Nearly 70% of voters oppose elementary school students learning about sexual orientation and gender identity, according to a September New York Times and Siena Poll.
Roughly 58% “strongly oppose” and 12% “somewhat oppose” educators teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to elementary school students, according to a New York Times and Siena Poll. Those between the ages of 45-64 years strongly opposed sexual orientation curriculums for elementary school students the most at 63%, with 43% of 18-29 year olds opposing the teaching of sexual orientation to children. (RELATED: Ohio School Allows LGBTQ Ally Badges Provided By The Teachers Union, Despite Parental Backlash)
Roughly 95% of Republicans surveyed believed elementary school students shouldn’t learn about sexual orientation and gender identity, while 20% of Democrats “strongly oppose” it, the poll showed.
The majority, 53%, still opposes classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for students in sixth through eighth grade, the poll showed. Approximately 49% of 18-29 years old strongly supported students being taught sexual orientation and gender identity in sixth through eighth grade.
The poll comes during a wider push to update K-12 sexual education curriculums; the Wauwatosa School Board in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, implemented a new “Human Growth and Development” curriculum that introduces third graders to gender identity, sexual orientation and pronouns. Sixth grade educators are told to refer to females as a “person with a vulva” in order to push inclusivity.
The Los Angeles Unified School District features a LGBTQ club, called the “Rainbow Club” for students as young as four years old. The school district trains educators about the club and provides teachers with resources to begin a club themselves.
Taking a break from handing out red envelopes and candy in a cultural celebration of the Lunar New Year, Principal Alice Hom talks with schoolteacher Sau Sheung Lau at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on February 02, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Roughly 42% opposed high school students being taught about gender identity and sexual orientation, with 58% of Republican voters “strongly opposing” the curriculum, according to the poll.
When asked about the definition of gender, 61% of voters said gender is “determined by a person’s biological sex at birth,” the poll showed. About 30% of voters defined gender as “identity that is distinct from a person’s biological sex.”
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken action to keep sexual orientation and gender identity lessons out of the classroom, signing the Parental Rights In Education bill into law in March. The law prohibits gender identity and sexual orientation curriculums until after third grade.
Nationwide, 1,399 registered voters were surveyed for the poll from Sept. 6 through Sept. 14. The margin of error for the poll is 3.6 percentage points.
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