WASHINGTON | A new poll released May 23 by Morning Consult, an online survey research technology firm, showed that there is a fairly even split among American parents over the teaching or discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms.
The polling revealed that parents who politically identify from both Republican and Democratic parties are becoming more comfortable with increasing LGBTQ prominence in everyday life. These factors come as Republican state lawmakers claim “parental rights” as the justification for a litany of anti-LGBTQ legislation.
Key Findings:
Where Americans stand on LGBTQ in the classroom
American parents or guardians of children 18 years old or younger are essentially split over the teaching or discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms: 41% support it and 44% are opposed. Parents are slightly more likely to support (44%) than oppose (40%) instruction about the LGBTQ civil rights movement.
U.S. parents were asked if they support or oppose the following being taught or discussed in K-12 schools:
According to Morning Consult, there are only small differences between parents of younger pupils and of high schoolers, but stark partisan divides are evident: Roughly 3 in 5 Democratic parents nationwide support discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, while nearly as many Republican parents and almost half of independent parents oppose it.
Annise Parker, president and CEO of the pro-LGBTQ Victory Fund, told Morning Consult that schools have often marked the frontlines of the culture wars, and this time, proponents of legislation like Florida’s have been especially able to wedge Americans’ still-mixed views about rights for transgender people.
“One of the reasons we’ve made such great progress over the years in terms of how the public perceives people who are gay and lesbian is because of proximity — knowledge of people coming out individually. The transgender issue is still unknown for a lot of folks,” she said. “For an issue that it took some education for my own community to come to grips with, we shouldn’t be surprised it’s much harder for the broader society.”
The poll also examined the influences that teachers have over students in discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity, noting while most Americans — including 82% of Republican parents — trust teachers to “act in good faith, do their jobs fairly and prepare their students for the world,” the GOP’s focus on LGBTQ topics in the classroom could capitalize on declining trust in the public education system, especially among Republicans, who are more likely than the broader population to believe classroom instructors have influence on children’s values and their sexuality and gender identity.
Republicans are aligned with much of their base in the view that LGBTQ discussion is inappropriate for the educational system. But some have gone even further and accused those who believe teachers should be able to discuss such matters in the classroom of being “groomers,” a term used to refer to people who lure children for sexual abuse.
The poll asked about faculty who identify as LGBTQ+:
Vast majorities of parents who are Democrats or independent said they are comfortable with LGBTQ people interacting with their kids, while nearly 3 in 5 Republican parents agreed. Roughly 3 in 10 Republican parents said they do not personally know or associate with an LGBTQ person. Those parents were more likely to say they are uncomfortable having an LGBTQ person interact with their children than the roughly two-thirds who do, 44% to 25%.
Americans’ increasing comfort with the LGBTQ community
Most Americans, including Republicans generally and the parents among them, have become more comfortable with the LGBTQ community over the past three years, according to Morning Consult surveys.
When it comes to educational instruction, about a third of Republican parents (32%) said they are comfortable with LGBTQ history lessons in their child’s classroom, more than twice the share who said so in May 2019, while the share who said they were uncomfortable with it fell from 77% to 55%.
On the question of teaching LGBTQ+ history to students, the split was nearly even:
As for the broader population, half of all Americans said they are comfortable learning that children are being taught lessons on LGBTQ history at school, compared to roughly 2 in 5 who said it makes them uncomfortable. Both figures were similar to the shares measured in 2019, but comfort has increased with regard to other aspects of queer life, including seeing a child being raised by a same-sex couple, being invited to a same-sex wedding or being represented by a person who is LGBTQ in Congress.
The final question dealt with how Americans are increasingly comfortable with LGBTQ association:
The entire Morning Consult Poll is here: (Link)
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