Californians and K-12 Education amid COVID-19 Recovery: Views from the 2021 PACE/USC Rossier Poll

Growing inequities and lessons learned during the pandemic together with billions of dollars in new funding present an opportunity to make substantial changes to K-12 education to better serve all students in California. In May 2021, PACE and the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC) fielded our annual poll of California voters, which sought to gain clarity about voters' priorities on public education issues during this period in which Californians are beginning to look towards a postpandemic future. The following are 10 key findings from the poll: (1) Californians have been differentially affected by both the overall and the educational effects of the pandemic; (2) California voters are generally worried about the effects of the pandemic on the state's students; (3) Despite this challenging year, voters appreciated the work of educators; (4) However, partisan divisions shaped approval of education during the pandemic; (5) Californians have noticed increasing divisions on issues of politics and race; (6) These partisan differences translate into how voters prioritize educational issues generally and educational equity issues specifically; (7) Despite these political divisions, voters enthusiastically support a wide range of targeted supports for meeting students' diverse needs and accelerating learning in the wake of the pandemic; (8) Voters are in favor of requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for eligible students; (9) Voters support resuming in-person instruction in the fall but want schools to provide online learning options; and (10) Voters are generally in favor of resuming standardized testing for students after the pandemic.