SLU Poll Retrospective: Trends in Missouri Likely Voters’ Opinions on Education Issues
By: Abigail Medler, MPA and Courtney Vahle, Ed.D.
In June 2020, Saint Louis University launched the SLU/YouGov poll to provide researchers and policymakers with an assessment of Missouri likely voters’ opinions on relevant political and educational issues. Some questions were asked in multiple polls to monitor trends over time, while others were relevant to potential policy changes that may have impacted the education sector at a given time. Here, we summarize the findings from nine polls conducted from 2020–2025 to identify trends in public opinion on Missouri’s education issues.
Key Points
Voter Perceptions of School Quality
Voters’ perceptions of Missouri public schools have declined overall with more favorability toward the schools in their own communities than those across the state.
Voters’ perceptions stem from real life experiences (79%) and are most significantly attributable to teachers (77%), academic reputation of the school (64%), and class sizes (54%).
The majority of respondents feel that students are being prepared for college (55%) and trade school (52%), but less so for the workforce(40%). Only one third of respondents feel students are prepared to be civically engaged (36%).
School Choice
Over 85% of likely voters indicated that they had used the public school system for a child in their household. One in five had used a private religious school and one in ten had used homeschooling at some point.
Voters remain supportive of open enrollment policies that allow students to enroll in public schools outside of their assigned district, although slightly less so in 2024 (59% support) than in 2020 (66% support).
Missouri likely voters showed strong support (77%) for allowing students who move outside a district’s boundaries during the school year to finish the year in-district. A majority (55%) also supported allowing the student to stay enrolled through high school graduation.
Support for the formation and operation of charter schools in Missouri has remained above 50% from the first to most recent poll.
Missouri’s Education Savings Account Program, started in 2021, received high levels of support in the most recent poll (62%).
School Funding
Voters (45%) do not want increased spending on education if it is the result of raised property, income, or sales taxes.
A majority of respondents (62%) believe the school funding formula should be utilizing recent property values, as opposed to those from 2004, and making use of enrollment (56%) in the formula instead of attendance. In May 2024, Senate Bill 727 addressed the latter by allowing the use of attendance and enrollment in the funding formula calculation.
Most likely voters believe the state should allocate more funds to students receiving free and reduced-price lunch (FRL)(63%) and those with special education needs (81%). At least 40% believe students learning English should receive more funding as well.
Teacher Workforce
Most Missouri likely voters (80%) consistently support an increase in teacher salaries even if it means an increase in taxes.
Almost three quarters of voters (74%) are in support of paying teachers in “hard-to-staff” positions more.
Voters recognize a teacher shortage in their area, but would not support teachers in the classroom without proper certification (51%). Recent Missouri legislation has attempted to combat the shortage by lowering barriers to teaching certification.
A plurality of voters (45%) would not advise a young adult to become a teacher.
Respondents expressed strong support for requiring that teachers have a bachelor’s degree (58%), receive certification from the state (92%), pass a standardized test (92%), and receive a 3.0 in their subject area (68%).
School Safety
When asked about the condition of safety in schools, 56% claimed the safety at their local public school is “excellent” or “good”, while only 35% referred to safety in public schools across Missouri as “excellent” or “good.”
Respondents rate the safety of their own local public schools higher than that of those across Missouri, mirroring the higher favorability of one’s local school district over that of schools across the state (see Section 1).
Voters favor video security (83%) and police officers in schools (77%) over mental health screenings (43%) for students as preventative measures to school shootings.
Postsecondary Education
Missouri likely voters are divided on issues of postsecondary finance. While a majority support free college for all (52%), only a slight plurality (46%) supports federal student loan forgiveness.
About two thirds of respondents (68%) oppose the allowance of race considerations in college admissions.
Additional Education Issues
Nine in ten likely voters support compulsory school attendance starting at age 6.
More than three quarters (76%) of Missouri likely voters were in favor of requiring students to receive the Polio Vaccine.
Most Missouri voters (53%) favor free meals for all students, regardless of income.
The majority of respondents (52%)oppose the elimination of the Department of Education (ED).
Likely voters named increased student engagement (43%) as the greatest possible benefit of a four-day school week and a loss in student learning (40%) as their greatest concern.
Most voters (52%) support delaying school start times until 8:30 AM, which is also supported by more than two thirds of 18-44 year olds.
The majority of Missouri voters support cell phone bans during both regular school hours (72%) and during class (79%).
Most respondents favor both providing laptops to middle (66%) and high school (80%) students, and schools banning A.I. use on schoolwork (69%).
Please Cite As: Medler, A., and Vahle, C. (2025). SLU Poll Retrospective. Policy Research in Missouri Education, 7(12). Saint Louis University. www.primecenter.org/education-reports-database/poll-retrospective