Deep Partisan Divide Over LGBTQ+ Content in Schools: Study
There are "clearly partisan" divides over the inclusion of content addressing LGBTQ+ issues, race, and other supposedly controversial subjects in schools, says a new study from the University of Southern California."While Republican state leaders are backing public schools away from directly addressing race, gender, and sexual identity — as well as their historical injustices — in the U.S., Democratic state leaders are pushing in the opposite direction, mandating curricula and coursework discussing America’s racist origins and legacies and highlighting the contributions throughout history of women and people of color," says the study, titled "A House Divided?
What Americans Really Think About Controversial Topics in Schools."Among the general population, both Republicans and Democrats surveyed by USC said it's good to teach high school students about certain subjects, including sex education, voting rights, and racism, but there was a great divide when it came to discussion of LGBTQ+ matters.
Eighty-five percent of Democrats approved of teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, but among Republicans, 37 percent said it's OK to teach about sexual orientation and 32 percent felt that way about gender identity.Most respondents didn't approve of assigning books that depict same-sex relationships, but more Democrats than Republicans said these books should be available in school libraries as optional reading for high schoolers — 84 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans. “Americans overwhelmingly want high school to be a place where students learn about multiple sides of controversial topics, and they are free to access books touching on a variety of controversial content,” the study states.However,.
