AMAC Exclusive – By Shane Harris
A new poll in the political bellwether state of New Hampshire shows large bipartisan majorities support parents’ rights and transparency in education, including one specific policy proposed by former President Donald Trump in his latest bid for the White House.
The survey of 1,058 likely general election voters, conducted from February 7-9 by the New Hampshire Journal, found that Granite Staters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support protecting the role of parents in education. When asked who should have the final say in what is taught to students in K-12 classrooms, 59% of respondents said “parents,” while just 32% said “teachers.” Notably, 81% of registered Republicans, 60% of respondents not registered with either party, and even 34% of registered Democrats said parents should have the final say.
On child healthcare, the results are even more skewed in favor of parents. Overall, 80% of respondents said that parents should have the final say when it comes to healthcare decisions about their children, a figure that includes 60% of self-identified liberals and 63% of registered Democrats. Just 22% of liberals and 26% of Democrats said teachers should have the final say.
These results are particularly significant as many on the left insist that schools should be able to keep vital information like what gender a student identifies as secret from parents. When respondents were asked specifically about “if parents have a right to know what their children are doing” with regards to “sex and gender,” 78% said “yes,” while 13% said “no.”
While the results here more clearly showed a partisan divide, 42% of self-identified liberals and 61% of registered Democrats still said “yes,” along with 94% of conservatives and 91% of Republicans. 74% of moderates and 83% of those not registered with either party answered “yes.”
The poll also found that a large bipartisan majority of voters believe parents should have a right to review the curriculum K-12 schools are using. 82% of respondents overall said “yes,” parents should have a right to review curriculum, including 78% of moderates and 65% of liberals. While respondents without a school-aged child still favored a right to parental review (78% “yes,” 16% “no,” 6% “unsure”), those figures were even more striking among respondents with a school-aged child – 90% said “yes,” while just 7% said “no” and 3% were unsure. The findings should be a clear sign to politicians of both parties that ensuring parents have access to the material their children are being taught in school is a winning issue.
Perhaps the most significant results from the poll from a political perspective came on a question about whether parents should be able to vote to fire a principal or superintendent for poor performance – an exact policy that former President Trump unveiled as part of his education policy platform late last month. Overall, a plurality of 49% of respondents said they “strongly support” such a policy, while 19% “somewhat support it” and 26% somewhat or strongly oppose it.
Although the polling question did not mention President Trump’s name specifically, it nonetheless reveals the popularity of his bold proposal. Liberals generally viewed the policy less favorably – just 37% strongly or somewhat supported it, while 35% strongly opposed it and 21% somewhat opposed it. On the other hand, 59% of moderates strongly or somewhat supported it while just 32% strongly or somewhat opposed it. The policy also got favorable marks from respondents with school-aged children; 52% strongly supported it and 21% somewhat supported it, while just 10% and 13% said they somewhat or strongly opposed it, respectively.
The proposal is also broadly popular among Republicans (66% strongly support, 17% somewhat support) and conservatives (70% strongly support, 17% somewhat support) signaling that Trump could have an early edge on education among potential challengers heading into the 2024 election cycle, where New Hampshire will be the first primary contest for Republicans. With education shaping up to be a key point of debate once again, candidates will likely face questions on Trump’s new education platform and be pressed to match his leadership.
Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on Twitter @Shane_Harris_.
