VCU graduates walked out commencement in May over curriculum decisions on teaching about the history of race. (Courtesy of Cassandra Loper/Capital News Service)
Most Virginians agree that public K-12 schools should teach the history of race, but fewer say it should be required in colleges and universities, according to a poll conducted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The poll found that 75% of respondents supported such a curriculum for K-12, the remaining 15% disagreed. But less than half of Virginians, or 49%, said those lessons should be required in postsecondary education in the commonwealth.
The study indicated that Democrats and independents were more likely to support a college requirement, while 6 in 10 Republicans polled disagreed. Wilder School used telephone interviews from 809 Virginians, ages 18 or older, between June 24 and July 3. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.81 percentage points.
Since 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration has been examining and revising educational content related to race and equity, which the governor branded “divisive” in his first executive order .