Poll: U.S. Parents Across Political Spectrum Reject Gender Ideology in Schools

U.S. parents of all political stripes oppose gender ideology in schools, new polling from Parents Defending Education (PDE) shows.

The survey from PDE, which describes itself as a grassroots organization “working to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas,” found that 75 percent of parents “oppose teachers, counselors, school nurses, classroom aides, coaches or administration withholding information about a child’s gender identity from parents.”

That sentiment is shared by a majority of parents with varying political viewpoints, including 88 percent of Republican parents, 72 percent of independent parents, and 58 percent of Democrat parents.

Strong majorities of every ethnicity agree, including 76 percent of white parents, 79 percent of black parents, 69 percent of Asian parents, and 73 percent of Hispanic parents.

PDE notably found in 2023 that more than 1,000 school districts across the United States have policies openly stating that district personnel can or should keep students’ transgender status hidden from their parents. That figure includes 18,335 schools and 10,712,558 students.

RELATED – NYT Admits: Even Liberal Parents Outraged over Schools Hiding Kids’ Gender ‘Transitions’

“This poll shows overwhelming opposition to school personnel withholding information from parents about their child’s gender identity at school,” Erika Sanzi, director of outreach at PDE said in a statement.

“This matters because the policies propagated by activist groups, the National School Boards Association and teachers’ unions all allow for — and often require — the deliberate deception of parents by school staff if that is what the minor child wants,” Sanzi added. “It’s refreshing to see even more confirmation that people think this ubiquitous trend of facilitating gender transitions behind the backs of parents is complete madness and needs to stop.”

The PDE survey also found that a strong majority of parents of all political affiliations oppose males who identify as females being allowed to participate on girls’ sports teams and use female bathrooms and locker rooms.

Seventy-eight (78 percent) of parents “oppose biological males, who identify as females, being allowed to participate on girls’ sports teams.” That opinion is shared by 86 percent of Republican parents, 80 percent of independent parents, and 60 percent of Democrat parents.

By ethnicity, the survey found that 75 percent of white parents, 82 percent of black parents, 88 percent of Asian parents, and 83 percent of Hispanic parents agree.

Likewise, 77 percent of parents overall “oppose biological males, who identify as females, being allowed to use female bathrooms and locker rooms and vice versa.” By political affiliation, 92 percent of Republican parents, 75 percent of independent parents, and 58 percent of Democrat parents say they oppose males entering female-designated bathrooms and locker rooms.

Majorities of all ethnicities hold the same position, including 75 percent of white parents, 85 percent of black parents, 71 percent of Asian parents, and 78 percent of Hispanic parents.

Overall, parents overwhelming agree that “focusing on core subject areas, such as math, reading, writing, science and social studies, would improve the quality of public education,” at 90 percent. 

Ninety-two percent of Republican parents, 88 percent of independent parents, and 91 percent of Democrat parents agree, the survey found. 

The survey was conducted by CRC research with 1,000 parents with children 18 years old or younger in their household between December 12-18, 2024. The margin of error is ±3.10 percentage points.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.