Parents Reject Curriculum Bans, Trust Democrats More on Education, and Support Public Schools Teaching Diverse History

March 22, 2023, Washington, D.C.—Amid a fierce national debate over education in the U.S., the National Parents Union today released a new poll that found parents:

✔️ Trust Democrats more than Republicans (36% vs. 24%) to develop a “bill of rights” that reflect most of their views on how to improve the public education system

✔️ Believe that “bill of rights” should guarantee that students have access to high-quality, well-rounded education with resources to support their individual needs

✔️ Overwhelmingly agree that parents’ own personal beliefs should not prevent other students from accessing certain curriculum and materials

✔️ Encourage teaching topics like women’s history, Black history, Native American history, and Latino/a and Hispanic history

✔️ Want Congress to focus on issues including requiring anti-bullying measures in schools and providing students with access to career and technical education resources, as well as academic tutoring

✔️ Rank requiring public schools to provide parents with a list of books and reading materials available in the school library as the least important priority for Congress to focus on compared to other issues

✔️ Say that public schools should teach about and discuss concepts like kindness, empathy, cooperation, and collaboration

“Republicans are making a mockery out of parent’s rights and parent voice and their recent political stunts have done nothing more than highlight how deeply disconnected they are from American families,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union. “While a loud minority carries on about trying to get books banned, the majority of us are fighting to make sure America’s families can survive during this brutal economy, don’t lose more children to gun violence in our schools, have access to high quality schools that give them the chance for economic mobility and teach the truth about America’s history.”

Banning Curriculum

• 18% of respondents believe a parent should be able to prevent all students at their child’s school from having access to curriculum or reading materials if they are in conflict with that parent’s own personal beliefs
• 58% say a parent should only be able to have their own child opt-out of the curriculum or reading materials.
• 14% say parents should not be able to do either of the above

Encouraging Teaching Topics in Public Schools

• Women’s History: 73% encourage this to be taught
• Native American and Indigenous History: 72%
• Black History: 69%
• Teach about the Holocaust: 68%
• Latino/a & Hispanic History: 66%

Students Rights… in a Bill of Rights

• Students should have access to high-quality, well-rounded education with resources to support their individual needs: 90% say this should be guaranteed
• Students should be prepared for college and/or careers when they graduate: 90%
• Students should be protected from any form of discrimination against them at school: 90%
• Students should be taught using educational materials that are historically accurate: 89%
• Students should be taught critical thinking skills: 88%
• Students should be taught about how government works so they can be prepared to participate in democracy: 83%
• Students should be taught by highly qualified teachers who reflect the diversity of their community: 81%
• Students should be taught using educational materials that reflect the diversity of the United States: 80%

Teaching Kindness

• 81% of parents say public schools should teach about and discuss concepts like kindness, empathy, cooperation, and collaboration
• 13% believe public schools should NOT teach about or discuss concepts like kindness, empathy, cooperation, and collaboration because parents should decide how to teach their children about those concepts

 Budget Matters

• 60% believe parents should have a right to see the school budget and be involved in decisions about how to spend funds
• 25% say parents should have a right to see the school budget, but not to be involved in decisions about how to spend funds
• 8% responded that schools should not have to allow parents to see the school budget

Addressing the School Board

• 20% say parents should be allowed to say whatever they want when speaking to their school board, even if they make threats of harm or violence against members or school staff
• 74% say they should be allowed to express their views, but should NOT be allowed to make threats of harm or violence against school board members or school staff

Rodrigues continued, “It is horrifying to think that 20% of parents in this country say threatening school board members should be allowed and there must be consequences for when that type of behavior is displayed.We have never had to resort to death threats to be heard by our elected officials. Silence in response to threats of violence and contributes to the rising tensions in this country.”

National Parents Union Survey

N=1,030 parents of public school students in grades kindergarten through 12th

Field Dates: March 19 – 20, 2023

Margin of sampling error: ± 3.7 percentage points

Click here for toplines:

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARENTS UNION

With more than 1,000 affiliated parent organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, the National Parents Union is the united, independent voice of modern American families. We channel the power of parents into powerful policies that improve the lives of children, families and communities across the United States. https://nationalparentsunion.org/