Political strife is harming California teens’ high school experience, study says
By Christian Martinez
California is often cited as a bastion of left-leaning politics, but a study of the state’s high schools shows that California campuses are just as likely to experience political strife as those in other, more polarized states.
The study, by researchers at UCLA and UC Riverside, polled 150 principals from California high schools in “blue” congressional districts, where Donald Trump received less than 45% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, and “purple” districts, where Trump received from 45% to 54.9% of the vote.
The results showed that California campuses were not immune to political strife; school leaders in California’s purple communities were far more likely than leaders in blue districts to report that “community conflict” arose over issues affecting LGBTQ students and teachings about race and racism.