“I know what’s best for my child”: Qualitative analysis of U.S. cisgender-heterosexual and LGBTQ+ parents’ perspectives on inclusive education policies

Diversity education in the K-12 years is a contentious issue in the contemporary U.S. context. Given evidence that parental identity influences beliefs about and support for diversity education, we qualitatively explored cisgender-heterosexual and LGBTQ+ parents’ (N = 609) beliefs about the appropriateness of inclusive educational policies in K-12 classrooms. We collected qualitative data on parental perceptions of inclusive signals in classrooms (e.g., displaying a rainbow flag) and on perceptions of inclusive curriculum (whether children should learn about diversity at school/from teachers or at home/from parents). Parents’ responses reflected variability in support for inclusive signals. Cisgender-heterosexual parents were more likely to endorse that cues should not be allowed and were less likely to indicate holistic support of cues compared to LGBTQ+ parents. For inclusive curriculum, cisgender-heterosexual parents were more likely than LGBTQ+ parents to endorse that diversity information should be discussed only at home with parents. We contextualize parents’ responses within contemporary political rhetoric (e.g., discussions of Parents’ Bills of Rights) and highlight implications for educators and policymakers.