoctrinating” children and encouraging them to change their gender identity or sexual orientation.
State and local lawmakers have also crusaded against books in school libraries they consider to be inappropriate for young readers. Most challenged titles center around race or LGBTQ+ issues and identities, according to the American Library Association.
More than 60 percent of Americans and 73 percent of parents with young children believe elected officials and political groups are the “most responsible” for recent disagreements over what can or cannot be taught in K-12 public schools.
At the same time, few Americans feel that politicians should have any “significant input” in what is included in school curriculums, and the voices of teachers and parents should be prioritized.
According to the Ipsos poll, which collected survey responses from 1,300 adults nationwide, when given the choice, most Americans and parents with minor children believe lessons about the history of racism “prepare children to build a better future for everyone.” That includes 79 percent of Republicans and 95 percent of Democrats.
Just 12 percent of American adults and 10 percent of parents believe otherwise, according to the poll, arguing that lessons about racism are harmful to children.
Overwhelmingly, parents agree that teachers should be able to talk about race, gender identity and sexual orientation at school, whether that means being allowed to answer students’ questions about the topics or developing age-appropriate curriculums that include them.
Most respondents in the Ipsos poll believe that elected officials should not be spending their time and resources governing which topics can be taught in the classroom, and should instead address other pressing concerns, including bullying, youth mental health and gun violence.
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