The Charles Butt Foundation today released an extensive statewide survey of public attitudes toward public education in Texas, covering views among public school parents and Texans overall toward a broad range of public school policies and programs.

The survey finds a two-year surge in parents’ ratings of their community’s public schools, with 68 percent giving their schools an A or B grade, up 12 percentage points from its pre-pandemic level. Seventy-six percent, moreover, give an A or B grade to the public school teachers in their community.

More Texans trust teachers rather than others to make decisions in the best interest of public school students, followed by trust in principals, local school boards and district administrators, with state elected officials last on the list.

About three-quarters of public school parents report that their child has a very or somewhat strong sense of belonging at school, a strong factor in other attitudes. And if other options were available, eight in 10 would choose to keep their child in their current school rather than send them to a different one.

The survey also covers topics including the role of public schools in their communities, levels of support for various school services, school quality, inclusion, equity barriers, challenges facing teachers, perceptions of standardized testing and school funding.

We’re proud again to have worked with this foundation in producing its third annual survey on public education in Texas. See the report here.