Broad Support for School Choice, Curriculum Concerns from Parents in Recent Poll

A recent survey found that parents across the political and ethnic spectrum strongly support school choice in America’s 20 fastest growing metropolitan areas. These parents also expressed concerns about school curricula and support for removing critical race theory (CRT) from public school curriculum. The Manhattan Institute conducted the survey of adults who were asked questions about local issues, including questions about housing and community, education, economy and jobs, public safety and quality of life.

Michael Hendrix, senior fellow and director of state and local policy for the Manhattan Institute, spoke with The Lion about the survey. While some responses stayed within party lines, Hendrix noted:

Parents stood out as an X-factor. Becoming a parent seems to shift a person’s priorities and identities. …Parents want school choice, and they’re worried about curriculum.

He noted that parents are more positive about schools than residents generally, but they are equally more concerned about the specific issues of local education. Hendrix writes,

A sizable majority (71%) support allowing parents to choose which public school they would like to send their children to, regardless of zip code. …More than half would also support encouraging more charter schools.

Parents in households making under $50,000/yr, as well as nonwhite households generally, even more strongly support school choice. These parents are more likely to be unable to move into neighborhoods with good schools. Hendrix told us that in some areas, access to a good public school can add six figures to the price of a home, the difference effectively becoming like school tuition. “Free public school is not so free,” he added.

The survey also asked about support or opposition to removing critical race theory from school curriculum, citing concepts such as ‘white privilege’ and ‘systemic racism’. While residents generally lined up along liberal and conservative party lines, parents crossed these lines:

…parents, regardless of party, are clearly in favor of removing CRT from public school curricula: the 54% support from black parents matches the national average in our survey, and support only rises among Hispanic parents (61%) and white parents (73%). 

Similar concerns about curriculum changes in schools come from another recent survey conducted by the Herzog Foundation. Foundation chairman Todd Graves summarized the findings:

Parents across the country are expressing growing anxiety about the teaching of “critical race theory” in classrooms. In this survey, 70 percent of all parents do not believe their school should teach that “white people are inherently privileged and Black people and others are oppressed.” Moreover, 80 percent of all parents do not think that their school should teach that achieving racial justice requires discriminating against white people. In other words, while America’s parents may disagree on a great deal, they are united in the belief that many of the central tenets of critical race theory should not be in the classroom—whether that classroom is funded privately or publicly.

Herzog’s survey also found 80% of Christian school parents were satisfied with their school compared to just over half of public school parents.

While issues in education have been hotly debated in the news for months, it’s notable how these surveys suggest that parents, who are among the most important stakeholders, are generally more united in their concerns and beliefs.