A recent UnidosUS poll shows that Latinos’ electoral concerns for education intersect with other public policy priorities

As Latino voters head to the polls on November 5, a recent UnidosUS poll shows that education may be one of the issues on their mind. The poll, which surveyed 3,000 Latinos nationwide found that Latinos ranked education as one of their top 10 concerns following inflation (59%), jobs and the economy (39%), housing (31%), healthcare (25%), crime/guns (24%) and immigration (24%). Although economic issues drive their top priorities, Latino voters expressed clear views about how to improve education for today’s students. 

Early Childhood Development and Education 

The poll showed that Latinos placed a heavy emphasis on prenatal, postpartum and early childhood services, all of which lay the foundation for ensuring the nation’s youngest children — a demographic that is increasingly Latino — have the wraparound supports they need to grow physically and cognitively as they move into formal schooling. 

For example, the policy that was selected as one of the best ways to support children under the age of three was extending the time low-income mothers and children can be on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) before having to renew enrollment. Currently, the provision allows for six to twelve months, but 49% of respondents said they’d like enrollment extended to two years. The second most popular policy option was expanding the income eligibility criteria for Early Head Start and preschool programs for low-income children aged zero to two, so that it allows more families currently categorized as “middle-income” to enroll their children (42% of respondents). The third most preferred policy was providing 12 months of postpartum healthcare coverage to all mothers of newborns. 

“One in four babies born in the U.S. today are Latino, yet they face significant disparities that can limit their potential.” said Tania Villarroel who leadsUnidosUS’s Latino Infant Initiative (LII). “These programs are key to ensuring every Latino child has the opportunity to thrive.”

Making Education Responsive to the Academic and Social Needs of All Children 

When asked about which education and public school issues are most important for elected officials to address, 60% of respondents selected providing adequate funding for public education as the most important issue. Also top of mind for respondents, in second and third place, were ensuring that all students feel welcome at their school (50%), and supporting students who fell behind during the pandemic and still need to catch up (47%). 

“It’s not at all surprising that these are the top three issues for the Latino community when it comes to education,” said Jenny Muñiz, senior policy advisor. “UnidosUS has long long highlighted the deep impact of the pandemic on Latino students and the urgent need for substantial, ongoing investments to ensure resources reach where they are most needed to support their recovery.”

She pointed to recent research which revealed that, on average, students recovered a third of their original learning loss in math and a fourth it in reading. However, Latino students showed little to no progress on state standardized tests from 2022 to 2023. 

Latino Views on Political Parties

UnidosUS is a nonpartisan organization and it holds steadfast to its commitment to working across all political divides to find solutions for the Latino community but in each election, UnidosUS looks into which party Latinos feel is better representing their current priorities on various issues. 

On public education and school curriculum issues specifically, 49% of respondents said the Democratic party better represented their values, compared to 23% who felt that way about the Republican party. Meanwhile, 12% said both parties fulfilled this vision, 6% said neither did that and 11% said they didn’t know. 

What Latinos ultimately decide at the actual voting polls this election season remains to be seen, but what’s clear according to this survey is that the majority (67%) plan to vote even though they haven’t made a firm commitment to doing so. 

–Author Julienne Gage is a former UnidosUS Senior Web Content Manager now working on a PhD in sociocultural anthropology.