Poll: Missouri voters favor charter school expansion, educational freedom and restrictions on gender ideology in schools

A recent poll revealed the majority of Missouri voters support socially conservative and pro-school choice policies for education.

The survey was conducted by Saint Louis University (SLU) and YouGov, an international market research firm.

Nine-hundred participants shared their opinions on topics ranging from President Biden’s job performance to mental health to education.

More than half of Missourians were supportive of charter schools, with 52% favoring charters in their district and 55% favoring them statewide (only 20% opposed). This is notable since charters are restricted to operating only in Kansas City and Saint Louis.

Voters also approved of struggling public schools being able to convert into charters (52%), as well as allowing homeschool students to split their time between home and a charter school (62%).  

The survey also addressed social issues and found Missouri voters to lean conservative.  

The majority of voters oppose sexual orientation or gender identity being discussed in elementary (69%) or middle school (54%). 

Although 54% of respondents said that teacher shortages were either a very big problem or somewhat of a problem in their district, 45% of voters also said they would discourage a young person from pursuing public school teaching as a career.  

Other questions covered topics that recently enacted state laws have addressed. 

Two-thirds of surveyed Missouri voters opposed transgender athletes competing on teams according to their gender identity.  

The opposition included 95% of Republicans and 29% of Democrats, with 30% undecided on the issue.  

A law protecting women’s sports passed this year. 

Missourians were also decisively opposed to minors receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or sex-change surgery. However, there was less consensus on the topic of “gender affirming counseling.”

Earlier this year, a former employee of The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital blew the whistle on the Center’s alleged practices of rushing children into gender treatments. 

The state Legislature then passed a ban on so-called gender-altering surgeries and hormones, though it is scheduled to sunset in 2027.