Half of Californians Say Public Education Needs Major Changes; Crowded Governor’s Race Remains Tight

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2025-Half of Californians say that major changes are needed in California's public schools. A crowded governor's race remains highly competitive heading into the June primary. Six in ten Californians support the idea of teachers striking for higher pay. Nine in ten parents support limitations on cellphone use during school. These are among the key findings from a statewide survey on Californians' attitudes towards education, released today by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Polling on the governor's race was completed before Democrat Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. At the time of the poll, four candidates found themselves within the margin of error for the top spot: Swalwell (18%), Republican Steve Hilton (17%), Republican Chad Bianco (14%), and Democrat Tom Steyer (14%). In a crowded field with no clear frontrunner, Democrat Katie Porter is the only other candidate to poll in double digits (10%).

"We've never had a governor's race this uncertain, this close to the June primary, since California's top-two system was adopted," said Mark Baldassare, PPIC Statewide Survey director and Miller Chair in Public Policy. "Our polling shows education policy is still a top priority for voters."

More than 80 percent of likely voters say the candidates' positions on TK-12 public education are important, including overwhelming majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Fifty-three percent of all Californians say the state's TK-12 system needs major changes.

The new statewide survey also finds:

• Solid majority back teachers striking for higher pay. Amid a wave of real or threatened strikes by teachers' unions in several major school districts across the state, 61 percent of Californians and 65 percent of public school parents support the idea of teachers striking for higher pay.

  Affordability concerns are helping drive support. An overwhelming majority of Californians say teacher salaries, relative to the cost of living, are a problem. Sixty-six percent of adults favor building affordable housing specifically for local teachers on land where public schools have closed. Overall, 7 in 10 public school parents say they support teachers' unions.

• Likely voters support initiative that would make high-earner taxes permanent; less enthusiasm for education bonds. Sixty-two percent of likely voters say they would vote yes on a citizens' initiative now in circulation that would extend taxes on high incomes to provide permanent funding for education and healthcare. The initiative enjoys majority support across demographic groups and regions.

  Californians appear less enamored with the idea of borrowing for local schools. Forty-six percent of likely voters say they would vote yes on a local school bond, well short of the 55 percent majority needed to pass.

  Two other potential November ballot measures lack majority support among likely voters: 46 percent support a state bond to pay for construction projects in public higher education, while 39 percent support an initiative that would limit voters' ability to pass voter-proposed local special taxes.

• Nine in ten California parents support restrictions on cellphone use at school; AI not viewed positively. An overwhelming majority of California parents of school-aged children support limitations to cellphone use at school. While 41 percent of public school parents prefer schools ban cell phone usage throughout the day, 51 percent would rather limit cell phones in class but allow students to access phones during lunch or between classes. Only 8 percent of public school parents say students should be able to use cell phones at any point in the school day to assist their studies.

  Only 14 percent of Californians think that artificial intelligence will have a positive impact on the state's TK-12 public schools over the next 10 years. Eight in ten likely voters say they support a proposed citizens' initiative for the November ballot that requires child safety requirements for AI products and restricts smartphone use in schools.

• Voters undecided on state superintendent race. A shrug emoji may be the best way to describe likely voters' feelings about the race for state superintendent of public instruction. Thirty-two percent of likely voters remain undecided, and none of the 10 candidates for the top education position in the state are polling at 10 percent or higher. Fifty percent of likely voters oppose Governor Newsom's proposal to remove the state superintendent as head of the California Department of Education. However, half of public school parents support the proposal.
• Majorities approve of Newsom's handling of public education, despite concerns over declining quality. Fifty-four percent of all California adults and 65 percent of parents approve of Governor Newsom's handling of the TK-12 public education system. Newsom has maintained an approval rating on public education of over 50 percent since PPIC began asking the question at the beginning of his governorship. However, there remains a sharp partisan divide-only 17 percent of Republicans approve of Newsom's public education stewardship, compared to 78 percent of Democrats.

  Still, Californians remain evenly split over whether the state's public education system is headed in the right or wrong direction. Half say the quality of education in California's public schools has gotten worse in recent years, while only 8 percent say it has improved.

  "When asked what should be the most important goal for public schools, teaching students the basics in math, reading, and writing remains the top priority," said Baldassare. "But a sizable percentage of Californians also want schools to prioritize teaching life skills."

• Transitional kindergarten receives broad support. Starting in the 2025-26 school year, transitional kindergarten is available to all four-year-olds in California's public schools. Sixty-eight percent of Californians favor the state government funding universal transitional kindergarten for all four-year-olds in California. Seven in ten Californians believe TK is very or somewhat important to a student's future educational success.

  While broadly popular among Democrats and independents, only 38 percent of California Republicans support funding universal TK.

About the Survey

The Californians and Education survey is supported with funding from the Arjay R. and Frances F. Miller Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, and the Windy Hill Fund.

The findings are based on responses from 1,604 California adult residents. The sampling error is ±3.2 percent at the 95 percent confidence level for the total unweighted sample and ±3.9 percent for the 1,008 likely voters. Interviewing took place from March 26-April 3, 2026. For more information, please see the methodology section in the full survey report.

Mark Baldassare is statewide survey director at PPIC, where he holds the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Public Policy. He is founder of the PPIC Statewide Survey, which he has directed since 1998.

The Public Policy Institute of California is dedicated to informing and improving public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research. We are a public charity. We do not take or support positions on any ballot measure or on any local, state, or federal legislation, nor do we endorse, support, or oppose any political parties or candidates for public office. Research publications reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or of the staff, officers, advisory councils, or board of directors of the Public Policy Institute of California.