Most in new poll say school segregation a serious problem

A majority of respondents in a new poll, 57 percent, said that school segregation is a serious problem.

The Gallup poll released Tuesday found that 36 percent said it’s a “moderately serious” problem, while 21 percent said it’s “very” serious.  Forty-one percent said school segregation is “not too serious” or “not a problem.”

Just more than half of white respondents, 52 percent, said it was a problem, compared to 68 percent of African Americans and 65 percent of Hispanics, pollsters found.{mosads}

The disparity is even larger by political party. Just 35 percent of Republican respondents said segregation in schools is a problem. An overwhelming 75 percent of Democrats said the same thing, as did 57 percent of independents.

A slim majority of all respondents, 54 percent, said schools are less segregated than they were 20 years ago, but 23 percent said schools are more segregated. 

Support for government action to reduce segregation is also split by race and political party. Less than half of white respondents, 43 percent, said the federal government should take action reduce school segregation, but 78 percent of African Americans and 76 percent of Hispanics said the government should work toward reducing the problem. 

And only 27 percent of Republicans said the government should take action, compared to 73 percent of Democrats who said it should. 

The poll comes as the Democrats running in the 2020 primary debate ways to improve public schools, many with a focus on de facto segregated schools. 

The poll surveyed 3,038 adults July 13-31. There is a margin of error of 2 percentage points.