PARENTS believe they should have the ability to customize their child’s education by sending them to other public options, such as public charter schools.
January 2025 Parent Priorities survey
Parents are the best advocates for their children, and their voices are essential to informing a quality public school system. To better understand and reflect the opinions and concerns of parents – and how they continue to evolve over time – TN Parents for Public School Options conducts an annual survey to explore how parents feel about the state’s public education landscape.
Our January 2025 statewide survey builds on prior surveys (see below for previous survey results) and examines Tennessee parents’ attitudes and recommendations toward the state’s public K-12 education system. The survey, which interviewed 400 parents across the state, was completed in January 2025. Overall, parents have a favorable image of Tennessee’s public school system (66%), and 64% believe that public K-12 education is headed in the right direction.
Top findings from the survey include:
83% of those surveyed across all demographics and voting patterns believe parents should have the ability to customize their child’s education by sending them to other public options, such as public charter schools.
58% of parents believe public charter schools produce better results for students than traditional schools.
Parents had varied views on who they hold most responsible for the quality of Tennessee’s public schools. 40% of Tennessee parents put the onus on the state board of education, with another 21% holding their local school board most accountable.
78% of parents say schools need “some” or even “a lot” of change, an increase of 12 points since 2020.