HOW UTAH FAMILIES REALLY FEEL ABOUT FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN
In March 2022, the Deseret News shared the results of a statewide poll regarding Utahns' support for optional full-day kindergarten.
The poll, conducted for the Deseret News and the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, revealed that nearly 3/4ths of Utahns (72% of those surveyed) support a FDK option for families. Only 16% were opposed.
Dan Jones & Associates conducted the poll of 804 registered voters in Utah, with a margin of error of +/-3.45 percentage points.
This recent poll affirms the results of a 2021 statewide survey of 1,976 registered Utah voters conducted by Utah-based polling firm Y2 Analytics, with a margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points. That poll found:
More than 2/3 of surveyed voters (68%) said they would "support the expansion of optional full-day kindergarten programs in all public schools throughout Utah."
In Davis County, 73% supported FDK expansion.
In Salt Lake County, 71% were supportive.
In Weber County, 65% were supportive.
In Utah County, 64% were supportive.
In Washington County, 59% were supportive.
Across all other counties, 67% of respondents supported FDK expansion.
A strong majority of surveyed voters expressed willingness to pay additional taxes to support FDK expansion to reach more Utah families.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) said they would pay an additional $5 in taxes each year to fund FDK expansion.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) said they would pay an additional $65 in taxes.
Utahns have largely positive perceptions of full-day kindergarten.
Three times as many Utah voters said that FDK is better than half-day kindergarten programs, than those who thought half-day was better.
About 2.5 as many agreed that expanding the availability of FDK programs would improve public education in Utah, than whose who disagreed.
A majority of survey respondents (56%) agreed that FDK programs help under-privileged Utah students catch up with their peers.
A majority (62%) also agreed that expanding FDK would strengthen our state economy by supporting more parents in working during the day.
When it was available to their families, Utahns preferred to participate in full-day kindergarten programming.
Among the survey respondents who actually had the chance to enroll their kids in a full-day program, 69% reported that they chose to participate.
Among the survey respondents who didn't have the chance to enroll in a full-day program, 58% reported that they would have enrolled their child in full-day kindergarten if they could have.