Book Bans Aren’t Popular Among Gen Alpha Parents, but Neither Is LGBTQ+ Instruction in Classrooms

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Parents of Gen Alpha are enrolling America’s youngest generation into school as a partisan debate simmers over the contents of classroom instruction and library inventory, embraced by conservative culture warriors who are trying — to mixed effect on the campaign trail — to activate parents as a political force.

As these Alphas, who are all under the age of 11, prepare to progress through the education system in the coming years, new Morning Consult research finds their parents are more likely than not to oppose book bans sought by some activists. However, like the larger population of American parents, instruction about LGBTQ rights and gender diversity is divisive — while even more want sexual education to stay out of elementary schools.

According to our January survey, Gen Alpha parents are more likely than not to oppose teaching students about LGBTQ+ rights and gender diversity in the classroom when thinking about their youngest child's education (47% to 42%). Most Republicans with children under the age of 11 oppose such instruction while most of their Democratic counterparts support it. Politically unaffiliated parents of Gen Alpha, meanwhile, are more divided on the matter.

There is much less opposition to classroom instruction about race and racism, an issue that conservative activists worked to vilify ahead of the 2022 midterm elections with a focus on “critical race theory.” Roughly 7 in 10 parents of Gen Alpha children support school instruction on race and racism, including 84% of Democrats, 67% of independents and 59% of Republicans. 

Beyond those broader topics, a debate about when it is appropriate for students to learn about sex at school has also percolated. While some Gen Alpha parents believe it should start as early as elementary school, as some studies show, there is more unanimity with regard to older grades.

The survey found that the vast majority of Gen Alpha parents support sexual education in middle school (69%) and high school (81%), compared with 40% who support it in elementary school. Across the board, Democrats are the most supportive of sexual education at any age level, but they are joined by clear majorities of independent and Republican Gen Alpha parents on instruction at the middle and high school levels.

Aside from the debate over what teachers should say, some activists and state lawmakers have also sought to limit the books that students can find in their school library. Gen Alpha parents are more likely than not to oppose book bans, regardless of which authority is behind them.

Roughly half of Gen Alpha parents oppose banning certain books from classrooms and libraries by lawmakers (50%), school officials (49%) and teachers (51%), with almost no partisan variation regardless of how those bans might come into place. 

Despite the bipartisan consensus on book bans, there is a unique divide on the question between Gen Alpha parents who send their children to public school and those who do not. 

By double digits, parents of Gen Alphas in private schooling are more supportive than public school parents of book bans at the legislative, school and classroom level — including a 21-percentage-point divide on the matter of legislative involvement (56% to 35%).

Beyond K-12: How Gen Alpha parents are thinking about college

Over the next decade, the oldest among Gen Alpha will begin to apply for and enroll at U.S. universities and colleges. Despite the recent discussion about encouraging participation in vocational programs, parents of Gen Alpha children are most likely to hope their youngsters take the state school route. 

Roughly 4 in 5 Gen Alpha parents want their child to attend a public in-state university (79%), compared with 71% for two-year or community colleges or 68% for vocational training programs such as trade schools. The parents of America’s youngest generation are roughly twice as likely to oppose their child’s matriculation at a community college or vocational program than they are at in-state public universities, which face the lowest opposition, at 8%.

At this stage in their child’s life, the bulk of Gen Alpha parents (42%) said they’d like to pay their child’s higher education cost themselves — a noble but challenging hurdle for most earners, especially those on the lower end of the income spectrum. Roughly 1 in 5 parents — regardless of household income level — expect their child to take out loans to cover their higher education costs. 

The bottom line

Gen Alpha parents are mostly older millennials, but their views on educational instruction don’t differ that much from the larger population. When it comes to discussion of LGBTQ issues in the classroom, for example, the position of Gen Alpha parents is similar to findings from our 2022 survey among all American parents, which found a slight opposition to classroom discussion of sexual orientation of gender identity with similar partisan splits.

These findings suggest an opening remains for Republicans to continue to use classroom instruction as a wedge, but they risk going too far: Sexual education and instruction about race and racism are popular with parents of the next generation, and past research has shown only a sliver of Americans — mostly those who comprise the GOP’s primary electorate — blame educational institutions for pushing social equality and acceptance too far, anyway.

Beyond the cultural debate facing K-12 education, this data provides some good news for colleges: Despite attacks from the right, most Gen Alpha parents — including Republicans — want their kids to attend college, and preferably for four years. While activists may be able to rile up some parents against specific institutions with culture-based swipes, they haven’t yet been able to tear down the industry for the next generation of students altogether.