* From the IEA…
To coincide with the first day of early voting for Illinois school board elections the Illinois Education Association (IEA) is releasing a portion of its bipartisan annual State of Education poll. The poll finds Illinoisans are opposed to fighting and contention at school board meetings and believe our students should get an honest education.
“The vitriol that is infiltrating public education at all levels is like nothing we’ve ever seen in Illinois,” IEA President Kathi Griffin said. “Fake news and disinformation are fueling fears and that’s pitting school communities against one another, often over something that isn’t even true.”
The data show that overall:
• One in five Illinoisans say there has been fighting, yelling or contention at their local school board meeting.
• 44 percent say they have heard about fighting, yelling or contention at a school board meeting.
• 66 percent of Illinoisans say they do not approve of the fighting, yelling and contention at school board meetings.
“These disruptions distract from the real issue, providing the best education for all our students. This has got to stop,” Griffin said. “School board elections are right around the corner, and there are candidates of chaos on the ballot in Illinois. They are fueled and funded by dark money groups. These candidates are looking to further disrupt and dismantle public education at all levels. We are strongly encouraging all Illinoisans to get involved, educate themselves about their local candidates and vote for those who support our students and public education.”
The IEA poll also asked respondents about Critical Race Theory (CRT), which is taught at the college level and not taught in K-12 schools, honest education and book bans.
The bipartisan poll found:
• Half of all Illinoisans oppose a law that bans CRT.
• 77 percent favor teaching about slavery in the United States and its impacts.
• 72 percent favor teaching about racism in the United States and its impacts.
• 75 percent oppose banning books in Illinois school libraries.
“The people of Illinois have made it very clear they support an honest education for all of our students,” Griffin said. “They believe our students should have access to LGBTQ+ books. All of our students should know the truth about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. They should know the truth about racism as a structure in United States society, history and culture. It is through the understanding of our history that we will be able to move forward successfully and not repeat the mistakes that were made in the past.”
The poll, conducted by Normington-Petts and Next Generation Strategies, surveyed 1,000 Illinoisans between Jan. 19 and 24. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent with 95 percent confidence.
* From the poll excerpt shared this morning…
Let’s change topics again. Have you or have you not heard anything about fighting, yelling, or other contention at school board meetings in Illinois?
Yes 44%
No 47
(Don’t know) 8
To the best of your knowledge, has there been any fighting, yelling, or other contention at a school board meeting in your community?
Yes 20%
No 50
(Don’t know) 29
And do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of the fighting, yelling, or other contention at school board meetings that has been happening around the country?
Do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose each of the following?
An Illinois state law that bans the teaching of critical race theory in public schools
Teaching Illinois high school students about slavery in the United States and its impacts
Teaching Illinois high school students about racism and its impact in the United States
Banning books from Illinois school libraries
