SAN FRANCISCO – (INT) - Californians are divided on allowing public schools to accommodate a student’s request to use pronouns that differ from their biological sex, according to a new survey.

In May, an initiative failed to qualify for the November ballot that proposed a statewide policy requiring schools to notify parents of a child’s gender identity and banning health services to support transgender youth—also known as gender-affirming care. Just weeks later, the California Legislature passed AB1955, legislation that prohibits schools from telling parents if their child prefers to use a different name and pronoun from those assigned at birth, without first gaining the consent of that child.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) surveyed adults on the question of pronoun use in schools, large differences emerge by party, region, and demographic groups. Seven in ten Democrats support schools allowing students to use different pronouns while more than eight in ten Republicans oppose. Independents are more split but lean toward opposing this policy.

Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area (60%) are the most likely among regional groups to support schools allowing students to choose their pronouns while those in the Inland Empire are the least likely to be supportive (39% each). Asian Americans (57%) stand out as the only racial or ethnic group with majority support.

Support for this approach falls with age and rises with education level, the PPIC found.

Story Date: August 14, 2024