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Schools poll: Californians worry about tougher immigration enforcement, favor less stress on tests

By Kathleen Maclay

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Californians weighed in on a number of education-related questions for a new Berkeley IGS Poll. (Photo by Creative Commons.)

Californians weighed in on a number of education-related questions for a new Berkeley IGS Poll. (Photo by Creative Commons.)

A new poll of California voters’ attitudes about issues affecting K-12 schools shows strong support for districts to devote more resources to their vulnerable students and strongly favor creating a safe, positive school environment for students.

The results of the latest Berkeley IGS Poll/EdSource were released today as part of EdSource’s 40th anniversary symposium in Oakland.

Among the findings of the voter surveys conducted by EdSource and UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies:

  • Sixty percent of voters surveyed and 67 percent of the parents of school-age children are very or somewhat concerned about the federal government’s stricter immigration enforcement policies and how they are affecting students whose families are threatened with deportation.
  • About half of the voters surveyed support offering more financial help to help qualified students from low-income families attend state colleges and universities.
  • More than six in 10 voters say it is very important for schools to provide more financial support for homeless and special education students.
  • Seven in 10 voters say low-income families don’t have much say over where their kids go to school, and 55 percent support government subsidies such as tax credits or vouchers to enable low-income families to send their children to a private or religious school if they want.
  • Some 69 percent of California voters think it is very important for schools to better prepare high school students who may not go to college to be successful in the workplace.

“California voters care about making sure that the state’s most vulnerable students are given a chance to succeed,” said Louis Freedberg, EdSource executive director.

Read the full news release here.