SAN FRANCISCO, April 10, 2024—As the California Legislature considers placing a school facilities bond on the November 2024 ballot, around half of likely voters say they would vote yes on such a measure. Asked to name the biggest challenge facing students as California emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, about eight in ten public school parents say either catching up academically or dealing with the pandemic’s social-emotional impacts. These are among the key findings from a statewide survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California.

(Note: Drawing on this new survey, PPIC is publishing a blog post by Statewide Survey Director and Miller Chair in Public Policy Mark Baldassare: “An Early Look at the November Election.”)

Asked how they would vote on a ballot measure that would create a state bond to fund school construction projects, 53 percent of likely voters say they would vote yes, 44 percent say they would vote no, and 2 percent don’t know. Views vary widely across party lines, with 71 percent of Democrats, 49 percent of independents, and 25 percent of Republicans saying they would vote yes.

Likely voters are similarly divided on how they would vote on a local school district bond measure for school construction. Fifty percent say they would vote yes, 48 percent say they would vote no, and 2 percent don’t know. Here, too, views diverge along party lines (yes: 68% Democrats, 43% independents, 26% Republicans). Support is lower for a local ballot measure that would raise parcel taxes to increase funding for local public schools, with 42 percent of likely voters saying they would vote yes, 56 percent saying they would vote no, and 2 percent saying they don’t know. Across partisan groups, 58 percent of Democrats, 36 percent of independents, and 17 percent of Republicans would vote yes.

“Around half of likely voters would vote yes on a state school bond measure, while a similar share would vote yes on a local school bond,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC Statewide Survey director and Miller Chair in Public Policy. “Four in ten likely voters would vote yes on a local parcel tax increase to boost school funding.”

The new PPIC Statewide Survey also finds:

• In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, public school parents cite catching up academically and dealing with the pandemic’s social-emotional impacts as the biggest challenges facing students. Fifty-one percent of parents of public school students say that their child fell behind academically during the pandemic. Forty percent say that their child stayed on track academically during the pandemic, and 9 percent said they got ahead.

  Asked to name the biggest challenge for public school students in the wake of the pandemic, 47 percent of public school parents say catching up academically, 34 percent say dealing with the pandemic’s social-emotional impacts, and 18 percent say readjusting to regular school schedules and routines; one percent say all of the above.

  “Half of public school parents think their child fell behind during the pandemic, while most say the biggest challenge post-pandemic is catching up academically or dealing with the social-emotional impacts,” Baldassare said.

• Majorities say that local public schools are doing well at preparing students for college and career. Asked what kind of job their local public schools are doing at preparing students for college, a solid majority of adults say either excellent (7%) or good (53%); an overwhelming majority of public school parents say either excellent (7%) or good (65%). Asked about preparing students for jobs and the workforce, just over half of adults say that local public schools are doing an excellent (5%) or good (46%) job, while a strong majority of public school parents say an excellent (6%) or good (59%) job.

  “Majorities of Californians and public school parents say that their local public schools are doing an excellent or good job in preparing students for college and for jobs and the workforce,” Baldassare said.

• Around half approve of how state leaders are handling public K–12 education. Asked about how Governor Gavin Newsom is handling the state’s K–12 public education system, 51 percent of adults and 50 percent of likely voters approve. Forty-eight percent of adults and 47 percent of likely voters approve of how the state legislature is handling public K–12 education; identical shares (48% adults, 47% likely voters) approve of how California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is doing so. In all three cases—Governor Newsom, the legislature, and Superintendent Thurmond—views vary across party lines, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans and independents to approve.

  “Around half of Californians and likely voters approve of the way that Governor Gavin Newsom, the state legislature, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are handling the state’s K–12 education system,” Baldassare said.

• Strong majorities approve of the state funding voluntary preschool for all four-year-olds. California is now in the second year of implementing a plan to offer transitional kindergarten to all four-year-olds by 2025–26. Sixty-six percent of adults (and 64% of likely voters) say the state government should fund voluntary preschool programs, such as transitional kindergarten, for all four-year-olds in California, while 31 percent (and 33% of likely voters) say it should not. Among public school parents, 77 percent say the state should provide this funding, while 22 percent say it should not.

  “Two in three adults and three in four public school parents think the state should fund voluntary preschools for all four-year-olds in California,” Baldassare said.

• Majorities across party lines oppose local school boards banning certain books and favor public schools teaching about the history of slavery, racism, and segregation. Nearly seven in ten Californians strongly oppose (43%) or somewhat oppose (26%) individual school boards passing laws to ban certain books and remove them from classrooms and school libraries. Among public school parents, more than half strongly oppose (30%) or somewhat oppose (25%). Among all Californians, majorities across party lines oppose banning certain books and removing them from schools (Democrats: 62% strongly, 22% somewhat; independents: 42% strongly, 29% somewhat; Republicans: 26% strongly, 27% somewhat).

  Overwhelming shares of adults and public school parents favor public schools teaching about the history of slavery, racism, and segregation (adults: 54% strongly support, 30% somewhat support; public school parents: 52% strongly, 37% somewhat). This includes overwhelming majorities of Californians across party lines (Democrats: 72% strongly, 20% somewhat; independents: 54% strongly, 29% somewhat, Republicans: 37% strongly, 36% somewhat).

  “Californians across partisan groups oppose individual school boards passing laws to ban certain books, while they favor public schools teaching about the history of slavery, racism, and segregation,” Baldassare said.

About the Survey

The Californians and Education Survey is supported with funding from the Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation, Stuart Foundation, and Windy Hill Fund.

The findings are based on responses from 1,605 California adult residents. The sampling error is ±3.3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level for the total unweighted sample and ±3.9 percent for the 1,089 likely voters. Interviewing took place from March 16–25, 2024. For more information, please see the methodology section in the full survey report.

Mark Baldassare is statewide survey director at PPIC, where he holds the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Public Policy. He is founder of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which he has directed since 1998.

The Public Policy Institute of California is dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research. We are a public charity. We do not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor do we endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. Research publications reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or of the staff, officers, advisory councils, or board of directors of the Public Policy Institute of California.